White Sox recall Schultz as a multi-inning relief option

CLEVELAND — Noah Schultz said he learned “a ton” about himself earlier this season during his time with the White Sox.

“There’s a lot of things I didn’t really realize, like the whole lifestyle of it,” Schultz said Tuesday afternoon at Progressive Field. “That was something that I’m really excited to be back into it.”

The Sox recalled the 2022 first-round draft pick from Triple-A Charlotte ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Schultz went 3-9 with a 6.06 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) in his first stint with the Sox. He had 59 strikeouts and 31 walks in 65 1/3 innings. The left-hander made his major-league debut on April 14 and was optioned to Charlotte on Aug. 8.

“Excited to be here, awesome to see the guys again,” Schultz said. “Just really excited.”

The Oswego East product could see time as a multi-inning reliever.

“Really excited that Noah’s back with us,” manager Will Venable said Tuesday afternoon. “I think you’re going to see him potentially out of the bullpen over the next couple of days and then kind of take it from there. Kind of how we’re operating now is just kind of day-to-day, really with everybody. We’ll get him in the bullpen today and tomorrow, see what we’ve got, too.

“You’re looking at spots in the game where you can envision a time through the order at least. Kind of a multi-inning weapon that we have kind of adopted that approach with some of our guys out of the bullpen, where you get them to go through the lineup one time, two/three innings, it could be an effective weapon.”

The Sox wouldn’t shy away from bringing Schultz in mid-inning with some traffic on the bases.

“I think we can say that I would prefer (Schultz entering in a clean inning),” Venable said. “Whether that happens or not, you never know. Really, I think at this point there’s not going to be any rules or restrictions that we’re going to be bound to.

“Obviously my job is to put these guys in positions to succeed so we’ll evaluate all those factors and make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure he has a good outing.”

Schultz was looking forward to any test.

“Open for whatever,” he said. “Open to doing whatever to help the team to win. It’s such an important time of the year. Doing obviously whatever I can to help contribute.”

Schultz allowed three runs in 13 innings in three August starts with the Knights. In two September starts, he has a 1.04 ERA.

“Just commanding and executing the pitches that I needed to,” Schultz said. “We changed the changeup grip a little bit. I’m really happy with how that’s progressing. Really happy with where we’re at.”

Venable said Schultz was “doing a really good job making some adjustments” while with Charlotte.

“There’s some things mechanical, some things on the rubber he’s been doing,” Venable said. “Usage stuff. He’s gotten to a really good spot where he’s been really efficient. He’s had an understanding of how to get into the zone, getting some more swing and miss. He’s in a really good spot.”

Schultz has pitched a combined 110 innings this season, a career high, between the major and minor leagues. He’s ready for more, and to aid the Sox as they strive for the postseason.

“If you told me I was at 40 innings, I’d say that’s how I feel right now,” Schultz said. “My body feels really good.

“I’m just ready for whatever, whatever role that may be and I’m excited for it.”

In Tuesday’s corresponding move, the Sox designated pitcher José Urquidy for assignment. The right-hander went 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA in six appearances (one start) with the Sox after being called up from Charlotte on Aug. 14. Acquired in a July trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his top outing came Aug. 19 against the Cubs. He struck out eight and allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in a bulk role that afternoon at Wrigley Field.

“Urquidy was awesome and that was a really tough one,” Venable said. “We talked about it, any way we could keep him in the organization. But he was amazing here.

“One, just the human being. He was a great teammate. He fit right into this group immediately. He had a positive attitude toward everything. And we asked a bunch of different things from him. He pitched in different roles, sometimes he didn’t pitch at all for stretches and he was just a positive contributor in every way and every step of the way.”