
White Sox acquire INF Gage Workman in a trade with the Cubs
Associated Press
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Chicago White Sox acquired infielder Gage Workman in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
The White Sox sent cash to the Cubs for Workman, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday. Infielder Nick Maton was designated for assignment by the South Siders to make room on their roster.
'Really excited about the athlete,' White Sox manager Will Venable said of Workman. 'Some pop on the left side of the plate, and excited to see what he can do. Some defensive versatility. So you can see him against some right hand pitching. You can see him come off the bench and run, come off the bench and play defense. So, yeah, excited to see what he can do.'
Workman, 25, was a Rule 5 draft pick from Detroit in December. Under the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, the players must stay on the big league roster all of next season or clear waivers and be offered back to their original organization for $50,000.
Workman appeared in nine games with the NL Central-leading Cubs, going 3 for 14 with two RBIs.
'He was in a tough spot,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'I think Rule 5 picks are always in a tough spot, especially on this team, on kind of the expectations of this team. In a lot of ways you could say he did not get the appropriate opportunity. We couldn't give him that opportunity."
The White Sox were last in the AL Central with a 6-20 record heading into their game at the Athletics.
Workman was selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2020 amateur draft out of Arizona State. He hit .248 with 57 homers and 263 RBIs in the minor leagues.
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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Why Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong is content with just being himself
Don't let the chest-thumping on home run trots fool you. Pete Crow-Armstrong doesn't think of himself as being in the same category as the guys who launch balls out of ballparks with the ease of tying their shoes. When I asked Crow-Armstrong in Detroit whether he'd be interested in participating in the Home Run Derby if he goes to next month's All-Star Game in Atlanta, he hedged. 'I look at some of the dudes that do that, and I'm like, I don't know if I have that same kind of pop,' he replied. 'Maybe one of these days I'll go.' It was a question that would've sounded ridiculous a couple of months ago. But these are interesting times for Crow-Armstrong, a speedy, Gold Glove-caliber center fielder who snuck up on the rest of the league with a show of power that few saw coming. As the Cubs began a three-game series in Philadelphia on Monday, Crow-Armstrong was tied for eighth in the majors with 17 home runs, despite going homerless and posting a .258 slugging percentage over his first 17 games. Crow-Armstrong seemingly flipped on a switch April 13 at Dodger Stadium with a two-home-run game, and entered Monday with a .663 slugging percentage and .993 OPS over 48 games since that tepid start. Where this will go is anyone's guess, but the power display shows no signs of slowing down. Crow-Armstrong does not assume he will even make the National League team, saying, 'If it happens, it happens.' He looks at it as a win-win situation. 'If it doesn't happen, I get a week to decompress,' he said. 'Our schedule has been fun so far with who we've played and the kind of atmosphere we've gotten to be in. That makes it easy for it to just be about baseball, to be about that day.' But at this point, it would be a shock if Crow-Armstrong is not the NL's starting center fielder. And with MLB and ESPN looking to juice up the Home Run Derby with some new blood, he would seem to be just the kind of player who gets an invite, especially since the two biggest stars will likely decline. Aaron Judge has already said he was not participating, and Shohei Ohtani seems likely to follow Judge in sitting it out. 