Chicago Sports

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox completed a swap of left-handed hitting catchers, sending Triple-A catcher Zack Collins to the Blue Jays in exchange for Reese McGuire, a source confirmed Sunday.

In McGuire, the Sox get a better defensive catcher who batted .253/.310/.343 with one homer in a career high 219 plate appearances last season. McGuire owns a career .248/.297/.390 hitting line with 10 homers over parts of four seasons with the Jays.

McGuire is out of options and was in a three-catcher mix with Toronto. He figures to make the Sox’ Opening Day roster, which will include 28 players and could include three catchers. Seby Zavala and Nick Ciuffo are also competing for a spot behind Yasmani Grandal. Opening Day is Friday in Detroit.

Collins, a first-round draft pick in 2016 a .195/.315/.330 hitter over three seasons who struggled defensively, never lived up to expectations with the Sox. The Sox optioned Collins to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

McGuire and Collins are both former first-round picks and top 100 prospects.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Manager Tony La Russa put off naming his Opening Day starter for a day Sunday, waiting for more information on the condition of right-hander Lance Lynn’s right knee about 14 hours after the All-Star right-hander hobbled off the field.

La Russa has been saying for a while that he has two Opening Day options in Lynn and Lucas Giolito but also said he was leaning to one of them. Most indications point to Lynn, who is lined up a day before Giolito on the Cactus League pitching schedule. But now it’s not even known if Lynn will be well enough to pitch at all when the Sox open the series next weekend against the Tigers in Detroit.

“He’s walking and talking bravely,” La Russa said.

Lynn was moving around the clubhouse in shorts with no ice or wrap on the knee, and was smiling while talking with teammates Sunday morning. The Sox said they were waiting on more tests before issuing an update on his condition.

“Fingers crossed,” La Russa said.

Hopping on his left leg, limping toward the dugout and bending forward with both hands on his thighs, Lynn exited his final Cactus League start Saturday night against the Diamondbacks with 3 1/3 innings and 79 pitches under his belt after an uneven start in which he was charged with seven runs.

“I think he just landed wrong,” La Russa said. “Or it seemed like it.”

Lynn landed on the injured list last August with inflammation in the same knee and did several weeks of rehabilitation on it after the season, general manager Rick Hahn said.

“I think it’s the same area, yeah,” La Russa said. “Just wait and see. It is what it is, right?”

With a shortened spring leading to the season, and with Michael Kopech having only one two-inning start under his belt, the Sox — like all 30 teams — already faced concerns about starting pitching manpower with innings limits. Lynn’s knee only complicates matters and heightens the importance of Vince Velasquez and Reynaldo Lopez as “backup” starters behind the rotation of Lynn, Giolito, Dylan Cease, Kopech and Dallas Keuchel.

“All morning long we’ve been talking about ‘what ifs’ and how we would cover and I just think that the priority is going to be the series you are playing,” La Russa said “And an opportunity to win the game. It might rain tomorrow, snow the next day. So, we are looking at, we are going to ‘what if’ but the priority will be the first three games against Detroit.”

Lynn was expected to talk to reporters Sunday afternoon.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Andrew Vaughn is healing quickly.

When you have a swing Paul Konerko admires, that’s a good thing for the White Sox.

Vaughn, who suffered a hip point diving for a fly ball last Sunday, returned to the Sox lineup for their Cactus League game against the Rockies Sunday at Camelback Ranch, five days before the season opener in Detroit Friday. Vaughn was penciled in as the designated hitter in a lineup that looked very much like an Opening Day possibility:

Tim Anderson SS, Luis Robert CF, Jose Abreu 1B, Yasmani Grandal C, Eloy Jimenez LF, Yoan Moncada RF, AJ Pollock RF, Josh Harrison 2B, Vaughn DH, Lucas Giolito P.

“I mean, when it happened I really didn’t think it was going to go this quick,” Vaughn said Sunday of his swift recovery. “Two days after, I was walking. I could feel the bruise, but just kind of see how I feel and I feel good.”

When Vaughn went off the field on a cart, the possibility of him being ready by Opening Day seemed slim. On Sunday he said he felt well enough to play the outfield.

