With the White Sox pitching staff getting torn apart at the trade deadline, plenty of White Sox pitchers will opportunity to prove themselves for the rest of the season.
“We are going to put a roster together for next year. A lot of that starts right now. “So we are going to do things a little different, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told reporters on Sunday. “We are looking for a different culture. At some point in that clubhouse, everybody in there, we are all getting evaluated.”
This includes rookies who are getting a shot to show they belong in the big leagues. On Sunday Declan Cronin and Edgar Navarro made their major league debuts against the Cleveland Guardians.
Cronin was a 36th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. Last season he posted a 3.71 ERA and 36 strikeouts over a career-high 51 innings between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte.
He received an invitation to spring training this season and parlayed that into a call-up after 41 relief appearances with the Charlotte Knights. In four years in the minor leagues, the Holy Cross graduate has appeared in 145 minor league games, going 10-6 with a 3.86 ERA.
Cronin entered Sunday’s game in the sixth inning after starter Micheal Kopech was pulled. In two innings he allowed two runs on one hit with a walk. Those two runs came via a Jose Ramírez home run.
“It’s been a goal for a really long time and a lot of work went into it and a lot of people went into it,” Cronin told reporters after the game. “So, feels like the culmination of a lot and also the start of a lot as well. It’s fantastic to be here.”
Navarro got the ball in the ninth inning. He worked around two hits to throw a scoreless frame and recorded his first two MLB strikeouts along the way.
“I felt good, I thought it was fun,” Navarro said through interpreter Billy Russo. “But my heart was definitely beating very very fast.”
Navarro impressed manager Pedro Grifol with his work during spring training. The White Sox signed him as a free agent out of Venezuela in 2018. Last season he combined to go 4-2 with a 3.64 ERA with 69 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .188 average. His 11.4 K/ per 9 over 45 appearances helped him jump from Class A Winston Salem all the way to Charlotte by the end of the year.
This season the 25-year-old righty put up a 4.19 ERA and 1.45 WHIP through 34.1 innings in Triple-A before getting the call to the show.
While the rest of the games don’t mean much for the White Sox in the standings, they could have a direct impact on plenty of players’ futures with the team like Cronin and Navarro. They are not alone. Sammy Peralta, Jesse Schoultens, and Touki Toussaint are all trying to prove they belong on the roster next season as the White Sox try to reboot and contend.
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