The acquisition of Alex Rios creates a unique problem for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen once Rios arrives.
“The lineup, that’s going to be my headache, but a good one,” Guillen said Monday night of the addition of Rios and trying to maximize his offense and keep his players sharp.
Rios wasn’t expected to join the Sox until Tuesday, but the Sox have another urgent matter.
It’s their starting pitching, which hasn’t been as dependable recently after John Danks and Mark Buehrle were roughed up in starts and Carlos Torres and Jose Contreras each failed to pitch five innings in their last outings.
Gavin Floyd, however, hasn’t had those problems. Floyd had allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, and he breezed through the first three innings Monday night before Ken Griffey Jr. broke up a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the fourth.
Starting pitching has fallen further under the microscope after the acquisition of 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy, who will make at least two minor league rehabilitation starts before making his debut.
As of now, there are no plans to pull Contreras out of the Sox’s rotation despite his fourth consecutive loss Sunday.
The Sox won’t need a fifth starter until August 18, but there are some interesting scenarios.
Freddy Garcia is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday night for Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox have discussed the possibility of moving Garcia’s start back by a day or two, which would put him in line to make that Aug. 18 start against the Royals, provided he can maintain his velocity in the low 90s.
“It’s really a test about his arm strength and command of his pitches,” pitching coach Don Cooper said.
Another possibility is Daniel Hudson, who has made the jump from low Class A to Charlotte this season and is a combined 12-5 at four levels.
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mgonzales@tribune.com
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