The White Sox made another bullpen adjustment before their series with the Twins, sending Jonathan Cannon back to the Charlotte Knights and bringing Tyler Davis back into the mix.
Cannon’s stint in the majors was brief, and the move back to Triple-A comes after a shaky run in Charlotte, where his ERA sat above 5.00. Still, the White Sox clearly valued having a pitcher with big league experience on hand during their recent stretch against the Texas Rangers. Will Venable wasted no time using him on Wednesday, turning to Cannon with a 10-2 lead in the top of the seventh after Sean Burke and Sean Newcomb had already covered 6.0 innings.
Cannon finished the game from there, allowing 2 earned runs on four hits while striking out four. It was a decent outing on paper, but not exactly the kind of clean, dominant appearance that would make it easy for the club to keep him around.
The other roster wrinkle involved Rikku Nishida, who was sent back to Triple-A after being added temporarily while Andrew Benintendi went on the bereavement list earlier this week. Benintendi has not yet been officially announced as available for the series opener Friday, though the timing of Nishida’s move points toward a return. A player must spend at least three days on the bereavement list, so he cannot be activated until Friday.
Davis is now back with the White Sox bullpen after being optioned to Triple-A on July 13. The 27-year-old right-hander has appeared in 24 games this season and thrown 26.1 innings, with a 4.10 ERA. His last major league outing before the demotion came against the Athletics, when he worked 2.0 innings and allowed one hit and a walk.
His profile is built around a mid-90s four-seamer and a slider, and he has done a decent job of preventing hitters from squaring him up. The issue has been command. Davis has issued 15 walks against 22 strikeouts in the majors this season, and his time in Charlotte was rough at first, with a 6.65 ERA over 22 games.
There are signs of a better stretch, though. Davis has four scoreless outings in his last five appearances, and he has also been much better at keeping runners off base during that run. That’s the version the White Sox are hoping to see if they need him against Minnesota.
Even with Davis back, the bullpen picture still looks fluid. Chris Murphy is on a rehab assignment, and the White Sox have shown plenty of willingness to keep moving pieces around. With the Twins series here, they’re continuing to sort through arms and see what sticks.
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White Sox September Call-Ups May Not Bring The Help Fans Expect
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For fans hoping the extra spots will deliver an immediate jolt, the reality may be a little more modest. The White Sox could lean on those call-ups mostly as late-game substitutes or pinch runners rather than as everyday difference-makers, which says plenty about where the roster stands right now. Still, with the division race in progress, even a couple of useful bench pieces can matter, and September gives Chicago a chance to see which young players are ready for a bigger look. [Read more 🡒]