Two days after celebrating with teammates as the White Sox clinched their first playoff berth in five years, backup catcher Jake Rogers is preparing for an even bigger occasion.
The Sox placed the 31-year-old Rogers on the paternity list, and recalled Drew Romo from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. Rogers has played sparingly since being claimed off waivers on Aug. 14, and hit just .103/.239/.179 in a White Sox uniform, but his one home run with the club was a walk-off shot against the Mets on Aug. 21. A placement on the MLB paternity list requires a minimum stay of one day, and a maximum of three. There are two days left in the regular season.
With a batting line of .141/.239/.288 in 60 games, Romo hasn’t fared much better offensively. But his defense was so revered by White Sox pitchers and coaches that the procedural language of him being “recalled from Triple-A,” is a bit of obfuscation. He’s remained with the White Sox since he was optioned on Sept. 4 as a member of the “taxi squad,” and was right in the middle of their clubhouse celebration in Kansas City on Thursday.
No matter whether it’s Romo or Rogers, the Sox have reached a point in their chase for the American League Central division title where the backup catcher sees only slightly more game action than emergency catcher Sam Antonacci. Even in a season where he’s suffered three separate leg injuries, starting catcher Kyle Teel has started each of the Sox’ last six games, and has an .808 OPS in September.
