CHICAGO -- Tim Anderson's charity and the White Sox partnered this weekend to provide free haircuts to local youth in what Anderson hopes becomes an annual back-to-school event in Chicago.
Anderson and his wife, Bria, held the "Cuts for Kids" event at the Success Barber Salon in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood on Friday and Saturday, giving free haircuts to 100 children both days. Anderson's League of Leaders program hosted the event in conjunction with Youth Guidance's Becoming A Man (BAM) program, raising $10,000.
"We did it in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as well, and it went well there," Anderson said. "[The salon] donated their time and helped us out a lot, kudos to them, and it went well. It had a great turnout.
"It was for all ages, but a lot of middle-school-aged kids showed up. They wanted to look fresh for school; they were looking good."
Many of the kids were excited to see Anderson and strike up a conversation with a Major Leaguer. Anderson said he was able to talk to a lot of them.
"Just talked about things that are going on in life, what direction they want to head in their futures," Anderson said. "It was good to spend some time with them."
Bummer and Frare join bullpen youth movement
The White Sox announced only two transactions as rosters expanded to 40 players for September, calling up left-handed relievers Aaron Bummer and Caleb Frare.
Bummer had been with Chicago early in the season, but Frare is joining the Sox for his first MLB stint. They join Ryan Burr and Ian Hamilton as recent young bullpen callups following the trades of Joakim Soria, Luis Avilan and Xavier Cedeno.
Frare said Triple-A Charlotte manager Mark Grudzielanek pulled a prank on him to let him know he'd been called up.
"He called me into his office and he said, 'We're gonna talk about your suspension,'" Frare said. "He was like, 'Yeah, it's been lifted.' And I'm like, 'Oh cool, so I can pitch tonight?' And he's like, 'Yeah, no.' 'Why?' And he paused, he's got a straight face, and he's like, 'cause you're going up to Chicago, they need you to throw tomorrow.' I just couldn't believe it."
The White Sox acquired Frare from the Yankees on July 29 for international bonus pool money. Frare appreciates that the White Sox view him as part of their future, since he'd likely still be in Double-A with New York.
"We had three lefties in Double-A, all of us were shoving," Frare said. "Us combined, we had like a 1.50 ERA in June. And only one of us moved up and I've gotten traded, and the other one is still in Double-A. And so it's just crazy to see if the other one that was in Double-A was traded, I would still be there with the Yankees."
Now that the White Sox have transitioned from a veteran bullpen to a younger group, manager Rick Renteria said he's excited to see how the new relievers handle their opportunities.
"They're going to get an opportunity for us to see what they can do, obviously, with about 30 days left," Renteria said. "Get the opportunities that they get, allow them to learn, get some experience. We get to see them a little bit more up close and see where they might fit."
In addition to the two promotions, the White Sox transferred Nate Jones to the 60-day disabled list prior to Saturday's game. Jones has been sidelined since June 13 with a pronator muscle strain in his right arm.