White Sox may have eye on Brewers’ Greinke
On Monday, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams didn’t sound overly optimistic about making any more trades in advance of the July 31 nonwaiver deadline.
On Tuesday, FOX Sports.com reported the Sox are still trying hard to land Milwaukee Brewers starter Zack Greinke.
FOX said Williams is using starting pitcher Gavin Floyd as trade bait, either sending the right-hander to the Brewers in a straight-up deal or trading Floyd to another team for prospects and flipping them to Milwaukee for Greinke.
After skipping his last start in order to “recharge his batteries,” Greinke started against the Phillies on Tuesday night and didn’t hurt his value, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 7 innings. He also had 5 strikeouts and hit a home run.
The White Sox were one of several teams that reportedly had a scout in Philadelphia watching Greinke.
Williams said getting injured starter John Danks back in August would be a huge addition for the Sox, but he is always looking to deal.
“You’re not always going to get what you’d like to have, so for us the focus is on playing with what we’ve got,” manager Robin Ventura said. “I don’t think anybody can plan on what’s going to happen. The front office, they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do.”
A.J. out:White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski has a #147;little something with his right rib,#148; according to manager Robin Ventura.Pierzynski didn#146;t play Tuesday night and could sit out Wednesday#146;s series finale against the Twins. Pierzynski injured himself while swinging the bat Monday.#147;We#146;re just making sure we take care of it and it doesn#146;t get any worse,#148; Ventura said. #147;He mentioned it toward the end of (Monday) night#146;s game. He says catching would be fine but he feels it a little bit when he swings, so we#146;re just making sure it doesn#146;t get any worse.#148;Danks update:After playing long toss, John Danks threw 20 fastballs on the side Tuesday and the left-hander said the session went well.#147;About as good as expected,#148; Danks said. #147;Maybe even a little better. It#146;s definitely a big step. Getting on the mound was something I hadn#146;t done in quite a while. All in all, I#146;d say it was a good day. Am I ready to go pitch somewhere? No. This is a necessary step.#148;Danks could throw again Thursday or Friday as he continues to battle back from a strained left shoulder.#147;Hopefully tomorrow it bounces back and that will tell us what we need to know,#148; Danks said. #147;That#146;s been our biggest problem. Every time we get to this point, it#146;s taken me a day or two to go do it again. We#146;re working on strength. It#146;s been a while since I#146;ve thrown. It#146;s going to be a process. We#146;re trying to speed it up the best we can.#148;Lillibridge to Indians:After being traded from the White Sox to the Red Sox on June 24 and then being designated for assignment by Boston on July 16, Brent Lillibridge landed with the Indians on Tuesday in another trade.#147;That#146;s good for him to be able to catch on and be on a big-league roster,#148; manager Robin Ventura said.