The Chicago White Sox announced officially on Monday that the organization mutually parted ways with Rick Renteria and Don Cooper. In an extensive media session following the conclusion of the team’s 2020 campaign, general manager Rick Hahn addressed several areas of note, including an update on Garrett Crochet’s injury, Jimmy Lambert’s forearm strain, Nick Madrigal’s shoulder and expectations surrounding Michael Kopech.
Beginning with Crochet, the 21-year-old departed Game 3 of the American League Wild Card with left forearm tightness. Hahn shared an update with reporters via Zoom call.
“The information is positive,” Hahn explained. “He is dealing with a flexor strain — essentially a muscle strain in the forearm. The ulnar collateral ligament is clean; no issues there. We expect him to continue to progress and feel fine in a matter of weeks and be without restriction come next spring. All things considered, this is probably as good as a result we could’ve hoped for.”
White Sox right-hander Jonathan Stiever dealt with something similar back in March, as the team monitored what was described as a muscle strain in his right forearm prior to Stiever’s addition to the 60-man player pool in mid-July. Injuries are unique and impact individuals to varying degrees, and while it is widely considered that a forearm strain is a precursor to Tommy John surgery, there is optimism Crochet can work through his injury similarly to Stiever.
Crochet entered his junior year at Tennessee as the anticipated workhorse who would slot in to the top of the Volunteers’ rotation despite starting only 13 of his 36 appearances across his previous two seasons. The 11th overall draft pick threw 3.1 innings on March 7 before the NCAA season was shut down.
Just over six months later, Crochet became the second pitcher this century to debut in Major League Baseball before throwing a pitch in the minors. With a considerable spike in velocity and break, Crochet offered immediate need for the White Sox in an abbreviated season out of the bullpen. However, Hahn and company believe he is capable of being something more than a pen arm.
“I still think he’s going to be a starter long term,” Hahn said. “Certainly this is a real limited sample, but you saw a couple real nice changeups. Obviously the fastball velo is apparent, you saw some real quality sliders for swings and misses. You’ve got a guy with a three-pitch mix — all potentially plus; some plus-plus. That said, we’re dealing with a player who, in retrospect, is going to wind up throwing, like, 13 innings between college and the pros in 2020.
“What is the best path to getting him to fulfill that ceiling as a starter? We’re going to have to talk that through. There’s an argument [to] having him part as a multi-inning reliever next year as we transition to increasing that workload is a path to go. If there’s a normal minor league season next year — OK, maybe you do send him to one of the affiliates to have him work every fifth day and then still get him exposure to the big leagues perhaps out of the bullpen to manage his workload coming off of the truncated 2020. In terms of upside, we view him as a guy who can be an impactful starter, but you certainly can’t ignore what he looked like he’s capable of doing out of the bullpen, either.”
Meanwhile, Lambert’s forearm injury appears to be more severe than Crochet’s. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019, Lambert made two official appearances in the big leagues before being shelved with a right forearm strain on July 29.
“He will begin on a throwing program after a couple of weeks,” Hahn shared regarding Lambert. “At this point it continues to be a more significant forearm flexor issue than what we’re dealing with [in] Crochet in terms of degree, but one that we are optimistic will not be a factor going forward once he completes his rehab.”
Madrigal, the White Sox No. 4 overall pick of 2018, separated his left shoulder on the above play from August. He returned on August 29 and started 24 games, accumulating a .349/.385/.384 (.768) slash line following the injury. Hahn announced Monday that Madrigal needed surgery.
Nick Madrigal had, as expected, his shoulder repaired once the season ended. That was a planned procedure based on the shoulder separation that is going to stabilize the area and make it so that — knock on wood — he should not suffer from another separation. The recovery time for that can range from five-to-six months. So, it’s conceivable that, when we get to spring training, he still is on a rehab program.
Rick Hahn
As each situation remains fluid within the franchise, Hahn had strong words of encouragement surrounding right-hander Michael Kopech. Kopech elected to forgo the 2020 season, but the White Sox expect him to be ready to go come 2021.
“We look forward to having Michael back with us come the start of spring training,” Hahn stated. “He’s been in contact with, primarily, the minor league pitching coaches and sharing the program he is working on and getting their input on it. He recently reached out to recommend an individual who was let go by another organization as a potential add for us. So, he’s obviously fully invested and committed.
“We still think his future is very bright and that he has every potential to be an impactful arm for us for a long time. Overcoming the two years of not facing big-league hitters is something we’re going to have to work through together in managing his workload and managing our own expectations. In terms of his commitment and being part of this: no mystery whatsoever.”
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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