Santiago spent the duration of 2018 with the major league team after making the final cuts out of camp, pitching mostly in long relief with a few spot starts here and there. His final line: 49 appearances, seven starts, a 4.41 ERA, 5.12 FIP, a decent amount of strikeouts and a whole lotta walks.

He was the prototypical mop-up man for a White Sox team that needed mop-up duty on a whole bunch of occasions. Of his 42 relief appearances, exactly half of them came with the White Sox trailing by four or more runs and only six times did he appear in the eighth, ninth, or extra innings with the game tied or the White Sox leading by one or two runs. Nine times, he entered the game in the fifth inning or earlier and in only one of those games were the White Sox leading at the time.

That’s pretty much what one would have expected when the White Sox acquired Santiago. He was depth, served to protect the young arms and join James Shields as someone capable of eating innings without completely embarrassing himself. Was he good? It would be tough to argue that he was. But he certainly served a purpose for a team that lost 100 games.

Kevan Smith, as you know by now, is no longer with the White Sox after the Los Angeles Angels claimed him through waivers shortly after the World Series.

Smith was always kind of the odd man out when the White Sox signed Welington Castillo last offseason, but was pressed into more playing time in 2018 than initially expected after Castillo’s banned substance suspension.

Smith was hardly incompetent in extended playing time, and was the only of the White Sox three primary characters who the defensive stats liked even a little bit. His FRAA_ADJ was 0.7, compared to Castillo’s -6.4 and Narvaez’s league-worst -15.7.

That Smith won’t be around in 2018 is unfortunate, as more catching depth is never a bad thing. It’s entirely possible that the offensive potential of Castillo and Narvaez — after a breakout season at the plate — won’t outweigh the defensive negatives, but catching stats fluctuate strangely from year to year (Castillo was good in 2017), and with Zack Collins and Seby Zavala waiting in the pipeline to hopefully, potentially, take over catching duties, losing him is hardly a detriment to the rebuild.

It’s important to remember that these decisions aren’t the end-all. Lest we forget, last year the White Sox broke camp with Cody Asche and Jacob May, and nobody except a really smart analyst and exceptional writer had ever even heard of Nicky Delmonico. Remember Jimmy Rollins two years ago? Me neither.

But these decisions do matter, as they’re the culmination of six weeks of observation of the roster by the White Sox staff. We’ll know the answers to these questions soon enough, but why wait?! I have the answers now, and I’m going to tell you what they are. But I’m going to level with you: There’s not a lot of drama.

I’m going to level with you, there’s not a lot of drama. The White Sox decisions amount to this: Will they keep 13 pitchers, if so, which ones, who is the backup catcher, and who is the fifth starter?

At this point, we know the eight starters on the position side. Welington Castillo, Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Yolmer Sanchez, Nicky Delmonico, Adam Engel, and Avisail Garcia all seem like locks. If the White Sox go with 13 pitchers, that leaves three bench spots. Setting aside catcher for a second, that leaves two spots for Leury Garcia, Tyler Saladino, and Ryan Cordell.

The White Sox love Leury’s versatility, and his ability to play both the outfield and multiple infield positions will come in handy if they keep 13 pitchers. He’s in. Cordell has certainly played like someone who deserves a roster spot this spring, hitting .342/.444/.553 with more walks than strikeouts in 45 plate appearances. He also hasn’t played since last June, which was before the White Sox acquired him from Milwaukee in exchange for Anthony Swarzak. At 25, he deserves a shot to prove whether or not he belongs in the majors sooner than later, but my guess is the White Sox keep Saladino and Cordell opens the season in Charlotte.

There isn’t a lot of upside in the backup catcher battle, as both Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith have shown competence but limited upside. We are talking about backup catchers, after all, and the presence of Castillo means whoever stays in Chicago will likely only get about a start or two a week, anyway. I give the edge to Narvaez as he’s proved more competent with the bat in more career plate appearances. It honestly doesn’t seem like a very tough decision.

There’s more room for debate in the pitching staff. Rick Renteria expressed confidence in Carson Fulmer even before he rebounded with a decent start on Monday, and with Hector Santiago’s ability to go long innings out of the bullpen or make a spot start, he seems a lock to go from NRI to the 25-man roster. Other bullpen locks seem to be Joakim Soria, Luis Avilan, Nate Jones, Juan Minaya, and Danny Farquhar. That leaves two spots, for incumbents Gregory Infante, Aaron Bummer, and Jace Fry, or NRIs Robbie Ross Jr., Jeanmar Gomez, Xavier Cedeno, and a few other long shots.

