White Sox's Lynn could miss first 2 months of season
After limping off the mound in the fourth inning of Saturday night's Cactus League start against the Diamondbacks, White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee.
According to Sox general manager Rick Hahn, Lynn has a slight tear in a tendon near the knee and will have the 30-minute surgery on Tuesday in Chicago.
Lynn is expected to be back throwing off a mound in four weeks and could need another month to get his arm built back up.
Losing the right-hander is a significant loss for the White Sox with the regular season opening Friday at Detroit.
In his first season with the White Sox last year, the 34-year-old Lynn finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting after going 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA over 28 starts.
Lynn missed 10 days late in the regular season with right knee inflammation not long after agreeing to a two-year, $38 million contract extension that includes a club option for 2024.
With Lynn down early, the White Sox's rotation looks like Lucas Giolito in the No. 1 spot followed by Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Dallas Keuchel and either Reynaldo Lopez or newcomer Vince Velasquez.
When asked how his knee felt after making a Cactus League start vs. the Rangers on March 23, Lynn said: "It's still attached."
Sox trade for catcher:
The White Sox made a trade Sunday, but it did not involve Sean Manaea.
Rumored to be interested in the starting pitcher, Manaea wound up being moved from Oakland to San Diego.
The Sox's deal sent catcher Zack Collins to Toronto in exchange for another catcher, Reese McGuire.
McGuire is out of minor-league options and is likely to make the White Sox's roster as Yasmani Grandal's primary backup.
Due to the shortened spring training caused by the 99-day lockout, major-league teams can carry 28 players in April before cutting back to the usual 26 in May.
If the Sox decide to keep three catchers during the opening month, Seby Zavala or Nick Ciuffo could land a roster spot.
The 27-year-old McGuire played in 78 games with the Blue Jays last season and hit .253/.310/.343 with 15 doubles, 1 home run and 10 RBI.
Known for his defensive skills, McGuire did not commit an error over 523 innings caught in 2021 and he threw out 31% (9 of 29) of attempted basestealers.
Over 141 career games with Toronto, the 6-foot, 220-pounder slashed .248/.297/.390 with 9 homers and 26 RBI.
Collins was the White Sox's first-round draft pick in 2016 (No. 10 overall) but he never showed much over parts of the last three seasons.
In 114 career games with the Sox, Collins hit .195/.315/.330 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI.