Ignore my scale of likelihood in the previous post -- according to the Brazilian website and reporter that broke Andre Rienzo's first promotion to the White Sox, Rienzo will be joining the club today.
Then again, perhaps I shouldn't feel so bad, because apparently Rienzo didn't see it coming, either.
Matheus Rocha of Extratime says Rienzo announced the news on his Facebook page. Here's the report in Portuguese, and here's an English version Rocha provided:
And Brazil have two Major Leaguers again. André Rienzo was called up from the minor leagues and will play for the Chicago White Sox in the next few days. The player announced his return on his personal Facebook page. "And when you least expected it!!! Don’t know for how long, but I know that I’m going", said the Brazilian.
And here's Rienzo's Facebook post:
Rienzo has reason to be surprised, because he didn't pitch well in spring training, and that's carried over to Charlotte. He's thrown five, four and four innings in his first three starts with the Knights, and he's been typically candid about his performances there. After his last start:
"The loss was my fault," said Rienzo (L, 0-2), who wasn't interested in making excuses. "I was supposed to be out there more -- five-six innings -- and I couldn’t do that today.
"I take all the responsibility," he continued. "(Controlling the off-speed pitches) was my problem. If I don’t have control of them, they’re just sitting on fastballs. After the first inning, I tried to focus on what was to come and try to keep my team in the game, but the damage had already been done."
It would've been Rienzo's turn to pitch in Charlotte had the Knights not been rained out the night before, so he's ready to throw as soon as they need him. One possibility: The Sox are tentatively planning to start him, but if they need long relief out of somebody, they could use him for that and call up somebody else when the impending Felipe Paulino vacancy comes into play.
Whether he's in the rotation or the bullpen, he'll get a chance to see if big-league adrenaline can give him a boost. We know what will happen if his defense does.