Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are in discussions with the Arizona Diamondbacks about trading for infielder Eduardo Escobar, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

As Nightengale noted, the White Sox are looking to replace second baseman Nick Madrigal,  who is out for the season with a torn right hamstring. 

Escobar, 32, is hitting .240 (.743 OPS) with 15 home runs and 45 RBI for a Diamondbacks team that will assuredly undergo a fire sale this season. Arizona's 20-53 mark is the worst in the majors, and the team has also lost 17 straight games.

A power-hitting infielder like Escobar would certainly pique the interest of contending teams, and the White Sox have a gap to fill sans the talented Madrigal.

The 24-year-old had season-ending surgery last Tuesday, ending a promising 2021 campaign that saw him hit .305 with two home runs, 21 RBI and four triples in 54 games. Thanks in part to his efforts, the 43-29 White Sox are first in the American League Central.

Danny Mendrick has taken over at second for Madrigal, whose last game this season occurred on June 9. The 27-year-old is hitting .213 (.628 OPS) with two homers and 13 RBI.

Adding Escobar may be a one-year rental for the White Sox, as the 11-year MLB veteran is in the final year of a three-season, $21 million deal.

However, Chicago would certainly welcome his power hitting from second base as the team gears up for a potential postseason run.

The injury woes continue for Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton.

The White Sox placed Eaton on the 10-day injured list Thursday (retroactive to Tuesday) because of a strained right hamstring. They recalled right-handed reliever Zack Burdi from Triple-A to take Eaton's spot on the 26-man roster.

Eaton hasn't played since Monday's 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The White Sox signed Eaton to a one-year contract in December. He played for the organization from 2014 to 2016.

Eaton likely hoped for a rebound season in 2021 after he hit .226/.285/.384 with four homers and 17 RBI in 41 games with the Washington Nationals last year. However, he's only put up a .641 OPS in 54 appearances.

The White Sox seemed to have one of the deepest outfields in MLB coming into the season, but Eaton joins Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert on the injured list. Leury Garcia, Jake Lamb, Andrew Vaughn and Adam Engel will carry the load until Eaton can return.

Chicago White Sox starter Carlos Rodon has been blowing away hitters all season in what's unquestionably the best year of his career. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred got a taste of that heat on Tuesday as the lefty heavily criticized a memo sent to all clubs detailing punishments for pitchers who use foreign substances to doctor the ball on the mound. 

In particular, Rodon ripped the decision to suspend pitchers who get caught for 10 games after failing to punish any players on the Houston Astros for the team's sign-stealing scandal during their World Series run in 2017.

"If Rob Manfred can look himself in the mirror and say, 'Hey I'm doing the right thing,' that's fine," Rodon said. "But if you can't suspend the team that you actually knew was cheating during a playoff game, that's on you."

Manfred rather infamously declined to discipline any of the players in Houston who were involved in video-assisted sign stealing, instead opting to offer the Astros immunity in exchange for honest testimony about the scheme. 

It's a decision that has players angered more than a year later—and those in Chicago have a particularly good reason to be upset. 

Before MLB's investigation into Houston began with pitcher Mike Fiers blowing the whistle on his former teammates, the White Sox appeared to catch the Astros in the act during a 2017 game, as noted in Manfred's report:

Although the Astros’ players did not attempt to hide what they were doing from [manager A.J.] Hinch or other Astros employees, they were concerned about getting caught by players from other teams. Several players told my investigators that there was a sense of “panic” in the Astros’ dugout after White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar appeared to notice the trash can bangs. Before the game ended, a group of Astros players removed the monitor from the wall in the tunnel and hid it in an office. For the Postseason, a portable monitor was set up on a table to replace the monitor that had been affixed to the wall near the dugout." 

Rodon's comments will no doubt add another layer intensity as the 37-28 Astros host the White Sox for a four-game series beginning Thursday. 

Yet the Cy Young candidate was far from the only MLB star to blast MLB's memo on Tuesday.

(Warning: NSFW Language)

Tampa Bay Rays star Tyler Glasnow blamed the mid-season emphasis on grip enhancers on his potentially season-ending elbow injury while Los Angeles Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer criticized MLB's rollout of the policy after it "knowingly swept this under the rug for four years". 

