White Sox's Mike Clevinger: Starting for Triple-A Charlotte
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Clevinger will start for Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday against Lehigh Valley, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
It will be Clevinger's first start with a minor-league affiliate, as he has been pitching in extended spring training games after re-signing with the White Sox on April 2. Manager Pedro Grifol said Thursday that Clevinger will throw four innings and/or 60 pitches in his first start with Charlotte and then progress to five innings and/or 75 pitches in his next outing. Clevinger could be ready to join the White Sox' rotation after that, setting him up for his season debut as soon as May 5 in St. Louis.
White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Sits in second straight game
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.
Maldonado finds himself on the bench for a second straight day, ending a stretch of eight consecutive contests in which he and Korey Lee alternated turns behind the dish. With the White Sox sitting on a 3-21 record and the 37-year-old Maldonado having recorded just two hits in 42 at-bats on the season, it's possible that the organization will begin to start phasing him out to open up more opportunities for the 25-year-old Lee.
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White Sox's Dominic Fletcher: Sits in favor of Pillar again
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Fletcher is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.
For the second straight day, the lefty-hitting Fletcher finds himself on the bench as the White Sox oppose a right-handed starting pitcher (Simeon Woods Richardson). Kevin Pillar will get another nod in center field in place of Fletcher after he slugged a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-3 loss.
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White Sox's Andrew Benintendi: On bench Thursday
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Benintendi is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.
Benintendi will head to the bench for the second time in the four-game series in Minnesota as the White Sox hand Robbie Grossman a start in left field. Though he's produced a .395 OPS through 88 plate appearances on the season, Benintendi's role still appears fairly secure while he's in the second season of a five-year, $75 million contract.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Breaks hitless streak
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Shewmake went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two stolen bases Wednesday against the Twins.
Shewmake sat two straight games, but he returned Wednesday to start at second base and hit eighth. He also ended a four-game hitless streak with a bunt single in the fifth inning before stealing a pair of bases -- including home. Shewmake is hitting just .158 across 40 plate appearances on the campaign, but he has chipped in four stolen bases and is striking out at just a 12.5 percent clip.
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White Sox's Korey Lee: Clubs solo homer
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Lee went 1-for-2 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.
Lee reached safely in two of his three plate appearances Wednesday, tagging Joe Ryan for a solo home run in the third and being walked on in the fifth inning. He stole second after being walked on, marking his first-career big-league steal. After batting .077 in 2023 and .160 in 2022, Lee is off to a much better start to 2024, slashing .256/.310/.462 with five RBI and five runs scored.
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White Sox's Kevin Pillar: Swats solo homer
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Pillar went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.
Pillar hadn't picked up a hit since April 13 (six at-bats) and Wednesday's homer was his first long ball of the campaign. Pillar is batting .174 with three RBI across 29 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Garrett Crochet: Another tough start
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Crochet (1-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings against the Twins. He struck out six.
Crochet surrendered at least five runs for a third straight start, each of which lasted less than five innings and resulted in a loss for Crochet. After an impressive start to the season (four earned runs over 18.0 innings), Crochet has been equally unimpressive in his last three appearances, yielding 17 earned runs over 11.2 innings. Overall, Crochet owns a 6.37 ERA and 40:8 K:BB in six starts, and he's lined up for a rematch with the Twins on Monday.
White Sox's Robbie Grossman: Losing work to Gavin Sheets
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Grossman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
The switch-hitting Grossman finds himself on the bench against a right-handed pitcher for the second day in a row. While Grossman should still be a regular part of the lineup versus left-handed pitching, Gavin Sheets appears to have supplanted him as the primary option in right field.
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White Sox's Dominic Fletcher: Gets Wednesday off
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Fletcher is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Fletcher still appears to be locked into a near-everyday role for the White Sox, but he'll give way to Kevin Pillar in center field Wednesday. The 26-year-old has turned in a lowly .548 OPS through 20 games, but that mark actually places him fifth among the 11 White Sox players who have logged at least 40 plate appearances this season.
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White Sox's Nicky Lopez: Sits Wednesday
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Lopez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Lopez will get a breather after starting each of the last nine games, with the last four coming as the White Sox's leadoff hitter. Danny Mendick will replace Lopez at the keystone and set the table for Chicago on Wednesday.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Falls into timeshare
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Maldonado has fallen into a timeshare behind the dish with Korey Lee, with both backstops having now made four starts apiece over the past eight games. Even in AL-only leagues, Maldonado won't retain much fantasy value while he's hitting .048 on the season and not even playing on a regular basis.
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White Sox's Chris Flexen: Slated to start Friday
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Flexen is listed as the White Sox's scheduled starting pitcher for Friday's game versus the Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Flexen has made his last two appearances as a reliever, working four scoreless innings behind Garrett Crochet in a 7-0 loss to the Phillies on Friday and 2.1 innings of one-run ball behind Jonathan Cannon in a 7-0 loss to the Twins on Monday. He'll be on three days' rest Friday, but Flexen shouldn't face any major workload restrictions as he steps back into the White Sox rotation. Flexen won't necessarily be in store for a long-term stay in the rotation, however, as he could be a candidate to head back to the bullpen when Mike Clevinger is likely to make his season debut in early May.
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White Sox's Jordan Leasure: Picks up third hold
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Leasure allowed one earned run on two hits across one inning to earn a hold Tuesday against the Twins.
Leasure entered the game in the seventh inning and was tasked with protecting a two-run lead. He gave up an earned run for his second consecutive appearance, though those are his only runs allowed across 9.1 innings of work on the season. Michael Kopech has earned the majority of save chances for the White Sox to this point in the campaign, but Leasure has proven to work effectively in high-leverage roles.
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White Sox's Steven Wilson: Blows save chance
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Wilson (1-2) allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one across 0.2 innings to blow the save and take the loss Tuesday against the Twins.
Wilson has picked up two holds this season and has held a high-leverage role in the Chicago bullpen. He's had plenty of success -- eight of his 10 appearances have been scoreless-- but he ran into trouble in a save situation Tuesday. Wilson entered the game in the ninth inning with a one-run lead but immediately served up a game-tying home run to Byron Buxton. He got into more trouble before ultimately allowing a game-winning knock to Alex Kirilloff. The White Sox have only three saves as a team this season, but Wilson could get in the mix when Michael Kopech is used in high-leverage situations rather than in the final frame.
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White Sox's Michael Kopech: Shaky in eighth-inning appearance
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Kopech allowed two earned runs on two hits and no walks while striking out two to earn a hold Tuesday against the Twins.
Kopech was used in the eighth inning, and he primarily matched up against the top of the Twins' lineup. He allowed a leadoff single and later in the inning served up a two-run home run to Trevor Larnach. Kopech still maintained a one-run lead for the White Sox to earn his first hold of the season. The sample of the team maintaining a lead late in games is small, but it appears that manager Pedro Grifol is comfortable using Kopech in the highest-leverage situations rather than using him solely in save situations.
Jimenez went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, a stolen base and a second run scored during Tuesday's loss to the Twins.
Jimenez's fourth-inning shot flipped the score from 1-0 to 3-1, and he came around to score after drawing a walk in the eighth to make it a 5-2 game. The White Sox ultimately were unable to come away with the win Tuesday, but the 27-year-old's offensive outburst propelled him up to a .795 OPS in eight games since returning from the injured list April 15.
