More bad news has arrived in the White Sox’s dismal season.
White Sox minor league pitcher Christian Edwards has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug boldenone, Major League Baseball announced Friday.
Edwards plays for the team’s Single-A affiliate, the Kannapolis Cannonballers.
Edwards appeared in 17 games with a 4.02 ERA, striking out 17 and walking 18 in 15.2 innings pitched.
The right-handed pitcher was selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Jacksonville State University.
The Cannonballers have just 67 games remaining on their 2024 schedule, meaning Edwards cannot return this year and would have to miss 13 games in 2025.
At the major league level, Chicago is in the midst of one of baseball’s worst years in recent memory.
The White Sox enter Friday’s game with a 20-56 record, the worst winning percentage in MLB.
The team unbelievably lost 14 straight games in June, setting a new franchise record, and finishing with by far the worst goal differential of -158.
The White Sox became the 17th team in MLB history to win 20 or fewer games through their first 76 games.
Chicago’s abysmal winning percentage could well drop further with the expected trade deadline deals to trade players such as starting pitcher Garrett Crochette and outfielder Tommy Pham.
Making things even worse for Southside is that there isn’t much room for comfort in the team’s farm system.
The White Sox minor league organization was ranked 20th overall on MLB’s preseason list.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery, who began the 2024 season as the league’s ninth-best prospect, is batting just .218 with a strikeout rate of just over 29 percent.
Meanwhile, teams could potentially acquire long-term assets in mid- to late July.
