La Russa, Robert out for season

A bevy of White Sox info poured out today, with the headline item being Tony La Russa’s doctors advising him not to return to the dugout in 2022.

La Russa had a pacemaker installed sometime this spring, and his absence in August was to attend to its settings and La Russa’s overall health. The news of the “doctor’s advice” does not ensure that La Russa would not return; given that the White Sox have trotted players in need of surgery (apparently, Michael Kopech, and potentially Luis Robert) out to play this season, let’s not assume the club would bar Tony from the dugout. But it’s looking more and more likely that bench coach Miguel Cairo will finish the season as interim manager.

Robert, who has spent a month in will-he won’t-he limbo regards to oh, playing time, ability to even swing a bat, etc., was placed on the 10-day IL today, ending his season.

Fegan goes on to report that Robert has seen three specialists and GM Rick Hahn is convinced that the center fielder needs mere rest, not surgery. With the front office’s sense of diagnostics, one wonders when the surgery will be scheduled, then.

You wonder if Mark Payton will get a merited call-up from Triple-A to finish out the season. Payton has cracked Charlotte’s all-time RBI leaders list in recent games:

Tim Anderson remains out, and although back with the team to participate in fielding drills and batting practice, there’s no real sense to bringing him back in 2022, with nothing to play for. Kopech, per James Fegan’s tweet above, is almost assuredly done for the year; such would have been from sheer shoulder fatigue and season wear, but with another surgery in the offing, best to rest.

As for Tony’s future, same as it ever was.