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Sports

Clint Frazier, once an upside signing, is designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs

NEW YORK — Clint Frazier fit the mold of what the Chicago Cubs roster could have used this year.For a big-league roster that needs an overhaul to become a contender again, Frazier represented upside. When the Cubs signed the outfielder to a one-year deal in December, Frazier figured to be in the mix for playing time, a chance for the organization to unlock his full potential and consistency that had evaded the 2013 first-round pick (fifth overall). Aside from Frazier’s age (27), he would be under team control through 2024 because of his remaining arbitration years.AdvertisementIf the Cubs found something in Frazier, he would provide low-cost offense and allow them to address other lineup needs. Frazier’s time Chicago didn’t play out that way, however. The Cubs designated Frazier for assignment before Friday’s series opener against his former team, the New York Yankees. It was a corresponding 40-man roster move for right-hander Chris Martin to come off the restricted list.Frazier hit .216 with three doubles, no home runs, one RBI, a .356 on-base percentage and 87 OPS+ in 19 games with the Cubs. An appendectomy sidelined Frazier for more than a month.AdvertisementManager David Ross said Frazier was upset and emotional when he received the news.Cubs pinch hitter Clint Frazier doubles against the Brewers in the seventh inning on April 7, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)“It’s a spot where we haven’t been able to give him real opportunities to watch him succeed right now,” Ross said. “I think he believes in his baseball skills, which we do too. It’s just one of those really tough decisions we have to make sometimes which stink and nobody wants to make those. It’s part of this business.”Rookie Christopher Morel’s emergence over the last three weeks and his ability to play center field lessens the need for a fifth outfielder. Right fielder Seiya Suzuki (strained left ring finger) appears on track to come off the injured list this weekend, but as of Friday, he was not ready to return. Ross said it feels like a day-to-day situation, but “it’s a slow process right now.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Suzuki took batting practice Friday, and the Cubs will see how he feels Saturday. The issue remains how Suzuki’s finger feels when hitting.“Like, how much pain we can tolerate and how much we want to push it and is there any real damage that we can do long term with pushing it,” Ross said. “Right now I think we’re testing all boundaries.”Frazier’s time might have been running out anyway as the Cubs will need a roster move once Suzuki is ready.“His ability to show what he’s capable of, that hasn’t really panned out,” Ross said. “With how our roster is constructed it just was really tough to find him a spot. We all believe that Clint Frazier has got a lot of really good baseball still. … Him getting the opportunity to go out there and prove it is the hard part right now.“Sometimes it’s the big picture from the front-office standpoint and day to day from my standpoint.”AdvertisementThere is, of course, the Jason Heyward question: How does he fit on this roster over a young, less proven outfielder with potential upside when the Cubs are looking to the future? Clearly the Cubs are not inclined to part ways with Heyward at this time.Asked about Heyward on Friday, Ross said the veteran will get at-bats against right-handers. He started in right field Friday with Yankees right-hander Luis Severino on the mound. Heyward hit his first home run of the season on a 1-2 pitch from Severino in the fifth inning to tie the game. It marked his second extra-base hit of the game.

Sports

‘Trust your gut, you don’t cover your butt’: Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa defends his controversial decision

