Chicago White Sox add Morneau, Danish, subtract Latos

Take solace, Chicago White Sox fans. General manager Rick Hahn is one of you, and he is trying to ease your pain.

"Just like everyone in this room and everyone watching the games or listening to what you guys are putting out there or writing is fundamentally a fan, we're no different from that," Hahn said before Thursday night's game against the Washington Nationals at U.S. Cellular Field. "You get emotional, you get angry, you want to be proactive and fix it as quickly as you can, especially you're in a position where potentially you have the ability to fix it. But we feel the same frustration, the same angst, the same desire to get this thing right as quickly as possible."

Very little has gone right since the Sox roared out to a 23-10 start, but that hasn't stopped Hahn from trying to improve the roster.

After acquiring veteran starter James Shields in a trade from the San Diego Padres on Saturday, the White Sox signed first baseman/designated hitter Justin Morneau to a one-year, $1 million contract on Thursday.

The Sox also released starting pitcher Mat Latos and purchased right-hander Tyler Danish's contract from Class AA Birmingham.

Let's start with Morneau.

The White Sox's sluggish offense can use some left-handed pop, and the good news is Morneau is a career .282 hitter with 335 doubles, 241 home runs and 960 RBI over 13 seasons with the Twins, Pirates and Rockies.

Morneau also hit .319 for Colorado in 2014, winning the National League batting title.

The bad news is Morneau is still recovering from December surgery to repair the primary flexor in his left elbow, and he is not expected to join the Sox until mid-July.

"I've started swinging, taking dry swings and everything is progressing as it should be," the 35-year-old Morneau said. "Keep passing those steps as we go. But it's reacted better than I thought it was going to after having the surgery. I'm happy with the way things have gone so far."

Why sign Morneau in early June when he can't play for over a month?

"At this time, we saw the ability to potentially address one of our needs in a manner that didn't preclude other acquisitions, whether it was from an economic standpoint or from a prospect standpoint, there being no prospects involved in this deal," Hahn said. "In Justin we're getting a proven professional hitter, a guy who has the ability to get on base with a little bit of pop and hopefully will fit in nicely in the middle of that lineup.

"In some ways, it's a (July 31) trade deadline acquisition that we're banking now as we continue the search for other acquisitions."

Latos signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the White Sox a week before spring training and looked like a great bargain early.

Over his last 7 starts, Latos had a 7.46 ERA.

"At the time of the Shields acquisition, we talked about wanting to create a little more dependability in the rotation, a little more length from the starters," Hahn said. "Mat got off to a very fine start after struggling in the spring. Over the last six, maybe seven starts, we started to see a little bit from him that was more similar to what we saw in March as opposed to the better results we saw in April."

Miguel Gonzalez takes Latos' spot in the starting rotation.

White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet Plus today; WGN Saturday; Comcast SportsNet Sunday

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Pitching matchups: The Sox's Chris Sale (9-2) vs. Ian Kennedy (4-4) today at 7:10 p.m.; Jose Quintana (5-6) vs. Chris Young (2-6) Saturday at 1:10 p.m.; TBA vs. Danny Duffy (1-1) Sunday at 1:10 p.m.

At a glance: The White Sox should have plenty of motivation against the Royals. At Kansas City in late May, the Sox led the Royals in three straight games and lost all of them. The biggest collapse came on May 28, when K.C. scored 7 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the White Sox 8-7. The Royals hit the South Side in a bad state. They've lost seven in a row and have scored just 4 total runs in their last six games. Sale has lost his last two decisions, and the ace lefty has allowed 12 earned runs on 25 hits in 16.2 innings over his last three starts. Carlos Rodon (sore neck, arm) is expected to return to the rotation and start vs. the Royals on Sunday.

Next: Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field, Monday-Wednesday

- Scot Gregor