Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria isn't with the team pending the results of medical tests.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement that Renteria "awoke this morning with a slight cough and nasal congestion" and "underwent precautionary testing."

The Cleveland Indians announced their Monday game with Chicago has been postponed until Tuesday, when the teams will play a traditional day-night doubleheader.

Less than a week after opening the 2020 season, MLB is facing major questions about whether it should carry on with the remainder of the year.

ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers reported at least 13 members of the Miami Marlins organization tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Marlins were aware that three of their players had tested positive before Sunday's 11-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The remaining players discussed the matter among themselves and decided to play.

"That was never the mentality," Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas said when asked if not playing was thrown out as an option. "We knew that this would happen at some point. We came to the ballpark and we were ready to play. That was never our thought that we weren't going to play."

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday on MLB Network the Marlins' next two games are postponed. The team will resume play Wednesday if the results of additional testing are "acceptable."

Bleacher Report's Scott Miller also reported that MLB isn't planning to cancel the season and will instead attempt to strengthen the current protocols:

Renteria's tests may ultimately show nothing that warrants larger concern.

However, the 58-year-old's situation highlights how the mere specter of the coronavirus is enough that players or coaches could have to miss time out of an abundance of caution.

Michael Jordan played one year of professional baseball. He hit .202, had more strikeouts than base hits and hit three home runs. 

Jerry Reinsdorf, who owns the Bulls and Chicago White Sox, still thinks Jordan would have made the majors if he'd kept with it. 

"Yes, I really do [think so]," Reinsdorf told USA Today's Bob Nightengale. "Maybe as an extra outfielder. Look at what he accomplished. He last played baseball in high school at 17, and at the age of 31, he was playing in AA. We should have started him in A-ball, but the press accommodations weren’t adequate. So, 14 years later, he competed in AA, hit over .250 in the Arizona Fall League.

"If he had played another year, I really believe he would have made the big leagues."

That being said, if Michael Jordan was not Michael Jordan, he likely wouldn't have received the opportunity he did. It's also unlikely any other player who got caught stealing 19 times and made 11 errors in the outfield would have stayed in Double-A.

Though Jordan did show improvement in the Arizona Fall League, MLB teams typically aren't in the business of calling up .250 hitters who it without pop playing at a low minor league level. 

Regardless, it's hard to argue that an athlete with Jordan's talents, work ethic and dedication wouldn't be able to develop into a decent baseball player given enough time.

The Chicago White Sox announced pitcher Michael Kopech has opted out of the 2020 season Friday afternoon. 

Kopech has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery since September 18, 2018, and has not appeared in a game for Chicago since making just four starts that season. The top prospect was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in 2018 along with infielder Yoan Moncada as part of the Chris Sale trade. 

He was expected to contend for a role in starting rotation once healthy.

Kopech did not report to Guaranteed Rate Field for training camp July 1 due to what general manager Rick Hahn called a personal matter. 

When spring training first opened up before the coronavirus pandemic put sports on hold, Kopech seemed on schedule in his recovery and had begun showing the type of promise on the mound that made him such a coveted asset in Chicago, even hitting 100 miles per hour on a few pitches early in his exhibition debut. 

Still, Chicago was clear he would not break camp with White Sox and would instead continue to rehab in the minor leagues to regain his rhythm. 

The hiatus due to COVID-19 increased some hopes that he'd be able to join the club for the season restart, though nothing had been assured. 

The Sox weren't necessarily banking on Kopech playing a pivotal role this season—pandemic or not—but his presence was expected to give the club an extra boost of power off the mound for a hopeful playoff push. Without him, Chicago still has a full rotation loaded with experience and talent. 

Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel will likely serve as the top two starters with Gio Gonzalez, Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez filling out the depth chart. Jimmy Cordero, Ian Hamilton and Carson Fulmer could be called on to make spot starts in a pinch if needed. 

Kopech joins Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Atlanta Braves pitcher Felix Hernandez and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman among players who have opted out of the 2020 season. 

The Chicago White Sox announced two players have tested positive for COVID-19, although both are asymptomatic:

The players are being isolated in Chicago and monitored by the team staff.