'I like watching the derby,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'It's so fun seeing guys that can put on a show in (batting practice). I don't know if I have the stamina for that. I don't know if I'm the guy for the derby.' Crow-Armstrong certainly doesn't mash like some of the top sluggers, at least distance-wise. He's only fifth on the Cubs with an average home run distance of 389 feet, according to the Statcast leaderboard, behind Seiya Suzuki (401 feet), Dansby Swanson (398), Michael Busch (397) and Kyle Tucker (397). Most of the elite sluggers average 400 feet or more. It doesn't matter how far you hit them as long as they go out, but typically the Home Run Derby is an occasion for prodigious shots. Crow-Armstrong's longest home run in 2025 is 418 feet, which ranks 135th in distance this season, equaling teammate Carson Kelly. In Crow-Armstrong's eyes, Tucker, who is also likely to make the NL squad, would be a better Cubs representative for the derby. Suzuki could also fill the bill. Manager Craig Counsell declined to speculate Sunday on which Cubs would make the NL team or be invited to the Home Run Derby. When I asked whether Crow-Armstrong's last six weeks of slugging suggest he'll become a consistent power threat, Counsell was curious to find out himself. 'Look, it's a young player, so often you're going to see things you haven't seen from young players,' he said. 'But it's natural to ask those questions. I don't know if he can keep it up. He's doing great right now. He's playing well, and from the same perspective, I think he just wants to keep playing well, and (if) that means home runs, great.' Counsell said the beauty of baseball is that it's so unpredictable. No one really knows which young players will find themselves early, which ones will take a while longer to develop, and which ones will just never pan out. Crow-Armstrong took some punches early in 2024, then figured it out by the middle of the summer and has blossomed in '25. 'That's why Pete is so fun to watch,' he said. 'We are going to see things still that we haven't seen from Pete, and that's fun to look forward to, for sure. Both sides of it. That's part of growing up, part of being a great player. He's met those challenges, but he's going to have more of those challenges in front of him.' At the age of 23, Crow-Armstrong still has much to learn. Pitchers know he is a free-swinger who seldom takes walks. His 4.7% walk rate was the 16th-lowest among qualified hitters on Monday, according to FanGraphs. But he's able to get to a lot of pitches other hitters don't, and has shown he can succeed without being patient. 'The league is going to try to adjust, no question,' Counsell recently said. 'That's what the league does, that's why you've got to get your popcorn. There is this moniker, bad ball hitter. There are not many guys that have done it, so it makes your path a little less traveled.' Outside of the game, he also will have to adjust to the occupational hazards of stardom — the added media attention, fans recognizing him in public and asking for autographs or selfies. He's been accommodating to almost everyone, and spent Sunday morning in Detroit talking with three young boys on the field a couple of hours before game time after being informed in the clubhouse that one of the boys wanted to meet him. His teammates have said he's a natural with their kids, playing the role of Uncle Pete. Crow-Armstrong doesn't believe he's being pulled in too many directions by the media or fans. He's always been outgoing, growing up in Southern California, so this is nothing new to him. 'I definitely talk to the media more often now, but nothing too different,' he said. 'I have some people that recognize me here and there if we go out to dinner or whatnot, but I enjoy that. Everybody has been super cool whenever there are public interactions.' Last, but not least, come the off-the-field opportunities to cash in with endorsements or commercials or podcasts or some other ventures. Crow-Armstrong said he hasn't been asked to do anything like that, and he isn't seeking attention by doing commercials. 'Actually I'm somewhat happy with that,' he said. 'Don't need it. No interest. If stuff comes up and I'm advised to go for it, then I'll probably go for it. As of right now, I have no interest and I'm glad that it's still all about baseball.' The residual effects of stardom will come eventually. For now, just enjoy the popcorn.


