White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease was placed on the injured list Wednesday with coronavirus symptoms.
Cease has not tested positive but is going on the IL for precautionary reasons, general manager Rick Hahn said. Cease is slated to start Friday against the Red Sox on the first day of a six-game road trip, and hasn’t been ruled out from making that start. He is not required to stay on the IL for the usual 10 days.
“Other than having a couple of symptoms, there is not reason to believe it’s more than that,” Hahn said.
Hahn said there are contingency plans to fill Cease’s turn but wouldn’t say what those are.
Right-handed reliever Zack Burdi was recalled from the Schaumburg training facility.
Cease, 25, is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and nine strikeouts over two starts this season, his third with the Sox.
Burdi, 26, made eight relief appearances with the Sox in 2020 in his major-league debut.
La Russa OK with mound experiment
In an effort to increase offense and decrease strikeouts, MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during Atlantic League games this season.
The pitching rubber will be moved back to 61 feet, 6 inches starting Aug. 3 during the second half of the independent minor league’s season.
“It’s a direct response to the escalating strikeout rate, where you’re giving the hitter approximately one one-hundreth of a second of additional time to decide whether to swing at a pitch, which has the effect just in terms of reaction time of reducing the effective velocity of a pitch by roughly 1.5 mph,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations.
Sox manager Tony La Russa does not object.
“A lot of discussion, creative thinking about making the game more entertaining,” La Russa said. “If you get creative and trying it in the Atlantic league, it’s smart. Going back a foot, see how it plays out.
“I like that we’re being creative. If you look around the others sports, no one is staying exactly the same. You have to be willing to adjust, but you want to balance what you’re adjusting on the effect on the game.”
Tim returns Thursday
La Russa said shortstop Tim Anderson (hamstring strain) will come off the injured list and start at shortstop against the Indians on Thursday.
