advertisement

Saladino off to solid all-around start with Chicago White Sox

With the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline less than two weeks away, several veteran White Sox players could soon be on the move.

It also looks like one young player - infielder Tyler Saladino - is at the beginning of a long run with the Sox.

"He's done enough that you can put him in a lot of different places," manager Robin Ventura said. "But I think when you watch him, your first thing is he just knows where to be and what to do. He doesn't look out of place anywhere you put him on the field and he probably could catch if you needed him to."

Hitting is actually the most important thing Saladino has done since joining the White Sox in time for a July 10 game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

After going 2-for-7 in Saturday's loss to the Royals at U.S. Cellular Field, Saladino is batting .304.

A natural shortstop, Saladino has taken over at third base for the Sox.

While he is off to a promising start with the Sox, the 25-year-infielder is not looking too far ahead.

"Just competing," Saladino said. "That kind of takes care of everything for you. Doing my homework and making sure I prepare the same way I always do. But then when you get out on the field, just compete."

The White Sox are carrying only six relief pitchers. After Saturday's marathon against the Royals, they are expected to call up another bullpen arm.

That would mean Saladino, Conor Gillaspie, Emilio Bonifacio or Gordon Beckham would have to be moved off the 25-man roster.

Nothing is official, but Saladino is sure to stay put.

"It's been good so far," he said. "I've been able to put some good swings on the ball, have decent at-bats and make some plays on defense. I just handle myself out there. At the end of the day, it's their decision, so that's nothing I'm giving much thought. It's one of those things you don't control."

Victory in defeat:

Even though he took the loss Saturday after yielding Lorenzo Cain's home run leading off the 13th inning, Sox reliever Dan Jennings pitched well and his 3⅔ innings were a career high.

"If you get people out it's a lot easier to keep going as opposed to if you're struggling," Jennings said. "I felt like I was throwing the ball well, I was still hitting spots, so as long as I kept doing that I felt like I could keep going."

Close call:

The Royals have the American League's best bullpen, and they are 47-0 this season when leading after 8 innings.

But Kansas City had to sweat one out Saturday after closer Greg Holland gave up a 2-run double to J.B. Shuck with two outs in the ninth inning.

Shuck's latest clutch hit tied the game at 6 and the Royals won 7-6 in 13 innings.

"We always just try to get the lead so that bullpen can come in and shut things down," Lorenzo Cain said. "Unfortunately, Holly gave up a few, but that's going to happen. Things like that are going to happen all the time, so we stayed behind him, continued to fight and we just got the win at the end. That's all that matters."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.