Farquhar excited for 'special opportunity' with White Sox as Class AA pitching coach
It was always in the back of his mind, but it moved to the forefront in June after he was released by the Yankees from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and got in the car for the long ride home.
"At that point, we (family) drove across the country from Scranton to California," Danny Farquhar said. "You have a lot of time to reflect and you realize it's time to move on, and move on to the next stage in my career. It's something I've wanted to do for some time now. It wasn't an overnight decision."
Farquhar made international headlines last season when he pitched for the White Sox and collapsed in the dugout at Guaranteed Rate Field after an April relief stint against the Astros. He was taken to Rush Medical Center where, after further testing, doctors revealed Farquhar suffered from a brain hemorrhage, which was caused from a ruptured brain aneurysm.
Now he's excited for the next step.
On Aug. 7, he'll report to Class AA Birmingham for his first day as a minor league pitching coach with the Sox.
"It's a very special opportunity I've been given," Farquhar said. "I'm really excited for it. It's one of those things where they are letting me dip my foot in the water in 2019. They are going to send me to Birmingham to learn from (manager) Omar (Vizquel) and (pitching coach Richard) Dotson and all the other coaches out there.
"It is just to see what the other side is about. I want to get my foot in the door and see what I like to do, and it almost seems like they are very open to my feelings on the coaching side so it's a great working relationship we have."
Farquhar reached out to White Sox general manager Rick Hahn about a coaching opportunity.
"I loved my time there," said the 32-year-old Farquhar, who pitched in 23 games for the Sox in 2017-18. "I loved how they treated me through my injury. I loved even in the offseason when they chose not to renew my contract, it's a business, I completely understand it. And I love them for it and I'm happy to be back."
Farquhar is also happy to be alive after the brain aneurysm.
"There's definitely the down, waking up in the ICU and just realizing like holy cow, you just had a life-changing event and I'm awake there," he said. "They are like 'Hey we don't know if you will be able to play. We are not sure how you are going to be.' And obviously there's the highs, when I threw out the first pitch with the White Sox last year and I'm back on the baseball field playing baseball again.
"You have your lows again where I get released and everything gets put into perspective. It's hard to kind of like really, truly put it out there for people. I definitely do have a greater appreciation for just how short our life is and how quickly things can come to an end."
Reed down:
After going 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts in Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Mets, first baseman/designated hitter AJ Reed was optioned to Class AAA Charlotte.
In 134 games with the Sox after being claimed off waivers from the Astros Reed was 6-for-44 (.136) with 21 strikeouts.
Cordell up:
The Sox placed third baseman Yoan Moncada on the 10-day injured list Thursday. Moncada has a Grade 1 right hamstring strain and is expected to miss two weeks.
Outfielder Ryan Cordell came up from Class AAA Charlotte to take Moncada's roster spot.