MLB announced Friday there were 38 positive coronavirus tests out of the 3,185 tested personnel. This included 31 players across 19 teams.

The league has instituted protocols to help slow the spread of COVID-19 amid the pandemic, including tests every other day for players and coaches. 

Other guidelines include social distancing on and off the field, masks in the dugout and bullpen for non-playing personnel and a ban on spitting.

Players reported to camp at the start of the month and will begin regular season games at the end of July.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, four teams will play on July 23 while the White Sox are among the 26 teams opening their season on July 24. It will kick off a shortened 60-game season that will begin about four months after the initially scheduled Opening Day in March.

Chicago is hoping the changes could lead to more success after the organization has gone 11 straight years without a playoff berth.

Having an up-close look at what Michael Jordan could do on the baseball field, Terry Francona believes the Basketball Hall of Famer would have made it to the Major League Baseball if he stuck with the sport.

Speaking to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, the Cleveland Indians manager said Jordan would have earned a roster spot in the big leagues within three years of making his debut in the minors (starting at the 5:39 mark). 

This echoes what Francona, who managed Jordan with the Birmingham Barons in 1994, said on The Last Dance about Jordan being good enough to make it to the majors if he had another 1,000 at-bats in the minor leagues. 

Jordan's brief professional baseball career was initially seen as a failure, but recent reexaminations show how impressive his accomplishment in the sport was.

Here's what Michael Baumann of The Ringer wrote about Jordan's baseball career: 

"Well, despite all those disadvantages, and despite having a swing that looks like Charles Barkley swatting at a mosquito with a five-iron, Jordan still went into Double-A cold and hit .202. By the time he got to the Arizona Fall League that year, he was starting to blend in and look more comfortable. The problems Jordan faced were technique-based, bad habits that could at least theoretically be trained out of him."

After signing a contract with the Chicago White Sox in February 1994 and being assigned to their Double-A affiliate to start the season, Jordan hit .202/.289/.266 in 436 at-bats with three home runs, 51 RBI and 30 stolen bases over 127 games. The 6'6" outfielder was 31 years old and hadn't played organized baseball since his senior year at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

Unfortunately for MLB, though, Jordan decided to return to the Chicago Bulls in March 1995. It turned out to be a wise decision since he won three more NBA championships and further cemented his legacy as arguably the best NBA player in history. 

The most recent episodes of ESPN's The Last Dance shined a light on how difficult it was for Michael Jordan to go out in public without getting mobbed by fans.

That treatment didn't stop when he decided to play baseball.

Chicago White Sox head athletic trainer emeritus Herm Schneider recently recalled a late-night grocery run with Jordan to a Publix store in Sarasota, Florida, during spring training in 1994.

It did not go well.

Schneider described the experience on a media call Thursday:

"This was at about 12:30 a.m. ... There was basically not even a handful of people in the store at that time. But it's unbelievable; within 30 minutes, the word got out that he was at the store, and it was a zoo in that store at about 1:15 a.m. It was crazy.

"He said 'Let's get these groceries paid for and let's get out of here.' So we did that and it was pretty crazy. Two or three guys who were working there saw him and recognized him, and they got on their phones or whatever they did, and it was incredible."

Plenty want to be like Mike, but Jordan still had to shop like everyone else.

Back in Chicago, he had devised a plan to avoid inciting a riot when he needed to stock up on essentials.

Jordan's former Bulls teammate Brad Sellers told Jerry Bembry of The Undefeated that a local grocery chain would close off the store so MJ could shop.

"He told me he would call Jewel-Osco about 15 minutes before they closed and let them know he was coming in," Sellers said. "They would stay open later to let him shop."

Sellers added Jordan always tipped the staff extra for staying late.

If only Schneider had known to give Publix the same heads-up.

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson signed a six-year, $25 million extension in March 2017 after playing just 99 games at the major league level in 2016. 

