On the same night, the White Sox lost and added a pitcher. On the negative side, 36-year-old Jose Contreras ruptured his Achilles’ tendon, which could sideline him for the season. On the positive side, they traded for Royals pitcher Horacio Ramirez. In exchange, the White Sox sent minor league outfielder Paul Orlando to Kansas City. David Just of MLB.com suggests that the Sox could use Ramirez as a replacement for Contreras, but since they plan to demote reliever Boone Logan today, they could make another move to recall a starter, leaving Ramirez in the bullpen.
This will be Ramirez’s third team this year. He was released in March by the Mariners, who had previously traded Rafael Soriano for him. Despite his agent’s claims that seven teams were interested, Ramirez sat on the shelf until mid-May, when the Royals picked him up on a minor league deal. He was promoted a month later, and has posted a 2.57 ERA in 24.1 innings out of the bullpen.