CHICAGO –– The White Sox haven’t gotten much length from their starting pitchers of late, so the team made four roster moves Sunday to replenish the bullpen.
Right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and left-hander Bryan Hudson have been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, while right-hander Elvis Peguero and left-hander Cam Booser have been recalled from Charlotte.
A White Sox starting pitcher has not thrown more than five innings since Aug. 2, when Aaron Civale lasted 6.1 innings in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. With one off day in between, the following six games have featured three starts of five innings, two of 3.1 innings and one of just 1.2 innings.
That has put more pressure than usual on the bullpen, leading to the roster moves.
“Just to get through today and the foreseeable future, we had to get some fresh arms,” White Sox manager Will Venable said before Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. CT game against the Cleveland Guardians.
Gonzalez, a rookie acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade, has had three separate stints with the White Sox this season but has spent most of the year in Double-A and Triple-A. He pitched two perfect innings on Friday and one perfect inning on Saturday. Across five appearances and eight innings in the majors this season, he’s given up two earned runs and four hits while walking four batters and striking out six.
The White Sox claimed Hudson off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 3. In three appearances with the White Sox, the 6-foot-8 lefty pitched 3.2 innings with six hits, three earned runs, one walk and four strikeouts.
“Both of them were outstanding,” Venable said. “I thought we saw some good stuff from Bryan. He was in the zone, a home run yesterday, but otherwise has been really good. And Wikelman was outstanding, three innings in those two outings the last couple days where he filled up the zone. His stuff was crisp and did a really nice job. Just one of those situations where it’s not performance-based, both of those guys earned more opportunity here. Just again with the bullpen usage and where we’re at, we just had to get some fresh arms.”
Peguero is in line to make his White Sox debut after being claimed off waivers from Milwaukee on Aug. 3. The 6-foot-4 right-hander allowed four earned runs in 7.1 innings with a 1.63 WHIP for the Brewers. But he has spent most of the season with Triple-A Nashville, where he had a 3.55 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 25.1 innings.
“Good stuff. We’ve seen him from the other side, the sinker-slider [combination],” Venable said. “We’re really excited to see him out here in the big leagues. It’s going to be about throwing strikes for him. The stuff is really good, it’s just about being in the zone. We’ll see what he’s got out there.”
Booser will get a second chance with the White Sox this season after making the Opening Day roster. He made 30 appearances out of the bullpen and had a 5.11 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP before suffering a left shoulder strain on June 20. He was reinstated on July 13 and sent to Triple-A, where he gave up four earned runs in 8.2 innings while striking out 15 batters and walking five.
