The season hasn’t even started yet and the White Sox pitching staff has already been dealt another blow. On Thursday White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said right-handers Jimmy Lambert and Joe Barlow are headed to the IL, according to a report from Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun-Times.
Lambert is expected to miss 10-14 days while Barlow is likely to miss even more time. The injuries muddy a bullpen competition that has already seen several relievers go down with injuries this spring.
Earlier this week the team announced Jesse Scholtens has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. It was later reported that the injury would require Tommy John surgery. The White Sox also lost Rule-5 Draft pick Shane Drohan to shoulder surgery. Drohan is expected to start a throwing program at the end of spring. But it is unclear how much time he will miss. Right-hander John Brebbia is also on the shelf with a calf strain. However, he is expected to return by Opening Day.
Joe Barlow was added on a minor league deal this offseason. The left-hander owns a career 3.05 ERA with 61 strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP in 73.2 innings that span across three seasons with the Texas Rangers.
He struggled last season, posting the lowest strikeout rate of his career (13.6%) while opponents hit .310 against him. However, Barlow’s overall numbers were not terrible as he still managed to post a 4.66 ERA in 9.2 innings of work. During that stretch, he only walked two batters. The Rangers designated him for assignment midway through the year before the Kansas City Royals picked him up. The 28-year-old spent the remainder of the 2023 campaign with the Royals Triple-A affiliate.
While his numbers in Triple-A weren’t great his small body of work in the MLB was enough for Getz to take a flier on him. In 2021 he posted a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings with the Rangers.
Jimmy Lambert is coming off a rough season that saw him post a 5.37 ERA across 37.2 innings. Opponents had no issues squaring up Lambert as he allowed a career-worst 46.5 hard-hit percentage. The 116.7 mph max exit velocity off of him ranked in the bottom three percent of the league. He also had an 11.6 walk rate which was well above the league average. However, Lambert did produce a solid 23.8 strikeout rate
The White Sox drafted Lambert in the 5th round of the 2016 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut during the 2020 season and has bounced between the MLB and minors ever since. He has thrown a total of 99.2 MLB innings during that stretch, posting a 4.33 ERA, with 98 strikeouts and a 1.495 WHIP.