Rodon just happened to go a bit further, making Manfred the target of his ire as pitchers across the game are asked to adjust on the fly. 

Video of Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa's arrest for a DUI in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2020 has been released. 

The footage, obtained by WGN News, shows officers questioning La Russa and informing him that his blood-alcohol level was .09 after he said he didn't have anything to drink:

The legal blood-alcohol limit to drive in Arizona is .08.

Per court documents obtained by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Paula Lavigne and Charlie Moynihan, La Russa left his car on the side of the road after allegedly running it into a curb. 

Passan, Lavigne and Moynihan noted charges against La Russa were filed on Oct. 28, one day before he was hired as manager of the White Sox. 

Per MLB.com's Scott Merkin, the White Sox knew about La Russa's arrest before they hired him. They also issued a statement after he pleaded guilty:

“With today's announcement, Tony La Russa accepted responsibility and has been held legally accountable for his poor behavior and the questionable choices he made last February. The White Sox understand the anger and concern expressed by some about hiring Tony under these circumstances. Tony has expressed to us his remorse, and he understands he brought this on himself."

La Russa was originally facing two charges of driving under the influence, but he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving. He was ordered to serve one day of home detention and pay a fine of $1,400.   

The White Sox brought La Russa out of retirement to replace Rick Renteria. The 76-year-old retired from managing after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title. 

The family of Loretta Micele, a longtime Chicago White Sox stadium worker, expressed frustration the MLB club changed an area at Guaranteed Rate Field named in her honor to "LaRussa's Lounge" for manager Tony La Russa.

"For them to not even notify us, you know, it's a shame," Lou Soto, Micele's great-grandson, told ESPN on Friday.

That part of the stadium in the 100 level was previously named "Loretta's Lounge."

A White Sox spokesperson told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times the lounge's name was changed in 2020 before La Russa, who previously managed the team from 1979 through 1986, was rehired in October because a separate area of the stadium that was named in his honor was also reworked last year.

"Loretta Micele has always been a treasured member of the White Sox family and a plaque in her honor remains in the space to honor her memory despite the name change," the spokesperson said. "As we say in the plaque, Loretta was a dedicated concession stand staff member known for her service with a smile attitude."

Fans weren't allowed to attend games last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why the change wasn't noticed until this season.

Bob Chiarito of Block Club Chicago noted Micele worked for the club for 60 years beginning in 1945. She died in 2014.

The White Sox opened a four-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-1 win Thursday, which improved the team's record to 29-20.

The Chicago White Sox are giving a shoutout to their roots on the Southside of the city with new City Connect uniforms. 

Nike and the White Sox unveiled the custom look that the team will debut on June 5 against the Detroit Tigers:

Last month, Nike announced as part of its merchandising agreement with MLB that it was developing a collection of City Connect jerseys for seven teams this season. 

"The designs continue to explore a franchise’s connection to its city and its fanbase, each with distinct personalities, values, customs and traditions," the statement from Nike read.

The White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants will all debut their City Connect Series uniforms this season. 

Nike noted the look will appear league-wide in later seasons. 

Since their debut season in 1900, the White Sox have called the Southside of Chicago home. Their first stadium was South Side Park III for 10 years before they moved into Comiskey Park. 

Their current stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field, is located in the Armour Square neighborhood. 

The Chicago White Sox are likely to ink Cuban outfield sensation Oscar Colas during the next international signing period in January, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. 

Dubbed the "Cuban Shohei Ohtani" by some scouts, the 22-year-old plays all three outfield spots and has shown a 95 mph fastball on the mound as a lefty, but is unlikely to be used as a two-way player if he comes to MLB. 

MLB Pipeline ranks Colas as the No. 2 overall international prospect behind Yoelqui Cespedes—the half-brother of Yoenis Cespedes—who the White Sox signed last year. 

Sanchez noted the Sox are expected to give Colas a $2.7 million deal to join the South Siders. 

The 6'1", 209-pound star slashed .302/.350/.516 with 11 home runs for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2019 and was a force in Cuba's Serie Nacional, hitting .305 with nine home runs in 2018-19. 

