White Sox place Keuchel on IL; recall Lopez from Schaumburg

The White Sox placed Dallas Keuchel on the 10-day injured list Thursday, but the move should not be viewed as ominous.

Not yet, at least.

Sox manager Rick Renteria announced Wednesday Keuchel was still dealing with back spasms and was being skipped from Saturday's scheduled start against the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we're going to skip him and get him ready for the Minnesota series,” Renteria said. “He actually came into the office today, said he was feeling better. So he's going to go out there, play some catch, and we'll continue to treat him up and get him ready for his next start.”

Thursday's move is retroactive to Monday, so Keuchel is still on schedule to come off the IL and start against the Twins Sept. 17.

Making sure the veteran left-hander is healthy for the playoffs is the White Sox's top priority.

As for Saturday's game against Detroit, it looks like Reynaldo Lopez is going to get another shot at starting.

Lopez was recalled from the Sox's training facility Thursday. The struggling right-hander is 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA in 4 starts.

In his last outing before being demoted to Schaumburg, Sept. 2 at Minnesota, Lopez was pulled with two outs in the second inning after giving up 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while throwing 53 pitches.

“I feel pretty strong mentally,” Lopez said after the abbreviated outing. “It's just a matter of getting into my rhythm again. I spent a month away, and it's not easy. With all the things that have been happening this year, I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm battling to get into my rhythm and finally find my groove.”

Lopez made an early exit from his first start of the season and missed a month with shoulder inflammation.

The White Sox also need a starting pitcher for Sunday's game against the Tigers. Given their lack of rotation depth, they'll likely use an “opener” out of the bullpen.