Eleven roster moves.
No one connected to the White Sox could recall that many in one day, which is what they pulled off Tuesday in a bundle of changes including reinstating perhaps their most valuable player in Tim Anderson from the injured list. Rookie Oscar Colas was shipped to Triple-A Charlotte and left-hander Jake Diekman was designated for assignment.
On a night the Sox beat the Twins 3-2 in 10 innings for their first two-game winning streak of the season, the rash of moves points to where the Sox, still a woeful 9-21 after Andrew Benintendi’s walk-off single, were standing on the second day of May.
Is there such a thing as two-game momentum?
“I’m not getting too far ahead,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Get ready for tomorrow. We dug ourselves a hole and now we’re going to take our time to get back to where we want to be.”
The changes underscored the Sox’ ongoing injury problems (Anderson was back at shortstop after the Sox went 3-15 without him but third baseman Yoan Moncada is still on the IL), the failure of top prospect Colas to stick after being pegged by general manager Rick Hahn last winter as the man for the job in right field (there were plenty of proven right fielders available on the free agent market) and the ditching of Diekman, essentially the only player acquired at the trade deadline last year.
Diekman, thought to be a high-leverage lefty at the time, posted a 7.94 ERA in 13 games after pitching to a 6.52 ERA in 26 games for the Sox last season.
Hanser Alberto was also reinstated from the IL, and the contracts of light-hitting but fast outfielder Billy Hamilton, veteran right-hander Alexander Colome and lefty Sammy Peralta were purchased from Charlotte. Hamilton almost won the game with his speed, stealing a base as a pinch runner in the ninth, but Adam Haseley and Alberto — a defensive replacement for Jake Burger — stranded him at third.
After workhorse Jimmy Lambert pitched a scoreless 10th, Andrus bunted free runner Alberto to third and a Benintendi lined a two-out, two-strike single to left against lefty Caleb Thielbar. It was the Sox’ second straight walk-off.
“Hopefully get on a good streak here,” Benintendi said.
Also off the Sox radar is infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez, who struggled offensively and defensively and until Andrus was acquired early in spring training was pegged by Hahn to be the everyday second baseman. He landed on the 10-day IL with a sore left shoulder.
The Sox also optioned Lenyn Sosa to Charlotte, lost reliever Joe Kelly for a few days as he goes on the paternity list and designated Triple-A righty Frank German for assignment.
Colas, who had a strong spring and won an Opening Day roster spot, is batting .211/.265/.276 in 84 plate appearances and has been shaky at times defensively, signaling the need for more time at Charlotte.
“He wasn’t producing the way we anticipated and that happens,” Grifol said. “This is a tough level to play at. Some guys get here and produce right away, some guys don’t. Some guys need to go back down and continue to develop.”
Colas’ shortcomings are emblematic of where the Sox are but there’s much more to it than one player.
Perhaps Anderson can provide a lift. He went 0-for-4 but his 12-pitch walk helped get Joe Ryan (six scoreless innings) out of the game.
“We’ve seen it. We watched it. I watched it,” Anderson said. “You all watched it. You all wrote about it. You all talked about it. Hopefully we can start something new here today.”
Anderson watched Michael Kopech take a no-hitter into the sixth and finished with six innings of one-run ball. Eloy Jimenez’ homer against Jorge Lopez put the Sox in front 2-1. But Colome, a veteran in his second tour with the Sox and getting a high leverage opportunity his first day on the job, gave up a pinch homer to Nick Gordon that tied it in the eighth.