Per Sanchez:

"Colás is currently training in the Dominican Republic and is expected to play winter ball for the Estrellas Orientales under manager and former Major League player Fernando Tatis Sr. Fernando Tatis Jr. was originally signed by the White Sox in 2015, and his younger brother Elijah Tatis signed with the club in 2019."

Chicago has routinely looked to Cuban imports in recent years to bolster its roster. Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert lead the Major League club while Cespedes and pitcher Norge Vera work their way through the team's farm system. 

Catcher Yasmani Grandal is also of Cuban descent  and joined the Sox as a free agent during the 2020 offseason. 

The Chicago White Sox have renamed a seating area at Guaranteed Rate Field after manager Tony La Russa. 

Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the lounge that had previously been named in honor of long-time White Sox concessions worker Loretta Micele is now La Russa's Lounge. 

Van Schouwen noted that the previously-named Loretta's Lounge had been in place since Game 1 of the 2005 World Series when the White Sox played the Houston Astros. 

Micele, who died in 2014 at the age of 95, began working at Old Comiskey Park in 1945 and was employed as a stadium concession worker for 60 years. 

Van Schouwen added that a Twitter user who identified himself as Micele's great-grandson posted a statement on social media amid the blowback to the White Sox's decision:

“My family and I appreciated all the love from our White Sox Family! This was a tough pill to swallow," the tweet read. "The worst part is that my mother still works for them and they didn’t have the decency to give us the sign or even the plaque which is what we cared for the most."

A White Sox spokesperson told Van Schouwen a plaque dedicated to Micele is still in the space where the lounge is located and the team is "considering other ways to honor her memory." 

La Russa is in his second stint managing the White Sox. He previously managed the club from 1979-86. The 76-year-old ended his 10-year retirement when he was hired by the organization in October. 

Any Chicago White Sox fans worried that manager Tony La Russa is imparting his love for the sport's unwritten rules on the clubhouse can take a deep breath.

It turns out the players aren't listening.

At least that's according to shortstop Tim Anderson—one of the team's leaders—who sided with rookie Yermin Mercedes after La Russa fumed that it was inappropriate for the designated hitter to homer on a 3-0 pitch off position player Willians Astudillo in a 16-4 blowout of the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

It's no surprise Anderson took this approach. The 2019 American League batting champion has been a proponent of bat flips, celebrations and general goofiness on the field. He also posted on Instagram in support of Mercedes' swing and reiterated his feelings on Mercedes' Instagram Live feed from the team plane, telling the rookie to "keep swinging 3-0."

La Russa told reporters Friday that he addressed the situation with the team and felt like the players understood his position on the unwritten rules.

"Any father would love to have a son like Tim," La Russa said, "because his bad goes from very, very good to just good."

Former American League Cy Young winner CC Sabathia unloaded on Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa amid the ongoing discussion about Yermin Mercedes' ninth-inning homer in Tuesday's win over the Minnesota Twins. 

On his podcast with co-host Ryan Ruocco, Sabathia said La Russa is "out of touch with the game" and "shouldn't be f--king managing" the White Sox (warning: contains explicit language). 

The situation started when Mercedes homered off Willians Astudillo on a 3-0 count with the White Sox already up 15-4. 

La Russa told reporters after the game that Mercedes was "clueless" and "there will be a consequence he has to endure here within our family."

The discussion continued prior to Wednesday's game between the two teams. 

"What did I say publicly? I said a young player made a mistake. Which, by the way, he did and we need to acknowledge it. Did I say that he's being ostracized?" La Russa said. 

La Russa also noted he wasn't aware of any blowback from White Sox players about his comments, though several of them spoke publicly in support of Mercedes. 

"If a position player is on the mound, there are no rules. Let's get the game over with," Lance Lynn said. "And if you have a problem with whatever happened, then put a pitcher out there. ... The more I play this game, the more those [unwritten] rules have gone away."

White Sox star Tim Anderson wrote on Instagram, "The game wasn’t over! Keep doing you big daddy."

Twins reliever Tyler Duffey did retaliate by throwing behind Mercedes in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game. He was ejected by the home-plate umpire as a result of the pitch. 

La Russa is in his first season as manager of the White Sox. He returned to the dugout for the first time since leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title. The 76-year-old spent the previous 10 years in retirement.