“He’s moving around terrific,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I reprimanded him for that act he put on that had us worried it was much more serious. He smiled. I would have never guessed he would be playing today. Tough guy, strong guy.”

Vaughn spoke moments before Konerko addressed the team in the clubhouse. Konerko, who lives in the Phoenix area, usually visits the Sox complex during spring training but chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and manager Tony La Russa asked him to speak this time.

Konerko had an attentive audience.

“You could hear a pin drop,” Vaughn said.

“The gist was,” Konerko said, “and I think everybody in there knows, simply because they’ve built up to it, what you need to do to win in October and what kind of player you need to be, what kind of team you need to be.”

Vaughn, who celebrated his 23rd birthday Sunday, and Konerko, 46, had connected before. Konerko likes Vaughn’s swing path and his polish at such a young age.

“He has that leg kick which is different in terms of, he has a bigger move to get ready,” Konerko said. “He obviously is on time with it and pulls it off. But once everything is kind of down, his path and his swing and what he’s trying to do … at such an early age to already have the mannerisms of that seasoned hitter is what sticks out.”

Vaughn batted .235/.309/.396 last season with 15 homers and 48 RBI. He is 7-for-15 with a home run this spring.

“You see guys that have it but he’s a young guy who doesn’t have a whole lot of reps under his belt that already has that professional hitter vibe,” Konerko said. “That’s what sticks out. Took me like 20 years to even sniff that so it always sticks out when you see a guy who hasn’t been around that has it.”

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With only four regular-season games left in the 2021-22 campaign for the Bulls, it would have been nice for the locker room to come out of Saturday’s showdown with Miami with some certainty.

It was far from that.

Alex Caruso’s back issues only worsened, with coach Billy Donovan admitting that his defensive-minded guard had “a problem.” That was evident in Donovan playing him only 22 minutes.

All-Star Zach LaVine half-kidded that it would be nice for him to get a few games off this upcoming week, especially with his left knee soreness still coming and going from day-to-day.

And then there’s veteran DeMar DeRozan, who hasn’t played these many minutes in a season since he was 24 years old and a Toronto Raptor.

All of that wrapped up in a pretty bow for a team that was now 1-12 against the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, with the playoffs just weeks away.

That’s why the Bulls bench, and specifically Coby White, could not only be important this next week to help finish out the regular season, but come playoff time also needs to be up and running with some consistency.

White’s latest shooting slump couldn’t come at a worse time.

Over his last 10 games, White was getting 22.4 minutes per game, but only averaging 8.4 points, while shooting 23.5% from long-range. Pre-All-Star Break White was hitting over 40% of his threes. The latest rut included an 0-for-7 showing against Miami, despite getting open look after open look with the Heat double-teaming LaVine and DeRozan frequently.

So what gives?

Both Donovan and White weren’t really sure, but they also knew that only White could get himself out of it.

“I haven’t been shooting the ball well from three,” White said. “For me, it’s just continuing to shoot. It doesn’t matter if I go zero-for-10, if I go zero-for-11. The bad thing would be if I stopped shooting, if I stopped taking the open shot.

“My teammates tell me to keep shooting. I cannot change it. I put in a lot of time and effort to this game. I believe in myself and I have confidence regardless of what other people say or think. I got some clean looks that didn”t fall. Honestly, [Saturday] was one of the more cleaner looks I got all year. I love those shots for me. I know my team loved those shots for me, so I’m going to keep shooting.”

He wasn’t going to get resistance with that idea, either, especially from the likes of a LaVine, who came out of March also battling with very hot and cold nights the last month.

“I think Coby shot the right shots,” LaVine said. “He just missed. It’s tough to get in rhythm sometimes when rotations switch up. I think he’ll be OK. He’s tough. He’s dealt with missing shots before, being in a weird situation with rotations. He’ll take it in stride.”

What Donovan wants to see is White stop carrying his poor shooting nights to the other aspects of his game. He’s not the lone culprit for the Bulls guilty of that, but in White’s 15 games played in March, there were 11 of them in which he had four assists or fewer. Yes, he’s no longer playing the point guard spot as frequently, but that doesn’t mean there’s not passes for White to make on the offensive end.

