Tommy Pham walked into Wednesday as the kind of move that can get a front office second-guessed before the first pitch is even thrown. He hadn’t played all season, he was coming off a recent calf strain, and yet the White Sox handed him a cleanup spot in the biggest game they’d played so far.
Then he changed everything with one swing.
Pham crushed a three-run homer in the fifth inning, giving Chicago the lead and turning what looked like a wild “Hail Mary” activation into a move that paid off instantly. It was his first hit of the year, and it came at exactly the moment the White Sox needed something loud to happen.
The decision to bring Pham up came after he made an elevator pitch about why he should be activated to White Sox general manager Chris Getz the night before. Chicago went with it, and in a game with the AL Central hanging in the balance, they put him right in the middle of the order.
That setup mattered. The White Sox were trying to hold off the Cleveland Guardians, with Wednesday’s series finale carrying major division implications.
A Chicago win would push the White Sox to a 1.5-game lead, and they also held the tiebreaker. A Cleveland win would move the Guardians back into first place, by half a game.
Pham stepped in for the struggling Munetaka Murakami, who got the day off, and delivered the kind of swing that can make a risky call look brilliant in a hurry.
In Other News...
Chris Getz Hinted At A White Sox Draft Reset Fans Should Watch
The White Soxs scouting operation is in the spotlight again after amateur scouting director Mike Shirley resigned amid an internal investigation tied to allegations of verbal harassment involving inappropriate racial and sexist comments. Shirley had been placed on administrative leave in August after an anonymous tip, and his departure came after an HR investigation, leaving another significant change at a department that plays a major role in the clubs long-term rebuild.
General manager Chris Getz has already hinted that the scouting setup may not look the same going forward, though he has not gone into detail about Shirleys exit. For a team trying to reshape its pipeline and restore some stability, the next move in that department matters almost as much as the departure itself, because the White Sox are now left to decide how they want to structure the group responsible for finding the next wave of talent. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Prospects Headed To Arizona Could Shape Chicagos Next Wave
The White Sox have settled on the group headed to the Arizona Fall League, and it gives a useful snapshot of where some of the organizations next interesting names stand. Pitchers Nick Altermatt, Jonathan Clark, Pierce George, Mathias LaCombe and Garrett Wright will be joined by catcher Grant Magill, infielders Anthony DePino and Colby Shelton and outfielder Caleb Bonemer, a mix that reflects both depth and a few players pushing to separate themselves from the pack.
For Chicago, the Fall League is less about the standings than the stage. Relievers Pierce George and Mathias LaCombe, along with Bonemer in the outfield, are among the prospects worth tracking after recent minor league showings, and this next stretch will let them test themselves against other top young talent. It is the kind of assignment that can quietly shape how a farm system is viewed, especially for a club still building its next wave. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Get A Colson Montgomery Scare At The Worst Time
Colson Montgomery gave the White Sox a scare in the middle of a game against the Guardians when he was hit on the forearm by a pitch and later left with a left wrist contusion. The good news came quickly after the game, when Chicago announced that X-rays were negative and Montgomery was listed day-to-day, but anytime a young player exits with a wrist issue, it tends to hang over the clubhouse for a bit.
Montgomerys timing hardly could be worse for a White Sox team trying to keep its playoff hopes alive, especially with the infielder already having a tough season at the plate. Chicago has been trying to piece together offense wherever it can find it, and now it has to wait and see how much time Montgomery might miss before figuring out what his absence could mean in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]