Gamethread: Mariners at White Sox

Will it be the straw that broke the Camelback?

Rebuilding teams naturally try to add youth to their rosters, and the White Sox are no exception, as they yesterday cut 35-year old Kevin Pillar — and signed 34-year old Robbie Grossman. Today, they’re sent 40-year-old reliever Jesse Chavez packing, so brace yourself for spry 50-year-old Bartolo Colón to be squeezing into the pinstripes here for the third time.

Really, six or eight more really sharp moves like that and maybe the White Sox will stumble into a player who’s actually in his prime.

Meanwhile, there’s a game to play today, the home spring finale at Camelback Ranch, with Nick Nastrini taking the mound against the Seattle Mariners. Nastrini was part of the trade that sent Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers at last year’s deadline, and his excellent spring ... 11 innings of one-run ball ... has earned him a slot in the starting rotation to begin the season even though he’s only tossed 19 career innings of Triple-A ball.

On the mound for Seattle will be righty George Kirby, an All-Star last year who has had a really rough spring, giving up eight earned runs in 8 2⁄3 innings.

Kirby will face a Sox lineup that doesn’t include this newly-acquired Grossman youngster, but does include expected regulars in the first four batting positions.

Nastrini gets a break because the Mariners will counter with a lineup that has none of their top hitters from last year — though it does include old friend Seby Zavala.

Game time is set for 3:05 p.m. Central, with temps 20-plus degrees warmer than are expected the next time the White Sox have a home game: Opening Day on March 28. We get a break from the half-*** Gameday, where every batter either hits the first pitch or K’s in three or walks in four, as ESPN 1000 will provide radio coverage and visuals are available at the whitesox.com webcast.