Infante pitched surprisingly well last season, and maybe belongs in the “lock” category, so he’s in. The other pick is a lot tougher, as Bummer and Fry could maybe use more seasoning in the minors, but the White Sox clearly like both. Handedness isn’t a factor here, either, as Santiago and Avilan already give them two lefties. Given that, the pick is Gomez, with Bummer and Fry starting the season in Charlotte, and guys like Ross and Cedeno possibly sticking around as additional depth.

To recap:

Position players:

C – Castillo
1B – Abreu
2B – Moncada
SS – Anderson
3B – Sanchez
LF – Delmonico
CF – Engel
RF – A. Garcia
DH – Davidson
Bench – Narvaez, L. Garcia, Saladino

Pitchers:

SP – Shields
SP – Giolito
SP – Lopez
SP – Gonzalez
SP – Fulmer
Bullpen: Santiago, Soria, Avilan, Jones, Minaya, Farquhar, Infante, Gomez

Lead Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

General manager Rick Hahn said Sunday that the injury is such that Adolfo will still be able to hit, and he’s likely headed to Winston-Salem at the start of the season to serve as the team’s designated hitter. While Adolfo is still a long way from the majors, his ability to not lose a year of developmental time as a hitter is important as he’ll be further tested at High-A, a level he’s yet to see.

2. It’s easy to root for Hector Santiago. A 30th round pick in 2006 who came out of nowhere to become a legit mid-rotation contributor, he quickly became a fan favorite before being traded after the 2013 season in a deal that brought Adam Eaton to Chicago. Reports of his offseason efforts in Puerto Rico speak even more to what kind of person he is, and after being brought back to the White Sox earlier this month on a minor league deal, he’s looking to regain the form that say him make the All-Star team in 2015 before injuries and ineffectiveness plagued his last two seasons.

His spring debut on Saturday was nothing remarkable — five hits allowed and one strikeout in two innings of work — but he reportedly flashed higher velocity when working out of jams.

“I’m trying to work on stuff, I’m trying to throw some two-seamers in to lefties and work on arm-side fastballs but I got in a little jam right there and reared back and found a little extra,” Santiago said. “It’s in there, it’s just a matter of trying to get work done and not overdo it too early. We still have a lot of games and innings to throw. Save some but when you need to rear back and get something it’s back there.”

Santiago’s ability to work both as a starter and a reliever, as well as the White Sox lack of pitching depth, make him a good bet to contribute at some point in 2018. Two rough years brought him to the point of accepting a minor league deal, and the odds are stacked against him regaining his previous form, but if a return to health helps bring his velocity back up to speed and he starts missing bats again, he’ll be a surprising and welcome addition.

3. On the subject of veteran pitchers trying to regain previous form, Joakim Soria and his 203 career saves is likely to have a role in the back of the White Sox bullpen, although it’s yet to be determined if it will be as a closer or not.

It’s been eight years since Soria was a fire-breathing dragon anchoring the Royals’ bullpen, but he was effective last season, striking out more than 10 batters per nine and allowing just one home run in 56 innings with Kansas City.  At 33 years old and with Tommy John surgery in his past, one would assume keeping him on the field is the main obstacle toward him being an asset in the bullpen (and maybe at the trade deadline).

4. Michael Kopech will make his first spring appearance Monday when he gets the start against the Oakland Athletics. The White Sox No. 2 prospect and No. 17 on BP’s Top 101 has said he wants to make things difficult for the White Sox, in terms of being promoted to the majors, and this spring the main focus has been on his developing changeup.

“The changeup has been a work in progress for the past couple of years,” Kopech said, “and that seems to be where everyone’s focus is. I came to camp early and started working on it right away, and feel I’ve made long strides just in the past couple of weeks.

“It’s a grip I’ve played around with the last two or three years trying to figure it out. It’s just getting comfortable with it. I think I’ve finally found one.”

