The White Sox will decide their pitching plan for the rest of the Cubs series one game at a time, and Erick Fedde is part of the uncertainty. Will Venable said Monday the club will wait to see how its staff is used before locking in the next starter, a shift driven by the bullpen load that built up over the weekend and into the series opener at Wrigley Field.
That need for flexibility showed up immediately. The White Sox opened the series Monday and lost 7-5 in 10 innings, and Venable said there were availability limits in the bullpen that could affect how the club handles Tuesday and Wednesday. Bryan Hudson was set to open Game 2 on Tuesday, while Fedde could follow as a bulk reliever or take the ball as the starter in Game 3, leaving the next move tied to how much the staff is used after Monday's game.
The search for fresh arms comes after a stretch in which the White Sox leaned hard on their pitching depth to sweep the Tigers. They used a bullpen game Friday, Anthony Kay worked 5 ⅓ innings Saturday, and Sean Burke went 4 ⅓ innings Sunday before the club turned to Luis Castillo against the Cubs on Monday. Castillo had been sharp in his last start, when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Reds, but this time he lasted only 4 ⅔ innings and gave up four runs, three earned, which shortened the margin for a bullpen that had already been pressed into extended duty.
Fedde's place in the mix matters because he was moved to the bullpen about two weeks ago, and he did not pitch against the Tigers. That makes him one of the few options who could still cover real innings if the White Sox need length behind Hudson, especially with Jose Urquidy also having logged 3 ⅔ innings in the bullpen game and the club not expecting a breather until Aug. 27. Venable said the team is trying to win the game in front of it while keeping an eye on what those choices do to the rest of the series, and that balance is now the whole story.
The pitching uncertainty is unfolding as the White Sox also manage other moving parts. Kyle Teel, who suffered a sprained left ankle on July 20 against the Rangers, took batting practice Monday at Wrigley Field and remains a week or two away from another rehab assignment. Colson Montgomery was held out Monday after going 3-for-8 with a double and three RBI in his last two games, a reminder that the White Sox are trying to protect what they have while navigating a schedule that will keep asking for answers before the staff is fully rested.