“If he’s not making shots, there are other things in his game that he can do,” Donovan said. “He can get into the teeth of the defense. He can pass. He can make some plays. He can get downhill. … There’s more to Coby than him just making the three-point shot.”

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The Ricketts family has outlined a list of promises should it win the bid to buy Chelsea, saying it would never allow the Premier League club to participate in a European Super League while also exploring the option of redeveloping Stamford Bridge.

The Ricketts, who own the Chicago Cubs, have been included on the shortlist to buy the west London club but came under pressure from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST), who said 77% of its members do not support their bid.

The Ricketts said they had met with several Chelsea supporters over the past couple of weeks and listened to their feedback.

“As we enter the next phase of the process, we are sharing a list of specific commitments that give fans a pivotal role in protecting Chelsea’s heritage and building for future success,” they said in a statement on Sunday.

“We will continue to discuss our ambitions for the club with fans and the wider football community in the coming days.”

The CST does not have a seat on Chelsea’s board or the power to veto its decisions and is seeking greater influence at the club. The Ricketts family said the CST would have a seat on an advisory committee.

The Ricketts added the advisory committee would have a former men’s and women’s first team player, members of the CST and Chelsea Pitch Owners, and “influential community leaders.”

Other commitments include investing in the first team and academy to “continue winning trophies” and ensuring the women’s team also plays matches at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were put up for sale by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government, effectively giving it control of the club.

U.S. Bank Raine Group is overseeing the sale and the winning bidder must also be approved by the government.

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The Bulls got ”Haslem-ed” on Saturday.

That’s how bad their latest showing against an elite team went.

With 1:36 left in the game against the Heat at the United Center, 41-year-old Udonis Haslem — gray in his beard and all — entered. That’s a sign the Heat either aregetting blown out or taking their opponent to the woodshed.

Considering the Bulls’ record against the NBA’s elite this season, it was the latter.

Behind a team-high 22 points from Jimmy Butler, the Heat completed a season sweep by embarrassing the Bulls 127-109.

In another measuring stick game for the Bulls, coach Billy Donovan’s team fell very short again. The loss dropped the Bulls (45-33) to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings with four regular-season games left.

Even worse, the Bulls fell to a combined 0-17 against the Heat, Bucks, 76ers, Suns, Grizzlies and Warriors, all legitimate contenders to win the NBA title.

That record isn’t a coincidence. It’s pretty obvious the Bulls are a second-tier playoff team, seemingly preparing for an early exit from the postseason. They only can hope they can learn from it moving forward.

”When you’re playing elite teams, whether in the West or the East, I think those are always measuring sticks of where you have to get to as a team,” Donovan said. ”Certainly the Heat this season and what they did the last few years, even getting to the NBA Finals [in 2020], they’re battle-tested in a lot of ways. Some of our guys are not battle-tested. You have to go through some of these moments.

”When you play against elite teams, the adversity and challenge you go through is what really forces you to grow and get better because you have to confront the truth. And anytime you have to confront that, you then have got to look in the mirror and figure out ways to get better. Everybody — coaches, players, all of us together.”

The Bulls couldn’t have asked for a better start offensively, especially for guard Zach LaVine. In the first few minutes, LaVine made three three-pointers to put to rest any questions about how his left knee was feeling.

The Bulls’ defense, however, was allowing the Heat to get buckets just as easily. They shot 63.6% in the first quarter.

Still, the Bulls withstood the flurry and trailed by only a point at the end of the first.

But there’s a reason the Heat have a reputation as one of the toughest teams in the NBA. They not only lock the opposition up, but they grind them down.

Like they did in their previous games against the Bulls this season, they stuck to that script. They outscored the Bulls 35-27 in the second quarter, then broke the game open in the third, scoring 32 points to the Bulls’ 22 to open a 19-point lead.

The fourth quarter was simply a boat race — and one the Bulls didn’t have nearly enough steam to win.

And if you thought things couldn’t get worse for the Bulls, Donovan said after the game that guard Alex Caruso’s back issues are a ”problem” and that he might have to sit for a few games.

”They just attacked our weak spots,” LaVine said afterward. ”I have confidence in our guys [and] our coaching staff to get this right.”