One of Tony La Russa’s managerial philosophies is “trust your gut, you don’t cover your butt.”“If you make moves to cover your butt, and they usually don’t work, and you get fired, you’ll never know if you’re good enough,” the Chicago White Sox manager said before Friday’s game against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.AdvertisementThose were lessons passed along to him from player/manager/executive Paul Richards. And it’s advice La Russa offers young managers.“If you make the decision and it doesn’t work, somebody is going to say it’s a bad decision,” La Russa said. “Don’t worry about covering your butt. Don’t worry about it. Because you can’t. It actually frees you to do what you think is right.”AdvertisementA key decision during Thursday’s 11-9 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers became a topic of national debate. A day later, La Russa said he was “even more surprised” by the conversations.[ [Don’t miss] Column: Tony La Russa’s intentional walk call generates disdain and makes the Chicago White Sox the talk of baseball ]The Sox trailed 7-5 in the sixth when Freddie Freeman to took second base on Bennett Sousa’s wild pitch. The ball made the count 1-2 as the left-hander Sousa faced right-handed-hitting Trea Turner.La Russa elected to intentionally walk Turner, bringing up the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy. He hit a three-run homer to left.“Since then, somebody sent me some stats about what Turner hits with 1-2 counts,” La Russa said Friday. “He’s like the third- or fourth-best hitter in baseball over the past three years (fourth with a .265 average since 2021, according to MLB Network). I mean, we all know that. And Muncy’s a very tough hitter, but you know, he didn’t have it so far in the first half (slashing .150/.327/.263 in 41 games entering Thursday). He’s not having that type of year. If you pitch to himー and I know the answerー pitch to him and Turner hits a homer, is anyone going to say to me, ‘Face Muncy?’ And the answer was yes.“I just chock that one up to, that’s taking the outcome too far. Because the reasoning was, there’s no way. I didn’t even hesitate. Saw the ball was going back (to Sousa after the wild pitch), ‘Hey, four (calling for the intentional walk).’ And if I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I don’t think so on that one.”La Russa said the call had more to do with Turner, who entered Thursday slashing .303/.357/.482 in 56 games.“(Sousa has) been good against left-handed hitters,” La Russa said. “He’s been good against right-handed hitters. But mostly, it’s Turner. Turner is a tough hitter with no strikes, one strike, two strikes, he shorts up and he’s got all kinds of ways to put the ball in play and hurt you. It’s mostly about Turner. Now, if it had been a right-handed pitcher, yeah, I probably would have tried to make a pitch.”[ [Don’t miss] Lance Lynn is in line to make his 1st start of the season Tuesday for the Chicago White Sox: ‘He’s good to go’ ]La Russa said there is a process to slowing the game down from the dugout.Advertisement“If you play the ‘what if’ game, it’s amazing how much you can slow the game of baseball down,” he said. “You can really, you have two, three, four minutes because you are ‘if this, if that, if this, if that.’ Nothing usually happens so fast that you haven’t. You can win 10-0 or lose 10-0 and be worn out at the end of the day because you’ve been ‘what-iffing.’ It really slows the game down.“Muncy hadn’t been doing anything. He already had a big hit against (starter Dylan) Cease (with a two-run double in the fifth) so he’s feeling better. I’m always fascinated, and that’s part of the reason I’m still here. I really embrace the excitement of making those decisions. If it don’t go right, I have enough scabs. I can take it.”

Sports

Lance Lynn is in line to make his 1st start of the season Tuesday for the Chicago White Sox: ‘He’s good to go’

Chicago White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn is in line to make his first start of the season Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.“My understanding is he’s good to go Tuesday, and I’m excited about it,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said before Friday’s game against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field. “We’re excited about it.”AdvertisementLynn has been out since he hobbled off the mound in an April 2 Cactus League game after throwing a pitch to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll. He underwent right knee surgery to repair a torn tendon three days later.White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn delivers against the Red Sox on Sept. 12, 2021, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)Lynn made three starts during a rehab assignment for Triple-A Charlotte, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and eight strikeouts. He allowed 10 runs on 15 hits in 10 innings.AdvertisementThe right-hander went 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 28 starts last season, his first with the Sox, and placed third in Cy Young Award voting.That roster move is likely in the coming days.Prior to tonight’s series opener vs. Texas, the #WhiteSox optioned infielder/outfielder Gavin Sheets to Class AAA Charlotte and recalled right-handed pitcher Jimmy Lambert from Charlotte.— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 10, 2022

The Sox made a pair of moves before Friday’s game, optioning first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets to Charlotte and recalling pitcher Jimmy Lambert from the Knights.Sheets has a .204/.268/.328 slash line with five doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs in 44 games.“You can see on the field or his at-bats, he wasn’t himself and you watch the work that he’s doing and you see his frustration,” La Russa said. “He just kept pressing. He’s got all the quality you look for. He’s got the makings of a real hitter, a productive hitter.“We just think the timing was right. We can use the extra arm and it works well for Gavin and I think he’ll get it fixed because we need that balance that he brings us.”La Russa said Sheets will be “just tweaking what he’s doing” with Charlotte.“He’s not far off,” La Russa said. “This is the worst place to try to — even if you’re a pitcher — working on something. Big-league pitchers, big-league hitters. No mercy.”AdvertisementLambert entered Friday 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA and seven strikeouts in three games (two starts) this season with the Sox. He was 0-3 with a 9.24 ERA and 12 strikeouts in five starts with Charlotte.