CHICAGO -- There are many positive ways to describe White Sox reliever Mike Vasil and his 2025 season to date.
Let’s start with goal-directed.
The right-hander was the bulk hurler Wednesday night during a White Sox bullpen game resulting in a 5-4 Detroit victory at a soggy Rate Field following a one-hour, 35-minute rain delay. And his focus in this role was fairly straightforward.
“Being able to get as many outs as possible was the goal going into tonight,” said Vasil after throwing scoreless baseball for a career-high 3 2/3 innings and 58 pitches.
“Great job. Again, just really good attacking the zone,” said White Sox manager Will Venable of Vasil. “He controlled the count leverage the whole time."
Vasil gave the White Sox (19-43) a chance to come back against the Tigers (41-22) and actually erase a 4-0 deficit accrued in the first inning against opener Jared Shuster. Detroit put together four runs on five hits in that opening frame but didn’t score again until it pushed across the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Wednesday’s setback dropped the White Sox to 3-16 in games decided by one run and 3-16 against the American League Central, both categories in need of major improvement as the South Siders push from rebuilding toward competitiveness. Vasil could be a part of that next solid team, once again showing his durability and versatility.
Factoring in this performance, Vasil has now tossed two-plus innings on 12 occasions and three-plus innings on seven. He leads all AL rookie qualifiers (minimum 30 innings pitched) with his 1.89 ERA and his .184 opponents' average against so highly successful would be another fitting description.
But will Mike Vasil, starting pitcher, be the next words on the resume? Jonathan Cannon was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a lower back strain, and his length of absence has not yet been revealed. In the interim, Vasil seems like a prime candidate to move into the rotation.
Even though he started for most of his Minor League and collegiate career, returning to that role doesn’t necessarily fall as a major goal at this point.
“Yeah, I think, for me I will just do whatever they ask. That’s really my goal coming here in general,” Vasil said. “Do whatever the team needs. Anything they feel is right for me to put me in any situation, I feel like they have done that so far, so I trust them with whatever they decide moving forward.”
“That's what's really valuable about Vasil, is he can do a bunch of different things and pitch in different roles for us,” Venable said. “So absolutely, as we find solutions down the road here for innings, he'll certainly be in consideration."
A plethora of roster moves are a natural byproduct for rebuilds, trying to find that right mix, with one of those roster moves at the end of Spring Training bringing in Vasil. He was claimed off waivers from the Rays on March 23, after originally being selected by the Phillies with the 14th pick of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft and immediately traded to Tampa Bay.
The White Sox made four more moves on Wednesday, with slugging first baseman Tim Elko returning from Triple-A Charlotte and infielder Lenyn Sosa moving to the 10-day IL with a right hip flexor strain. Elko was with the White Sox from May 10-21, and delivered a single against Detroit.
“It's been a journey and that's part of the game. I've enjoyed every minute of it,” Elko said. “You gotta enjoy the ups and downs. And yeah, being back here definitely feels great to be with these guys and just get ready to win.
“I’m trying to stay within myself, not try to do too much and just kind of, ‘see ball, hit ball.’ When I was up here at the beginning, maybe I was overswinging a little bit, trying to do a little too much, and now [I’m] kind of just staying within myself and just trusting myself."
More moves could come soon with Wednesday’s bullpen game testing and taxing the relief crew, as the White Sox already have used 47 players as of June 4. Vasil helped the cause by giving the White Sox a little extra relief.
“Just executing pitches when it mattered most,” Vasil said. “Mixing up the four-seam with the sinker, using the sweeper effectively, mixing speeds. … It’s a really good team we are facing and obviously, they can score some runs, so being able to change speeds and execute pitches.”