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Shortstop Tim Anderson welcomed the latest addition to the White Sox, knowing veteran outfielder AJ Pollock will add depth to the lineup and specifically the outfield.

Anderson, Liam Hendriks, Dallas Keuchel and Giolito stress the value of a good clubhouse, where players have to coexist for six months a year. From everything they’ve heard, they are confident Pollock will fit in.

Not that it’s so hard.

“Anybody can come in and get along with us,” Anderson said. “New guy, old guy, young guy. No matter where you come from. We have that good chemistry.”

Whether the clubhouse has to make room for one more remains to be seen.

“The front office is doing the best they can to put us in the best position to win,” Anderson said.

The Sox can use more starting pitching, and left-hander Sean Manaea is still out there for the taking in the right trade with the Athletics, although the Sox might not match up with enough prospect and young controllable players they’re willing to part with to reel in Manaea, who is in the last year of his contract.

“There’s always one more move to make,” general manager Rick Hahn said once again Friday after the Craig Kimbrel for Pollock trade.

“The offseason ends Opening Day and then obviously there’s probably going to be fewer transactions over the early part of the season. And then before you know it, the opportunity to improve ourselves in June and July will probably present itself.”

Crochet set for surgery

A second opinion confirmed what Garrett Crochet suspected, that he will need Tommy John surgery. Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure Tuesday.

Crochet said he felt a pop on his second to last pitch against the Reds Thursday.

“Threw another one just to kind of make sure and I felt some sharp pain in the same spot,” he said.

Crochet said he hadn’t dealt with much soreness before Thursday.

“I felt like I took care of my body pretty well this offseason and had put myself in a good position to move on to the regular season,” he said. “But obviously freak things happen.”

Crochet, who will miss the entire season, and manager Tony La Russa both looked at the positive.

“It’s not good for him or for us this year,” La Russa said. “But as young as he is, he has potential promise and that potential promise will take care of him. So next year, clear sailing and he’ll have a great career.”

“I’m very confident going into the surgery that [after] the recovery I can be even better,” Crochet said.

This and that

La Russa said he promised left fielder Eloy Jimenez, who does not like to DH, that “he can play left field a lot if he hits .300.”

“If he hits under .300, he may be DHing and if he hits near .200 he’ll be sitting next to me,” La Russa said. “He’s smiling like I was kidding.”

*La Russa said the Sox might carry up to 15 pitchers on the expanded 28-man Opening Day roster.

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Two people were hospitalized, one in serious condition, following an apartment fire Saturday evening in Bronzeville on the South Side.

The fire broke out in an apartment near 36th Street and Indiana Avenue, according to Chicago fire officials.

A man jumped from a window on the third floor and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious to critical condition, fire officials said.

A woman was taken to Mercy Hospital in fair condition.

Fire officials have not released any additional information.

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The revelation didn’t surprise many.

After the Bulls’ overtime victory Thursday against the Clippers, forward Patrick Williams admitted he still was dealing with a sore ankle at the start of the regular season and didn’t tell anyone.

Williams didn’t look right in the five games he played in early, but it wasn’t the ankle that sidelined him for months. In a game against the Knicks in late October, Williams suffered a bad injury to his left wrist and required surgery that kept him out until a few weeks ago.

”Playing one year in college and being 19 years old, there’s so much he doesn’t know,” coach Billy Donovan said after being informed Saturday about what Williams admitted a couple of days before.

”[I’ll] give you an example from last year. The first week, he said: ‘Why do I have to go in the training room and get on the table?’ I said: ‘Well, they’re basically taking care of your body. You need to do that every day.’ ‘But I feel OK.’ ‘Well, there’s a maintenance process that you have to go through.’ There’s absolutely zero foundation in terms of being a professional in every athlete. I’m not trying to embarrass him, it’s just where it was at.

”He didn’t understand the importance of eating breakfast. I mean, I saw him last year before one game, [and] he had, like, two huge pieces of chicken parmigiana pasta. We’re playing in, like, an hour and 15 minutes. I was like, ‘Patrick, you cannot eat that.’ ”

Williams’ wrist and ankle are obviously close to 100% now, with Donovan saying his minutes restriction had been lifted in the wake of him playing 37 minutes against the Clippers. But that doesn’t mean Donovan was ready to start playing Williams heavy minutes down the stretch.

