Ostrowski: Looking at leading contenders to replace Danks
The White Sox have an astounding 18-1 record in Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Mat Latos starts. So they're 3-9 when anyone else takes the ball. For the most part, those losses aren't due to bad luck.
The Sox decided they'd rather pay John Danks the remaining $11.7 million dollars on his contract to stay away. They prefer a question mark to an 87.1 mph fastball with a 7.25 ERA.
Who is going to replace Danks? "Quite frankly it's going to be a bit of a fluid situation," said general manager Rick Hahn.
What about a trade? Hahn said, "That stuff will heat up more in June and July."
Hahn is right. We aren't even one-fifth of the way into the season. There may be some National League teams that have already identified themselves as sellers, but they aren't in any rush to make trades. Organizations aren't desperate yet.
In the final six days of last year's nonwaiver trade deadline, names like Yoenis Cespedes, Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ben Zobrist were moved. Aug. 1 is over 12 weeks away.
The White Sox are hoping to find their fifth starter internally. Here are the top candidates to replace Danks:
The Public Favorite - Tim Lincecum:
The external option. Executive Vice President Ken Williams was in attendance for The Freak's 41-pitch showcase, along with over 20 other teams. Lincecum hasn't had a sub-4.00 ERA season since 2011, while pitching in the National League and the best pitcher's park, according to Park Factors last year. Signing Lincecum would probably mean spending over $20 million dollars on this position, including the Danks money.
The Actual Favorite - Miguel Gonzalez:
Gonzalez was called up to make his second start on Monday in Texas. In his first start, Toronto's offense roughed him up for five runs on 11 hits in 5⅓ innings. Gonzalez has the experience of 80 starts from 2013-15 with Baltimore, but a 4.91 ERA last year. In Triple-A Charlotte, he's impressed with a 2.65 ERA.
The Contender - Erik Johnson
Johnson was sent back down to the minors after lasting only five innings, allowing 4 runs to Boston on Thursday. In his six starts at the end of the 2015 White Sox season, Johnson has a 3.34 ERA, but his 5.93 FIP hints that those performances weren't all that impressive.
The Dark Horse - Jacob Turner:
Turner's last major league start was for the Cubs in 2014. He has a strong 3.04 ERA in Charlotte, but walking over four batters per nine innings isn't something that pitching coach Don Cooper would tolerate. Turner made his first start with Detroit at the age of 20 and turns 25 later this month.
The Longshot - Carson Fulmer:
Fulmer was the eighth selection in the 2015 MLB Draft. At the Double-A level he struggled in his first three starts, but Fulmer has had a quality start in his last three appearances, with 16 strikeouts and only 3 walks. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Sox's best prospect and the eighth best right handed pitching prospect.
• 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.