White Sox in wait-and-see mode ahead of trade deadline

PITTSBURGH — Assistant general manager Josh Barfield is still unsure if the White Sox will be active at the July 31 trade deadline.

"There's a lot of teams right now that are teetering on the line of buying or selling," he said. "As we get closer to the deadline, we'll have a better idea of just how active we will be."

A lot of chatter surrounds center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who the club is hoping can rebuild his value over the next 11 days until the deadline.

But the club has right-hander Adrian Houser, who could have some value around the league. Though he wasn't his sharpest in Saturday's start — allowing three runs over 4 1/3 innings, his shortest start of the season — he's proved this season that he can be a consistent innings-eater for pitching-needy teams.

But dealing Houser would leave an open rotation spot that the Sox would have to fill. Barfield isn't as concerned with the Sox' rotation depth as he would have been at the start of the season. Left-hander Martin Perez, who hasn't pitched since April 18 with left forearm tightness, is nearing a return and threw a bullpen session Saturday.

The team also recently promoted former All-Star right-hander Noah Syndergaard to Triple-A Charlotte. They're confident in where his stuff is, even at 32. He's scheduled to start in Nashville this week with the Knights.

Finding ways to get innings out of starters will be valuable for the Sox in the second half. Outside of right-hander Aaron Civale and Houser, the rotation is filled with guys who haven't been through multiple major-league seasons.

"You look in Charlotte right now, earlier in the year it was kind of tight there as far as guys able to give us starter-type depth," Barfield said.

Smith’s recovery timeline

White Sox All-Star Shane Smith said his ankle sprain occurred when he was decelerating in Thursday's team workouts and wasn't paying attention.

But Smith doesn't believe he needed a stint on the 15-day injured list.

"If I had my pick, I'd like to see what it feels like in the next couple of days," he said "But it's not up to me."

Smith said he fractured his ankle in high school, but that this sprain doesn't seem too severe.

"I didn't play catch [Saturday] so we're going to see what it feels like [Sunday], obviously under the stipulations of the training staff," he said. "It's really just the landing that's the biggest thing; making sure I'm not getting on the outside of my foot. We'll see what it feels like."

Tauchman to the river

Designated hitter Mike Tauchman had quite the series against the Pirates. He had the game-changing double in Saturday's 10-4 win, and on Friday he punctuated the weekend with a 429-foot bomb that reached the Allegheny River in Sunday's 7-2 win.

He became the first Sox player since Hall of Famer Jim Thome in 2006 to reach that feat.

"He’s got a little more thump than me, but it’s cool," said Tauchman, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. "It was fun. It was a good day for the offense, a good day for the team. I’m excited to take it into Tampa."