Tagged: Charlie Leesman

White Sox Make the First of Their Roster Moves

Coming into Spring Training the White Sox carried 54 players on their roster, and as of yesterday they knocked it down to 47 players.  This is just the first of several moves the Sox will make in the next two weeks.

According to WhiteSox.com, “the White Sox optioned left-hander Charlie Leesman to Triple-A Charlotte, optioned outfielders Jared Mitchell and Trayce Thompson to Double-A Birmingham and reassigned catcher Miguel Gonzalez, right-handers Deunte Heath and Omar Poveda, left hander Scott Snodgress and outfielder Keenyn Walker to Minor League camp.”

Gonzalez, Poveda, Snodgress, and Walker were non-roster invitees by the White Sox coming into camp.  Leesman, Mitchell, Thompson, and Heath are on the 40-man roster for the Sox.

It’s possible throughout the season that there could be a Major League appearance by Mitchell, Leesman, and Heath, especially the latter two pending on injuries to the bullpen.

These moves now leave the Sox with 47 players in Major League camp.  The White Sox now have 23 pitchers, 14 infielders, four catchers, six outfielders left in camp.

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White Sox Shut Out in Spring Opener

Chris Sale and the White Sox opened the spring training part of their schedule today against their in house neighbor, the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch in Arizona.

Sale’s fastball looked great in his season debut. It was so good that he started out throwing fastballs on the first 8 pitches of the game with good command. He ended up with 42 pitches thrown in the game when he left with two outs in the third inning. His stat line had four strike outs and only one hit given up against the everyday line-up of the Dodgers.

Adam Eaton’s White Sox debut went well as he went one for one with a single and a walk. He seemed very patient and willing to take pitches which will be important if he stays in the lead-off spot throughout the season.

Both Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo looked like they just wanted to crush the ball in their first appearance of the season. Abreu swung through a pitch so hard he fell off balance and ended up in the opposite batter’s box, while Viciedo spun around in one of his at-bats. Abreu went hitless with a fly out and a ground out.  Viciedo managed to take a fastball to the opposite field for a single, and reached for a pitch which he drove to deep right for an out.

A double down the left field line and a check swing dribbler back to the pitcher are how Matt Davidson celebrated his White Sox debut.

In the first game of his retirement campaign, Paul Konerko went hitless and didn’t look comfortable in the batter’s box. The Dodgers, in both at-bats jammed Konerko inside with fastballs and he wasn’t able to do much with them. He ended the day after the 4th inning with a first pitch ground out to third and a fly out to the first baseman in foul territory.

Donnie Veal, Mitchell Boggs, and Charlie Leesman looked decent in the spring debuts. The three relievers combined to give up one hit in three innings of work with two strike outs by Leesman. It wasn’t until Jake Petricka and Omar Poveda came into the game that the Dodgers started scoring.

All in all some players had their good day today and others didn’t. That’s what spring training is for though is working on your fundamentals and getting the kinks out.