The White Sox have designated struggling first baseman and designated hitter Yonder Alonso for assignment, a source confirmed Thursday.
The Sox are off Thursday, and the announcement will be made Friday along with other roster moves.
The move comes a couple of days before Alonso’s charity bowling event in Sunday benefitting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and White Sox Charities.
Alonso, 32, is having the worst season of his career with a .178/.275/.301 hitting line and seven homers in 251 plate appearances. He’s a career .259/.332/.402 hitter with 97 homers and 416 RBI. Two seasons ago, Alonso hit 28 homers with the A’s and Mariners and was an AL All-Star.
The Sox acquired Alonso from the Indians last Dec. 14 in exchange for minor league outfielder Alex Call, a deal that was viewed as an enticement for free agent Manny Machado, Alonso’s brother-in-law.
The Sox may have had Machado in mind when they made the deal but they also expected more production, batting him in the middle of the lineup for the first two months of the season. Alonso never got untracked despite getting — with the exception of brief stays on the bench — repeated opportunities from manager Rick Renteria. Alonso pinch hit and hit into a double play with runners on first and third in his final at-bat Wednesday against the Red Sox in Boston.
Alonso, who has an $8 million contract in 2019 with a $9 million option for next season, is owed about $5 million by the Sox, who have a week to trade, outright or release Alonso.
The Sox will put shortstop Tim Anderson on the injured list Friday and are expected to bring up a pitcher from their farm system to start Friday’s game against the Twins.
