Matt

Thornton

Consider him day-to-day.

Of course, he was also told he’d get a start Thursday. Thornter struggled mightily in relief of Jamie Moyer last night, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in the minors by next weekend.

Bobby Jenks got the night off after his ugly outing Friday. It was Mike MacDougal who did the dirty work tonight, retiring all five batters he faced before Thornton struck out Shin-Soo Choo to end the game. The contest never should have been in doubt, but after Jon Garland was removed with a 10-1 lead, Boone Logan, Brandon McCarthy and Dustin Hermanson combined to give up seven runs in the seventh.

“What we have to do is weigh whatever they’re offering up against our chances for the next season,” Williams said. “If we’re going to move our valuable pieces, it’s going to be for major league-ready talent as they can grow with this nice nucleus in place.” Quentin would appear to offer the most trade value coming off a season that saw him hit 254/.340/.499 to go along with 77 RBI over 118 games. Other possible trade possiblities include pitchers John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Matt Thornton.

Obviously, it’s not what fantasy owners want to hear, and it’s the opposite of what pitching coach Don Cooper said in the Chicago Sun-Times. “No, we are not doing committee,’’ Cooper said. “There will be a set closer.’’ Matt Thornton is still probably the best bet for saves, but Jesse Crain, Addison Reed and Hector Santiago could all be in the mix.

Auditioning for the closer job, perhaps? Santiago didn’t exactly impress, giving up an infield single, a walk and a hard single to load the bases, but he was able to catch a line drive and double off Brian Bogusevic at first base to end the game. The 24-year-old southpaw has only thrown 5 1/3 innings in the big leagues, but he has become a dark horse for the closer role by posting a 0.82 ERA and 13/6 over 11 innings this spring. Matt Thornton, Jesse Crain and Addison Reed are also being considered for the job. White Sox manager Robin Ventura has yet to give an indication where he’s leaning, so we might have to wait until the first save opportunity to find out.

Santiago blew his second save of the season Wednesday in six chances, and his ERA is up to 8.53. It sounds like he’ll be out there again for the next save chance, though, despite Addison Reed (0.00 ERA, 10 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings) and Matt Thornton (0.93 ERA, eight strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings) proving to be dominant in the early going. We don’t anticipate Santiago’s reign lasting much longer.

So much for Reed’s shot at closing. The runs allowed were Chicago’s hard-throwing young righty’s first of the season, but have almost certainly set him back in his race for saves with Matt Thornton and Hector Santiago. Reed should be able to put himself back in the mix if he strings together 2-3 scoreless outings, however.

It makes sense, as manager Robin Ventura recently referred to Thornton and Jesse Crain are the “best options” for the job, and Crain is out with an oblique injury. Addison Reed is the closer of the future, but the Sox are expected to bring him along in a setup role first. Ventura said he might not officially name a closer until the team’s last two exhibition games.

That sound you hear is fantasy owners groaning. It appeared that the White Sox had settled on Chris Sale as their closer, but the situation is a mess again now that the young left-hander has been moved back to the starting rotation. We still think Reed is the best bet of the bunch, but Ventura will make decisions based on matchups for now.