As I mentioned Friday, one of the neat things to focus on during an often monotonous spring training is finding out what players are working on and seeing how well they execute. One would imagine we’ll see a hefty supply of changeups out of Kopech on Monday.

5. For those interested in such things, some prospect stats from the White Sox three games over the weekend:

Jake Burger went 1-for-2 with a stand-up triple on Saturday, he was 0-for-3 combined in Friday’s and Sunday’s games.

Luis Robert appeared both Saturday and Sunday and is 0-for-3.

Zack Collins went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a strikeout on Sunday after going 0-for-1 with a strikeout on Saturday.

Eloy Jimenez has seen one plate appearance (Friday) and struck out.

Jordan Guerrero started on Sunday and went 2 IP. He allowed 4 ER, 1 BB, and had 1 K.

Dane Dunning had 1 K, 1 BB, and allowed 1 ER in 1 2/3 innings on Saturday.

Thyago Viera got roughed up for 2 ER on 3 hits in 2/3 of an inning on Friday.

Lead Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Santiago rarely found himself in trouble in seven shutout innings, scattering five hits, walking zero and striking out seven — five of which came in the first two innings. The Sox thrice got a runner to second base and once to third but were otherwise unthreatening against the lefty the Sox shipped out in the trade that netted them Adam Eaton.

Speaking of Eaton, he was the only member of the starting lineup to find any measure of success offensively against the man for whom he was traded, doubling and singling in his first two at-bats, only to be stranded on each occasion.

The offensive ineptitude again cost the Sox in what wound up being Miguel Gonzalez‘s third consecutive impressive outing. Six innings of two earned run ball means he’s now allowed just four earned runs in his last 20 innings across three starts. He struck out six and walked just one, and the only blips through the first six innings came in the third, when Yunel Escobar blooped a single over the head of Tim Anderson to score Ji-Man Choi and Kole Calhoun followed with an RBI double.

His low pitch count, however, meant a long leash and his third time through the order was predictably shaky; he was replaced after giving up a leadoff double to Daniel Nava in the seventh inning and Johnny Giavotella reached on an error by Anderson — one of two he committed in the inning. Both came around to score in what wound up unearned runs on the tally.

That inning proved to be the beginning of the end to the Sox chances of winning the game, however, as Zach Duke and Matt Albers combined to face four batters and register zero outs, and the Angels put up a five-spot that ended what little hope there was of victory.

The aforementioned new toys were barely unwrapped Friday. Morneau was not in the starting lineup for his first game after being activated from the disabled list, presumably because of the left-handed starter (although one could optimistically predict a rusty Morneau could be at least as effective against a lefty as Garcia). He pinch-hit for Garcia in the eighth inning and grounded out in his first at-bat with the team.

Fulmer’s debut will have to wait at least one more day.

Team record: 45-44

Next game: 8:05 p.m. Saturday against the Angels on CSN.

Lead Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

1. Carlos Rodon never got a chance to find his groove Monday night. He didn’t allow an extra-base hit, just to get any pieces of positivity out of the way, but he only recorded one out while yielding six singles and two walks. He started all but one batter he faced by dropping the count to 1-0, and his clear lack of control was not doing him any favors on close pitches as the inning wore on. For a pitcher of Rodon’s age, with his lack of experience, a start like this is going to induce some introspection, and probably a surly, defensive interview or two from Don Cooper on the topic.

2. The Angels were coming off of a 12-inning game in Minneapolis that saw them run through eight pitchers. They needed a long outing out of starter Hector Santiago to rest up their bullpen and got it. Santiago didn’t show many signs of vulnerability in his seven innings; he allowed just two hits, and struck out 10 White Sox along the way, which makes two straight days the Sox have managed to fail to put the ball in play that often against a starter.

3. The bullpen was tasked with collecting 26 outs, which without looking, I would have to say is near a record for a nine-inning game. They managed to fulfill their duties without adding much to the suffering. A trio of singles and a sacrifice bunt in the third added a tally to the visitor side of the board, and was charged to Jake Petricka, who pitched well otherwise in his two and two-thirds innings of work. Three perfect innings out of Zach Putnam preceded Dan Jennings getting touched for his first runs of the season; a testament to his sporadic use more than any sort of standout opening to his year. Zach Duke built upon his Sunday outing by contributing another scoreless inning.

