Signing Gonzalez gives White Sox needed pitching depth

OAKLAND, Calif. - In a perfect world, Chicago White Sox Nos. 4 and 5 starters Mat Latos and John Danks stay healthy, take the baseball every turn and deliver quality outings.

In the real world, Latos and/or Danks might stumble out of the gate and never recover.

That's why the Sox will be keeping a close eye on Erik Johnson and Jacob Turner at Class AAA Charlotte.

And that's why the White Sox agreed to a minor-league contract with Miguel Gonzalez before opening the regular season Monday night against the Athletics.

"We've talked about it a few times, wanting to make sure we have enough depth and enough reinforcements in various positions, and certainly starting pitching is of the utmost priority in terms of having that depth," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "In Miguel, who will report to Charlotte and be part of the Charlotte rotation to begin the year, we get a guy who is proven successful at the big-league level, pitched well in a difficult ballpark in a difficult division for a number of years and potentially gives us another option should one of our guys either have a health issue or underperform."

Gonzalez was released by the Orioles last week. The right-hander was 30-21 with a 3.45 ERA from 2012-14, but he dropped to 9-12 with a 4.91 ERA last year while dealing with elbow, shoulder and groin issues.

Still struggling with fastball velocity this spring, Gonzalez was released and the Orioles reportedly paid $1.1 million of his $5.1 million salary.

"We had sort of mixed reports on the velocity," Hahn said. "Some of it was down early and then it was back to its normal form in the later starts, from what our scouts saw. We'll get to know him a little bit and see if there are certain things we can do to get him back on track."

DH doings:

After posting a disappointing .257/.309/.365 hitting line with 13 homers and 59 RBI last season as the White Sox' regular right fielder, Avisail Garcia was the designated hitter in Monday night's season opener against the A's.

"I don't care where they use me," Garcia said. "I'll DH, play right field, I'll catch or pitch if I have to. I just want to play the way I know I can to thank the White Sox for believing in me."

With Adam LaRoche retired, the Sox will rotate the DH spot.

"(Garcia's) not going to be a set DH," manager Robin Ventura said. "For the first night, that's where we put him. He's going to get shots at playing right field. We'll move Adam (Eaton) around a little more. But everybody's going to go through their periods where they're going to DH. I think it's going to be better for them physically if we can rotate that around."

Catching up:

The White Sox have two new veteran catchers, Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila.

Navarro, a switch-hitter, figures to get the bulk of playing time against left-handed starting pitchers. Avila, a left-handed hitter, figures to play against right-handed starters.

When A's ace righty Sonny Gray was scratched with food poisoning Monday and replaced by lefty Rich Hill, Navarro got the nod.

"We know they were going to switch their pitcher, we were ready for that," manager Robin Ventura said. "You're trying to find the best spot for those guys to go in there. Some of it is going to be that (opposing starters), some of it is going to be physically how they're doing. We just want to make them fresh and get in there."

Navarro and Avila are team-first guys, so don't expect them to complain about playing time.

"Just come ready every day," Navarro said. "That's what my mentality has been my whole career. You have to be ready. You never know when your name is going to be called and you have to be ready when it is."