Ostrowski: Chicago White Sox are buyers, but how much do they need?
The Chicago White Sox are going for it, and they know they need pitching. What they don't know is if they need to add one or two starters to their rotation.
Mat Latos and Miguel Gonzalez are the starting pitchers in question, even though Carlos Rodon's 4.73 ERA is the highest of the group.
Latos has a 7.84 ERA over his last 4 starts. He has allowed 18 earned runs and 5 home runs in that span, matching John Danks' 4 starts. Latos' 11.2-percent strikeout rate is by far the lowest of his career. Soft grounders and bloop hits are now finding holes, which wasn't the case in April.
If the Sox were willing to move on from Danks when they were paying him nearly $16 million dollars, common sense says that Latos and his $3 million are on a short leash.
Gonzalez has given up 3 runs or fewer in 3 of his 4 starts. Saturday's 6-inning effort was his first home outing. He's earned more opportunities as the team's fifth starter … for now.
Tim Lincecum officially signed with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. If he had chosen the South Side, the debate would be whether he would have replaced Latos or Gonzalez.
Teams usually are very reluctant to announce that they're buyers before hitting the 50-game mark in a season. The Sox sent a message to their fans and the rest of the league this week.
"We're prepared to make a big move today if it presents itself," said general manager Rick Hahn. He stressed the same urgency the Sox started the year with. "A lot of teams don't like to make those moves until June or July, but we're having dialogue right now hoping that something comes together more quickly than that."
That sounds very exciting, but chances are the trade market for a starting pitcher won't get your juices flowing. Last year's deadline included deals for David Price, Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir and Mike Leake. Hamels was the only player who wasn't a rental. It took an eight-player trade to move him to the Texas Rangers.
How does Andrew Cashner, Doug Fister, Rich Hill, Jered Weaver or a rehabbing C.J. Wilson sound? That's the list of pitchers with expiring contracts on clubs that probably will be sellers.
The longer the Tigers stay in fourth place, the better for the White Sox. Detroit is the other team in the AL Central that needs help in the rotation. They have three starters with at least a 5.49 ERA.
The Sox are going through their struggles. They've lost their last eight non-Chris Sale games. But they can't go back on their promise now.
• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.