White Sox Notes: James Shields Placed On 10-Day DL
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The White Sox placed right-hander James Shields on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a strained right lat. The move is retroactive to Tuesday.
"He said he started to feel a little bit of something after his last start," general manager Rick Hahn said. "He received some treatment over the past few days and went out today tried to test it out. He felt enough discomfort that we did not feel comfortable starting him tomorrow. We put him on the DL to give him a chance to recover.
"We do think after the MRI was performed on him this afternoon that he will only miss a couple of turns. It is a relatively mild strain."
The 35-year-old Shields is 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in three starts this season. His .153 opponent's batting average is fifth-best in the American League.
Right-hander Mike Pelfrey was summoned from Triple-A Charlotte to replace Shields, with outfielder Charlie Tilson being moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Pelfrey, who signed a minor league deal with the White Sox earlier this month.
The 33-year-old Pelfrey has a lifetime 4.57 ERA in the big leagues.
White Sox leaning on pitching
The White Sox returned home Friday to face the Indians after a 5-4 road trip in which much of their success was traced to solid pitching. Outside of outfielder Avisail Garcia and his .423 batting average, the team hasn't hit that well.
"Our relief corp has done a very nice job," manager Rick Renteria said. "Obviously, we have gotten some good starting pitching that has kept us in games the last two weeks. Everybody has been contributing in different ways. That is exactly what a team is. That is what you want them to do. They pick each other up. We are holding our own."
Chicago has scored just 3.5 runs per game and is 13th in the AL with a .217 batting average.
Frazier good to go
Third baseman Todd Frazier has returned to the lineup after dealing with an extended stomach flu bug that caused him to miss six games. During spring training, Frazier missed time with a wrist injury and an oblique strain. He's hitting .111 with one home run and one RBIs in eight games.
"I just got two workouts in, I am pretty much back to where I need to be," Frazier said. "Everything always happens in threes. So this is number three, and it should be smooth sailing ahead. I just have to stay away from my kids and my wife. They are my excuse right now. You just have to stay clean and take care of yourself. I was so weak I could not feel my feet underneath me. I tried coming back too soon. I am ready to go."
Frazier led the team with 40 home runs in 2016. He will make $12 million this season, then is set to become a free agent.
Rodon progressing slowly, steadily
Left-hander Carlos Rodon traveled from Arizona to Chicago for medical and baseball evaluations by the club this weekend. Rodon is dealing with bursitis in his left biceps.
Rodon hasn't yet taken the mound in his rehab.
"We are going to re-evaluate him here," Renteria said. "We will see where he is at. He has not thrown off the mound yet. He is just playing catch, doing all of his exercises. We hope to have an idea after this where we are going with it."
Rodon will need every bit of a month to get back to the big leagues, once he begins his throwing off of the mound.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
