Lopez will get work he needs at alternate site, La Russa says
The fortunes of two pitchers the White Sox acquired from the Washington Nationals in 2016 continued to head in opposite directions this week.
En route to an Opening Day start, Lucas Giolito flirted with a no-hitter in Monday's 7-2 win against the Giants, before giving up two straight two-out hits in the fifth.
Giolito pitched 4⅔ innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts. He also pitched around three walks.
Overall, he said, "I felt pretty good. I felt my stuff was solid, a little out of sync at times. That's where I got frustrated. But overall (it was) good. It was a bit of a grinder day."
Meanwhile, following the game, the Sox announced the team had optioned Reynaldo Lopez to its alternate training site.
Since joining the Sox, Lopez has built a record of 21-31. Although he posted a 3.91 ERA in 2018, he slipped badly in 2019, yielding a major league-leading 110 earned runs.
This spring he was 1-1, pitched in four games, two of them starts, and gave up 11 earned runs in 11 innings.
Sox Manager Tony La Russa said, "In most cases like Reynaldo's, what he needs is extended innings, and the innings aren't there.
"That was true for several guys we sent out, that, to keep them in shape, they're better off going down and working regularly and getting extended."
La Russa said Lopez has worked on "having a real arsenal of weapons, not just his fastball," but also a curve, a slider and a changeup, all of which, the manager said are "making progress.
"Our expectations are he'll go down and keep working and keep making those pieces better."
La Russa said Lopez has value to the club.
"His biggest value to us is being ready to come up when we need somebody," he said.
La Russa said Lopez handled the news well.
"Rick (Hahn) was in there for the conversation, as were the two pitching coaches. So he deserved that kind of importance."
He said, "I think he'll work, because he knows how close he is. If he doesn't take care of his career, nobody can take care of it for him."
More moves: The Sox optioned outfielder Luis González to the club's alternate training site.
The team reassigned pitchers Tayron Guerrero, Alex McRae and Connor Sadzeck and infielder Marco Hernández to the club's minicamp.
The moves leave 36 players in camp, including 16 pitchers, four catchers, 10 infielders and six outfielders.