New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Cubs players young and old keep oral history tradition of baseball alive
CHICAGO — When Craig Counsell was a fresh-faced rookie second baseman with the 1997 Florida Marlins, the veterans had a postgame routine. Win or lose, they would gravitate to the training room and talk about what just happened on the field. 'Or just bull—-ing,' Counsell said. 'But in between the chatter was talk about baseball.' Advertisement That was a team loaded with veterans, such as Darren Daulton, Bobby Bonilla and Gary Sheffield. The Marlins went on to win the World Series and Counsell famously scored the winning run in Game 7. Those BS sessions are where Counsell, now the Chicago Cubs manager, got his education about baseball. 'It's where you learn how to act, it's where you learn about the highest level of the game, it's where you learn what not to do, it's where you learn what you want to do,' Counsell said. 'You learn there's an oral history to the game and how you will be treated. … Often, how you are treated as a younger player is how you're going to treat the next generation behind you.' Twenty-eight seasons later, despite all the advancements in technology that allow us to shelter ourselves from the outside world, the oral history of the game is still being passed down in training rooms, dugouts, clubhouses and team planes. Perhaps nowhere more than with Counsell's Cubs, where the old players and young players are treating each other pretty good these days. 'I know, like, it's a little thing, but I know a flight attendant who worked one of our flights recently,' Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon told me the other day. 'She had also worked flights for a different team and she's like, 'You guys are so much more interactive. You are all talking to each other.' I was like, 'Oh, what does the other team do?' She said the minute they get on the flight, it's headphones. No one interacts. For us, we have guys going up and down the aisle. Everyone's just moving around, talking, it's cool.' Justin Turner, Taillon and Ben Brown were recently sitting around discussing how Nolan Ryan's career spanned from the late 1960s through the early 1990s, which got them into a deeper conversation. 'We were talking about that in the locker room actually, just like how closely connected you are in baseball,' Taillon said. 'We did it with Justin Turner. You can connect him to (Hall of Fame pitcher) Robin Roberts through like five or six dudes. (Roberts) played in the '40s and '50s. That's something I hope never gets lost in baseball, just understanding the history and how closely connected we are to each other.' Advertisement Roberts pitched 19 years, starting in 1948 and finishing in 1966. It took me a few minutes to make a connection between him and Turner, and it only took three players. Roberts finished his career with the 1966 Cubs and he pitched with Fergie Jenkins, who came back to the Cubs at the end of his career and pitched in 1983 in front of a second baseman named Ryne Sandberg, who finished his Cubs career in 1997, when a 26-year-old pitcher named Miguel Batista appeared in 11 games (getting tagged with an 0-5 record). Batista was a 40-year-old reliever on the 2011 Mets with Turner. Turner and Taillon talked about the oldest guys they played with, and although Cubs pitcher Drew Pomeranz wasn't in that conversation, he noted he would win that competition. 'Jamie Moyer,' he said. 'I was there for his 49-year-old win.' A 23-year-old Pomeranz started 22 games for the 2012 Rockies and was locker neighbors with the almost-50 Moyer, who broke into the majors with the 1986 Cubs. Moyer led Pomeranz around, showed him the ropes and wasn't shy about sharing his advice and stories of a lifetime in the game. 'They would just come out of him, you didn't have to ask,' he said. Something Moyer might've learned from Rick Sutcliffe or Dennis Eckersley on the Cubs almost 40 years ago could be passed down today on a pitching staff that includes seven pitchers between the ages of 33 and 38 and young starters such as Brown (25) and Cade Horton (23) and up-and-coming closer Daniel Palencia (25). Pomeranz credits advice Randy Wolf gave him about keeping a mental checklist on the mound. Taillon said Gerrit Cole, a contemporary in Pittsburgh and New York, taught him about creating a weekly routine. I got the idea for this column after hearing about how Taillon and fellow veteran Matt Boyd were teaching younger Cubs pitchers to chart pitches, which is apparently a lost art these days. 'When we were in the minor leagues, the day after you pitched, you did the computer in the stands,' Taillon said. 'Day two, you did video. Day three, you'd chart in the dugout. Every day as a starter, you were working during the game, and it taught me a lot about watching the game, not just sitting there and wasting time in the dugout. … I think it's less about doing a chart, more about let's see if we can learn how to watch what's going on. I think that's true in life, in general.' Advertisement When we talked, Taillon had just returned from throwing a bullpen session, and he noted that Brown and Horton probably stopped to watch because they saw Boyd there. 'Now, when we're out there for the game today, they might want to ask me questions about what I was working on or what I was doing, which is really cool,' he said. Taillon noted that he takes in as much as he gives out from younger players, particularly when it comes to things like nutrition and training techniques, which have evolved since his days as a high schooler in Texas. 