Hall of Fame forward Scottie Pippen signed a seven-year, $18 million extension with the Chicago Bulls in 1991 that has been reevaluated during the airing of ESPN's The Last Dance 10-part documentary series and, in hindsight, is seen as a gross underpayment compared to today's NBA:

Anderson sees a connection between the two contracts outside of keeping both he and Pippen in Chicago for the long term, as told to NBC Sports Chicago's Leila Rahimi:

"His decision, talking about the contract, at that point he had to do something, he had to think outside of the game. That's the same situation as mine when I signed my deal right after those 99 games. Nobody else was going to feed my family, so I had to do it. I had my daughter and my wife looking at me. So at that point, you've got to think about what really matters in life. At that point, that's why I took that deal. I'm sure it was the same for him."

The first two episodes of The Last Dance premiered Sunday, April 19.

"I felt like I couldn't afford to gamble myself getting injured and not being able to provide," Pippen said during the second episode, confirming Anderson's hunch. "I needed to make sure that people in my corner were taken care of."

Larsa Pippen, Pippen's ex-wife, also pointed out that the six-time NBA champion earned over $100 million in his 17-year playing career:

Anderson will likely have a chance to cash in on a more lucrative deal before his playing days are over. The White Sox hold club options in 2023 and 2024 before the reigning American League batting champion is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025, his age-32 season.

The highest-paid MLB shortstops are Boston Red Sox two-time All-Star Xander Bogaerts and Texas Rangers two-time All-Star Elvis Andrus at $120 million, per Spotrac.

The Chicago White Sox announced Ed Farmer, who was a longtime radio broadcaster for the team and played 11 seasons in the major leagues, died Wednesday at the age of 70.

Farmer's playing career started in 1971, and he suited up for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, White Sox and Oakland Athletics as a right-handed pitcher before his retirement in 1983.

He appeared in 370 games throughout his career, making one All-Star appearance in 1980 while with the White Sox.

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, another notable White Sox broadcaster, reflected on Farmer's death:

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune noted Farmer, who grew up on the South Side of Chicago, started his career as a radio announcer for the White Sox in 1992. He became the team's play-by-plan man in 2006.

According to Rosenthal, Farmer had an inherited polycystic kidney disease that led to the death of his mother when she was 38 years old.

The former pitcher received a transplanted kidney from a brother and at one time had to take up to 56 pills daily.

Farmer finished his career with a 30-43 record, 4.30 ERA and 395 strikeouts.

He pitched his final game in the major leagues in 1983, but he continued his career in the minors through the 1986 campaign.

The Chicago White Sox have locked up another member of their young core, agreeing on a five-year, $70 million contract extension with Yoan Moncada on Thursday, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 

The deal reportedly includes a club option for a sixth year and buys out two years of potential free agency for the third baseman and could stop him from hitting the open market until his age-31 season. 

The 24-year-old was acquired in the December 2016 Chris Sale trade with Boston. He slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs in 2019—a year after he led the league in strikeouts with 217. He joins Lucas Giolito, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal among those under club control through at least the 2023 season in Chicago. 

Moncada's deal could increase to $90 million over six years if the club exercises its option. 

The pact helps solidify what the White Sox will look like for the better part of the coming decade. Robert and Jimenez are under club control through 2026. Dylan Cease and Anderson are under club control through 2025, and Michael Kopech's pact will last through 2024. Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez will remain on the South Side through 2023. 

Among them, only Grandal (31), Keuchel (32) and Anderson (26) are older than 25. Prospects Andrew Vaughn and Nick Madrigal figure to join that core within the next few seasons. 

News of Moncada's extension comes as the Red Sox weigh Tommy John surgery for Sale, who was traded to Boston for Moncada, Kopech and Luis Alexander Basabe—each of whom are expected to figure prominently in Chicago's immediate future. 

Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA rankings—which err on the cautious side—project the White Sox will finish 2020 with 82.7 wins and finish third in the American League Central a year after they won 72 games. Still, general manager Rick Hahn clearly feels this team has all the tools it needs to compete for the pennant long term, especially as the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers continue to rebuild.

Only the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians stand in the way of a Sox team looking to end an 11-year playoff drought, and Cleveland has been trending downward since it fell to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series.