'No long-term concerns' as Kopech hits IL

September 18th, 2022

DETROIT -- The White Sox rearranged the remainder of their weekend starting rotation in Detroit by putting Michael Kopech on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation and recalling right-hander Davis Martin prior to Saturday night’s contest.

Martin would have taken Kopech’s starting spot Sunday, but Johnny Cueto, who was scheduled to start Saturday, was under the weather with a non-COVID-related illness. Cueto was scratched and Martin moved from Triple-A Charlotte to the mound Saturday.

If Cueto feels strong enough, he will start Sunday. If not, it will be a bullpen day for the White Sox to close out this four-game road trip.

“We’ve got to keep going,” acting manager Miguel Cairo said. “We’ve got another game today. They’ve got to step up. Someone has the chance to show that they belong in the big leagues and it’s good to see that. Hopefully [Martin] can do that.”

“It seems to be some sort of sinus infection issue,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said of Cueto via conference call from Chicago. “It depends how quickly he responds to treatment.”

Kopech threw his normal side in Cleveland on Thursday and didn’t feel quite right, not liking how the ball was coming out of his hand. The White Sox performed an MRI, “which did not reveal anything too alarming,” according to Hahn.

“Obviously there’s inflammation in there,” Hahn said. “And there’s enough of a concern to pull the plug on at least his next couple of starts. We’ve given him some medication, and obviously he’ll rest for the early part of this IL stay. It is still a possibility that he can return to the active roster when his 15 days are up.”

A healthy return from that IL stint possibly would leave Kopech with one regular-season start remaining and playoff work if the White Sox get there. But Chicago also has been very cognizant of the 26-year-old’s workload during his first year as a starter, jumping from 69 1/3 innings last year to a personal big league-high of 119 1/3 innings in 2022.

"Threw that bullpen in Cleveland and just felt like I never could get loose," Kopech said. "For precautionary reasons, I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t doing anything to cause potential damage. So the team had me shut down for a little while. Take a little bit of time and then hopefully come back right here at the end and feel good."

Depending on the White Sox American League Central status at the time of his return, as well as how he responds, Kopech could be done for the campaign. The right-hander currently has a 5-9 record with a 3.54 ERA, .198 opponents' batting average, .294 opponents' on-base percentage and 105 strikeouts over 25 starts.

“This isn’t ideal, but at the same time, with him having made 25 starts and thrown about 120 innings, it’s not entirely unforeseen,” Hahn said. “He could well be hitting a wall at this point in the season.

“There’s no long-term concerns here. And as we talk about going all the way back to Spring Training, there were going to be a number of factors dictating how many innings Michael was going to wind up throwing for us this year. Certainly protecting his long-term health is one of the most important factors, which led to the decision here.

“Imaging just showed normal wear and tear as we would expect, given his workload this year,” Hahn added. “No long-term concerns whatsoever. No calls for any sort of intervention. Something we feel will resolve with treatment and rest.”

After Kopech’s rest at the outset of the IL trip, he’ll then move on to playing catch next week.