'You get on the right team with the right guys and it's like I want to talk pitching with Ben Brown because he's such a great dude,' he said. Brown feels the same way. 'We're just constantly in conversation,' he said. 'Whether he's asking me questions or I'm asking him. I feel like our relationship is so unique and special in that way, and he's so humble that he would want to listen to what I have to say about something.' Palencia credits conversations he's had with guys like Pomeranz and Ryan Pressly, whose job he took, with helping him figure out how to do a very stressful job. 'Drew and Pressly, we talk about the game a lot,' Palencia said. 'Every time we're watching games, we talk, like what you can do in this situation. If you got a two-run lead, you can just attack here because a solo homer is not going to beat you, don't let the games speed you up, stuff like that.' Taillon said during a game, infielders like Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner will come up to him and talk about pitches he threw. Palencia said Turner gave him confidence after he blew a save in Miami. 'It's easy for some position players to be worried about their at-bats or whatever,' Taillon said. 'Our guys are invested in everything.' Last week, we were talking to Javy Báez in the visiting dugout on the South Side. I told him how Pete Crow-Armstrong, whom he was traded for in 2021, said he used to watch Báez's base running as a learning tool. Báez, the wild-swinging baseball artist, broke into the majors 11 years ago and is now the veteran on a young, first-place team. Advertisement 'It feels great, honestly, that people look up to me,' he said. 'But what I tell young guys is to not copy but to take some stuff from the players that they look up to and just do it yourself with your style. And if it works, you gotta keep using it.' Crow-Armstrong (23) and Matt Shaw (23) don't have to look far for role models in their clubhouse. Swanson, Hoerner, Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, on and on. Everyone has something to offer. 'The more different guys you're around, the different organizations you're in, you see different ways and styles of doing things, and you kind of cherry-pick the stuff that you like and that applies to you and that you think you can use to make you a better player,' Turner said. Counsell remembers how a veteran hitter he played with in Arizona showed him how to anticipate pitchers' patterns. 'My favorite guy to just be around hitting was Mark Grace,' he said. 'It was just very simple for him, and the way he communicated it was very simple, and really it was helpful for me.' While it's his job to run the team, Counsell is self-aware enough to know that some of the best advice and encouragement comes from teammates, not coaches and managers. But on occasion, he will offer his two cents. 'We faced (Justin) Verlander the other day and they pulled a clip of Counsell's homer off Verlander,' Turner said. 'He said, 'Look guys, if I can do it …'' (Top photo of Justin Turner talking with Matt Shaw: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)

NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
White Sox at Astros prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 10
Its Tuesday, June 10 and the White Sox (22-44) are in Houston to begin a three-game series against the Astros (36-29). Shane Smith is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Lance McCullers for Houston. Each of these clubs was off on Monday. The White Sox flew in from Chicago following a seven-game homestand that saw the Sox split four games with the AL Central division-leading Tigers and take two of three from the Royals. Houston lost Sunday, 4-2, to Cleveland but took the first two games of their series against the Guardians. Lets dive into the series opener and find a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long. Game details & how to watch White Sox at Astros Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Time: 8:10PM EST Site: Minute Maid Park City: Houston, TX Network/Streaming: CHSN, SCHN Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out. Odds for the White Sox at the Astros The latest odds as of Tuesday: Moneyline: White Sox (+165), Astros (-198) Spread: Astros -1.5 Total: 8.0 runs Probable starting pitchers for White Sox at Astros Pitching matchup for June 10, 2025: Shane Smith vs. Lance McCullers White Sox: Shane Smith (2-3, 2.46 ERA) Last outing: 5.1IP, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 6KsAstros: Lance McCullers (1-1, 4.44 ERA) Last outing: 6IP, 0ER, 2H, 1BB, 7Ks White Sox: Shane Smith (2-3, 2.46 ERA) Last outing: 5.1IP, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 6Ks Astros: Lance McCullers (1-1, 4.44 ERA) Last outing: 6IP, 0ER, 2H, 1BB, 7Ks Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type! Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of White Sox at Astros Jeremy Pena saw his 13-game hitting streak snapped Sunday Lance McCullers has 27Ks in his last 3GP (16.1IP) The Astros have covered in 4 straight games with Lance McCullers starting Miguel Vargas is 2-14 (.143) in his last 5 games If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the White Sox and the Astros Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday's game between the White Sox and the Astros: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Houston Astros on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Chicago White Sox at +1.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 8.0. Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)