4. Offensively, yet again, not much was shown. An Adam Eaton leadoff double in the 6th was just the second hit of the night for the White Sox. A Jose Abreu single and a Jimmy Rollins double would bookend Eaton’s double to make up the evening’s hit total. With the approximately 6,000 balls put in play, Eaton also got an opportunity to get some repetitions throwing from right field. A job duty that he hasn’t looked entirely comfortable doing with regularity, but seems to be getting the flexibility he needs from his recently repaired shoulder as he stretches out.

Despite his abysmal showing at the plate this season, Todd Frazier can hang his hat on the fact that his awful start at the plate (.154/.200/.308) hasn’t seeped into his fielding, consistently making solid plays at the hot corner. His .258 point drop in OPS from first to second half of 2015 was not encouraging, and the bottoming out of offense we’re seeing now is even less so. He did manage to draw a walk in the contest, which he hasn’t done since the home opener eight games ago, which incidentally, is also the last time he hit a home run.

Hot corner defense, this carried out by Yunel Escobar, robbed Austin Jackson of a double in the 5th inning. Jackson has been on the rough end of some BABIP luck in the opening two weeks, making those of us who have watched the games look upon his .157 TAv to start his season with a bit of extra empathy.

5. A taxed bullpen is not a good look for a team that doesn’t have a day off until May. The “we’re still in this one” portion of the bullpen did manage to get the night off so Ventura is not going to be without fresh options. Regardless, the Sox will enter Tuesday night’s contest asking the same of Mat Latos that the Angels were provided by Santiago, in the hopes of not taxing the unit further. Just in case, J.B. Shuck has been optioned to AAA Charlotte in order to make room for additional bullpen help.

Team Record: 8-5
Next game is Monday at 7:10pm CT vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on WPWR.
Lead Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski – USA Today Sports Images

In anticipation of his last start, I made a comment about Carlos Rodon concerning his control; more specifically, the link between his success and his ability to not walk batters in his starts. He responded by throwing five innings and walking six batters (one of which was intentional) while managing to keep Twins from turning any of their free baserunners into runs. The already selective use of his changeup went to nearly non-existent in that start, which seems to have allowed hitters to size up his four-seam fastball and kept him from getting swings and misses there, where he was able to find them in his season debut. Control is still of utmost importance to the young lefty, because as the count ages, he needs to be able to deliver his slider with confidence that hitters will be in a defensive state, and as a result, dead.

Old friend alert! Hector Santiago has faced the White Sox once before, making the return to U. S. Cellular Field last season to take on his old mates. It didn’t work out terribly well for him or the Angels, who came up short in the middle game of what turned out to be a White Sox sweep. A solid first half helped propel Santiago to his first All-Star Game appearance, but he would ultimately finish 2015 posting a cFIP just below league average. There was a time when discussions were being had about whether the White Sox should retain Hector Santiago or Jose Quintana, and between Quintana’s performance and that of Adam Eaton, who the Sox received in return for Santiago, Rick Hahn can be credited with a positive exchange.

Any time you play the Angels, you’re facing greatness. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols definitely exist, but fortunately both players are off to slow starts, with the former not yet leading the league in anything, and the latter experiencing the decline that comes with age — but definitely has enough skill to remind you that he’s Cooperstown-bound if pitchers get careless. The Angels are also arriving in Chicago fresh off of a sweep at the hands of the Twins. Yes, those Twins.

The White Sox offense … well a player or two at a time have been productive, perhaps after each has had their opportunity to prove a pulse they’ll all get into common rhythm and we’ll see some sustained production.

White Sox Lineup:

1. Adam Eaton – RF
2. Jimmy Rollins – SS
3. Jose Abreu – 1B
4. Todd Frazier – 3B
5. Melky Cabrera – LF
6. Brett Lawrie – 2B
7. Avisail Garcia – DH
8. Dioner Navarro – C
9. Austin Jackson – CF

Angels Lineup:

1. Yunel Escobar – 3B
2. Craig Gentry – LF
3. Mike Trout – CF
4. Albert Pujols – 1B
5. Kole Calhoun – RF
6. Andrelton Simmons – SS
7. Geovany Soto – C
8. C.J. Cron – DH
9. Johnny Giavotella – 2B

Lead Photo Credit: Kim Klement – USA Today Sports Images