Nastrini to make debut tonight
The White Sox are calling up pitching prospect Nick Nastrini, who will make his major-league debut Monday against the Royals.
Nastrini was acquired in the trade that sent pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers. The right-hander had a strong spring training for the Sox, posting a 3.77 ERA in three starts totaling 14⅓ innings. He allowed 10 hits, struck out 11 and walked nine.
Nastrini has struggled with command throughout his career. He walked 37 in 17 games last season at Double-A Tulsa.
‘‘I like his stuff; he’s got talent,’’ Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. ‘‘He’s got great presence. He’s not afraid. There’s guys that come up here and this is the level for them, and there’s guys that come up here and they’ve got to make adjustments after their first or second start. But debuts are debuts.’’
Sox nearing deal with outfielder Pham
The Sox are in ongoing discussions to sign free-agent outfielder Tommy Pham, a major-league source confirmed to the Sun-Times.
Pham, who helped the Diamondbacks reach the World Series last season, likely will sign a minor-league deal. The 36-yearold is one of the best free-agent hitters remaining.
Pham had 16 home runs and 68
RBI in 129 games with the Mets and Diamondbacks last season. He slashed a combined .256/.328/.446.
The Sox have dealt with a plethora of injuries on the hitting front to begin the season. Designated hitter Eloy Jimenez (strained left adductor), third baseman Yoan Moncada (strained left adductor) and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (flexor strain in right hip) have missed time. Those three bats provided most of the power in the Sox’ lineup.
Signing Pham would add a sorely needed bat to a team that scored five runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of Reds. The Sox are last in the majors in runs scored (34), homers (eight) and OPS (.583). Pham has hit at least 20 homers three times in his career.
Benintendi’s struggles
Outfielder Andrew Benintendi has struggled immensely to start the season.
After going 1-for-5 on Sunday, he’s slashing .145/.203/.367. Benintendi, who signed a franchise-record five-year, $75 million contract in 2023, has one multihit game this season. Grifol dropped him to fifth in the lineup Friday before returning him to the two-hole Sunday.
‘‘I believe in Benny,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘I trust Benny. He hasn’t gotten off to the start that he wanted and we needed, but Benny’s got a track record. He sees pitches, and he’s got capabilities of doing some things that I like in the two-hole. We’ll continue to move this thing around, and we’ll see where we find something that we like.’’