TORONTO — With right-handed reliever Dominic Leone coming off the injured list Monday, right-hander Brad Keller was designated for assignment, opening a door for a younger arm to make a claim at the vacated spot.
Keller, the former Royals starter signed to a minor-league deal during spring training, allowed four solo homers Saturday against the Yankees in his first start since replacing Michael Soroka in the rotation.
And with that, Keller was shown the door.
Soroka, who pitched four scoreless innings in relief with seven strikeouts Saturday, wants back in the rotation, but other alternatives are more in play.
“Right now, it’s TBD,” manager Pedro Grifol said before the White Sox suffered a 9-3 loss against the Blue Jays, their fourth in a row, before a Victoria Day afternoon crowd of 36,993 at Rogers Centre. “Soroka had a good appearance, but I don’t know if he’s going to be the guy we want to do that. We’ll make that move when we have to, which would be Wednesday-Thursday.”
Nick Nastrini, who made one good start and one bad one before going to Triple-A Charlotte, where he has posted a 5.83 ERA in six starts, is a possibility. Jonathan Cannon, who also had mixed results in two starts for the Sox in April, has a 6.08 ERA in three starts at Charlotte since being sent down again.
Keller’s vacant turn comes up Thursday, when the Sox face the Orioles.
“For the pitchers and organization, it’s opportunity time,” Grifol said. “This is an opportunity for you to pitch your butt off, get a chance.”
Before Saturday, Keller had made one start and three relief appearances, posting a 4.86 ERA.
Not Fedde good
Leone has a 7.04 ERA after allowing a run in relief of Erick Fedde (4-1, 3.10), who gave up five runs for the second time in his last four starts against a Blue Jays team that had been scuffling offensively. Fedde allowed seven hits in six innings, including a homer to Daulton Varsho, and three doubles, including the first of Bo Bichette’s three two-baggers.
The Jays had seven extra-base hits.
No Fletcher, more Beni
Outfielder Dominic Fletcher hasn’t had a plate appearance since getting recalled from Charlotte on Wednesday. Tommy Pham is entrenched in center field, Gavin Sheets “is hitting third and [slumping left fielder Andrew Benintendi] is a consistent hitter in our lineup,” Grifol said before the game.
But Benintendi, who was 0-for-4, saw his average dip to .190., and Kevin Kiermaier took third base on an ordinary fly to Benintendi in the third inning.
“You just don’t give up on players,” Grifol said after the game. “Doesn’t mean we’re not having conversations, you just don’t give up on players who have a track record. You talk to him, see what’s going on and you ride it out. I have confidence in the player. We’ll see how it goes.”
Grifol said he’ll look to get Fletcher opportunities to play off the bench.
This and that
Shortstop Paul DeJong had three hits, including his team-high seventh homer, three RBI, two runs scored (he leads the team with 18) and a stolen base. DeJong was 3-for-44 when he played for the Jays last season. Nicky Lopez also had three hits.
• Jordan Leasure allowed his first homer, Danny Jansen’s two-run shot in the seventh.
• The Sox, a major-league-worst 14-34, lost to the Blue Jays for the eighth consecutive time.