”When [people] are sitting here, ‘Well, play him 30 minutes,’ sometimes he’s not ready for that,” Donovan said. ”I get a chance to be around him every single day and talk to him, and there’s things he’s trying to figure out along the way, too.

”You want to put him in a position where he can be successful. I have to keep on trusting him. . . . Like, I had to get on him at halftime [Thursday] about, ‘You have to do more.’ It’s got to get to a point where for him it’s more instinctive, where he’s doing it a little more on his own.”

On the Ball

There was very little to update about guard Lonzo Ball (left knee), but the Bulls hope that will change by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Donovan said Ball still hasn’t resumed any sprinting or cutting after taking a 10-day pause in his rehab process, but the team’s medical staff said a more definitive timetable would be coming by midweek.

Ball, who is averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists, last played Jan. 14 before being sidelined by a bone bruise in his left knee. He had surgery to repair the meniscus in the knee, but it’s the bone bruise that still is giving him discomfort.

If Ball is only running by Wednesday, a return for the playoffs would seem to be unlikely, considering the Bulls end the regular season next Sunday.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A.J. Pollock has played just six of his six career games in the outfield in right field. That number figures to grow considerably with the White Sox, who acquired the 34-year-old veteran in a trade with the Dodgers for Craig Kimbrel Friday.

On Saturday, Pollock wore a Sox uniform for the first time, six days before Opening Day, and was about to wear it playing right field in the Sox’ Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.

“No big deal,” Pollock said.

“You just get a couple BPs, take a couple fly balls out there and I’ll be good,” Pollock said. ”Similar concepts, just going the other way. I’m not too worried.”

The 2015 Gold Glove center fielder as a Diamanback, Pollock will also play left when manager Tony La Russa gives what he calls a “half day” off to Eloy Jimenez, a markedly lesser option defensively than Pollock, or if Jimenez needs a full day or days – in the event of an injury. Pollock can serve the same purpose in center field for Luis Robert.

The Sox were one of the worst defensive teams in baseball last season, which is no way for a team with World Series aspirations to operate. With 2020 Gold Glove winner Robert, 2018 Gold Glove finalist Adam Engel and Pollock and his added flexibility to the mix, the Sox outfield brings credentials to a group that includes Jimenez and two first basemen, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets, who are still learning on the job.

Pollock, meanwhile, is getting acquainted with a different corner and a different clubhouse, which includes former Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly, who was telling Pollock Thursday night he was about to be trading.

“He said, ‘yeah guys are talking,’ Pollock said. “I was like, ‘it’s Joe, it’s not going to happen.’ ”

On Friday morning, he saw Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s name pop up on his phone, showed his wife, Kate, and said, “I’m gone. Please be somewhere cool.’ And he said White Sox and I was like, ‘Chicago, that’s a good squad, I’m ready to go.’ ”

Kate is expecting the couple’s second child in 10 days, which is the only “stressful” thing about the trade — their first child was born at 24 weeks — so he’ll likely take paternity leave.

“I talked to Tony, he is super supportive, I know he’s a big family guy,” Pollock said. “So early on in the season we’ll enjoy that and get back at it.”

By that time, Pollock will probably be feeling comfortable in right field already.

“Wherever Tony wants to put me, all three spots I’ll feel good and do a good job for for him out there,” Pollock said. “Whatever Tony wants, I’m game.”

“He’s a really good athlete and has a good arm,” La Russa said. “So that’s easy to do. If anything, he protects us wherever we have to protect out there.”

About the same time Pollock was talking outside the Sox clubhouse at Camelback Ranch, Kimbrel was giving up two homers to the Giants about 100 yards away at the stadium the Sox and Dodgers share during spring training. It was much too soon to declare the deal a victory for the Sox, of course, but the Sox do feel good about getting a proven player coming off one his best seasons for a proven pitcher who struggled in his role with the Sox during the second half of 2021.

“Trades are a part of the business,” Pollock said. “I look at where I could have been. These guys just kicked our butt a couple days ago [in a Cactus League game] and I saw that lineup. It’s a cool team to be a part of, and we’re excited.”

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