April 25--The lack of commitment to John Danks after only three starts shows the White Sox are not messing around.
Danks was in line to start Monday in Toronto, but the Sox instead called up reclamation project Miguel Gonzalez from Triple-A Charlotte and skipped Danks altogether. He's now slated to start in Baltimore on Thursday, and after that it's "to be determined," according to manager Robin Ventura.
That's reason to rejoice for White Sox fans who've patiently been waiting for Danks to return to form after his shoulder surgery in 2012.
Danks is 0-3 with a 6.23 earned-run average, and though he allowed only two earned runs against the Angels in his last start, he walked five over six innings. Right-handed hitters are batting .309 against Danks in 2016, after hitting .294 off him in 2015.
The Sox have given Danks plenty of opportunities, and the most frustrating part is he'll have a good start here and there before falling on his face again. Danks' earned-run average was 4.75 in 2013, 4.74 in 2014 and 4.71 last year, which isn't the kind of incremental improvement the team was looking for from the guy Ken Williams handed a $65 million, five-year contract in 2012.
Danks earns $14.25 million this year, which makes him virtually untradeable. If he doesn't show anything in his next start, the Sox can stick him in the bullpen in a long relief role, as the Cubs did with Edwin Jackson when it became obvious he was never going to succeed as a starter.
Whether Gonzalez, who turns 32 next month, is the long-term answer remains to be seen. He was 9-12 with a 4.91 ERA for the Orioles last year before they waived him near the end of spring training. He made only two starts at Charlotte, allowing three runs over 11 innings, with 10 strikeouts.
But at least the Sox are being proactive. They're off to a great start with the best record in the American League, despite a glaring lack of offense.
Obviously they're not willing to wait for Danks to become a more consistent pitcher, even while he's a popular player in the clubhouse and with the front office.
Ditto for Avisail Garcia, who was benched by Ventura again on Sunday. Ventura didn't rule out sending Garcia to the minors in the future, which would be a big wake-up call for the struggling outfielder who was hyped as a star-in-the-making when he was acquired from the Tigers in 2013 in the three-way deal involving Jake Peavy.
It makes sense to send Garcia down for a bit. Outfielder Jason Coats is hitting .365 with a .977 OPS at Charlotte, and could at least give the Sox a little offense while Garcia gets his act together.
Things are finally looking up on the South Side, and maybe the best part is the Sox are willing to audible, even when it comes to changing the roles of established players.
