Gio González finally got his chance to throw a pitch for the team that drafted him. Now he'll get a chance to start for it.
The White Sox on Monday placed Reynaldo López on the 10-day injured list with shoulder soreness, and bench coach Joe McEwing said the team will use González to plug the vacated hole in the starting rotation. González figures to make his first start in a White Sox uniform when the team's three-city road trip takes it to Kansas City this weekend.
Monday night's rainout did nothing to alter the starting-pitching schedule, with Dylan Cease and Carlos Rodón set to pitch in Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. Lucas Giolito would be on track to start the series finale in Ohio on Wednesday. That would set Dallas Keuchel and González up to pitch the first two games against the Kansas City Royals, but the White Sox have a scheduled day off Thursday, which could impact how Rick Renteria decides to line up his starters.
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McEwing said he hoped López could be all healed up by the time his required 10-day stay on the injured list concluded.
"He had a MRI today in Chicago and showed inflammation in his shoulder," McEwing said Monday. "Hopefully, we've got him under some medication, and hopefully the inflammation within the 10 days will resolve."
González relieved López when the young right-hander was removed in the first inning of Sunday's 14-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins. López was tagged for four first-inning runs when Jake Cave hit a grand slam, and he exited with the injury before getting the third out of the inning.
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González came in and got an inning-ending strikeout on his first pitch before suffering some damage of his own, giving up five runs in the second inning. All told Sunday, González gave up six runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out three in 3.2 innings.
González, signed to a free-agent deal during the offseason, was expected to be a part of the White Sox rotation had the season started under normal circumstances back in March. But a months-long delay caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fruitless negotiations between Major League Baseball and the players' union allowed several White Sox pitchers time to recover from Tommy John surgery, adding plenty of pitching depth and most notably giving Rodón the opportunity to be part of the Opening Day rotation.
A healthy Rodón bumped González to the bullpen, but he made just one appearance there before another injury brought him back to the starting group.
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González was not Renteria's lone option to fill in for López. Ross Detwiler, who made 12 starts for the White Sox last season, and rookies Jimmy Lambert and Dane Dunning were candidates, as well. Lambert made the team's Opening Day roster as part of the bullpen and made his major league debut Saturday. Dunning, a highly regarded pitching prospect acquired in the same 2016 trade that brought Giolito and López to the White Sox, is part of the team's player pool training in Schaumburg.
González has made 324 starts in his major league career. In fact, Sunday's multi-inning stint was just his ninth relief appearance as a big leaguer. He started 17 games for the Milwaukee Brewers last season, with a 3.71 ERA in 81 innings.
The White Sox pitching depth was frequently praised in the lead-up to Opening Day. Just three days later, that depth is already being utilized.