TORONTO -- Two vastly different roads to the Majors converged in the White Sox clubhouse.
On the heels of a 19-inning doubleheader and with injuries to a pair of key arms in their pitching staff, the White Sox called up right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez from Triple-A Charlotte and selected the contract of lefty Jake Palisch from Double-A Birmingham ahead of Friday night’s 7-1 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
From throwing arm to heritage to playing history, González and Palisch don’t have a ton in common. But the clubhouse doesn’t discriminate.
“I remember what it's like to be in that spot, to get that call and how special it is,” said White Sox manager Will Venable. “And to see these guys do it, it's a really cool thing to be a part of. You just want to do everything you can to support it and make sure that it's a great experience for them.”
You may have heard one of those names more than the other.
A native of Venezuela, González (White Sox No. 15 prospect) was part of the return package in the trade that sent Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in December. Palisch is an undrafted signing out of Texas A&M who’s spent four seasons in Chicago’s Minor League system.
Opportunity came knocking as the White Sox placed Davis Martin (right forearm strain) and Cam Booser (left shoulder strain) on the 15-day injured list on Friday. That’s when the differences between González and Palisch started to fade.
“I’ve been playing baseball since I was three years old,” González said in Spanish. “I’ve always seen the big leagues as my goal, and now I’m accomplishing it, thank God. I feel so happy to be here.”
The first thing the 23-year-old González did after hanging up the phone with Knights manager Sergio Santos was call his parents in Venezuela. Their emotions matched the moment, years of hardship and sacrifice transforming into triumph.
“They started crying,” said González. “Because they know I’ve wanted this for a long time. And I was also very moved because my parents have worked really hard to help me. They’ve given me so much. I remember when I was a kid everything that they did for me so that I could get to where I am today.”
Less than two months removed from a transition to the bullpen, González held his own in his first big league test, pitching two innings of one-run ball with one hit, two walks and two strikeouts. That included facing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with runners on first and second. González never lost his confidence, getting Guerrero to line out on a 1-2 curveball to end the eighth inning.
“It takes [guts] to throw the pitches he did,” said Tyler Alexander, who earned the win with four scoreless innings. “And to control your nerves enough to throw good pitches, get good hitters out, throw strikes, all that stuff.”
Palisch watched from the bullpen, himself just a day or so removed from the emotions of a callup.
“It's the dream that everyone's had since they're a little kid,” said Palisch. “And to have that finally come true, it's just, it's hard to really put it into words. It doesn't completely feel real.”
There were many moments of uncertainty.
After a five-year college career between Stanford and Texas A&M, Palisch made his way up the Minors as a reliever, at times struggling to the point where he considered walking away. He also found motivation in his family.
“I’d have some good spurts, then I’d struggle. I’d be giving up runs, the ERA would be skyrocketing and the arm would be hurting, and it’s like, ‘Hey, I've got two really good degrees. I'm missing out on a lot of my friends’ weddings and all that stuff. Is this something I really want to keep doing?’” said Palisch. “But I got a lot of support from a lot of people, and I kept with it.”
Then came the move to the rotation. Palish, who had never started in his Minor League career, found himself in that role out of necessity in early May. He handed in a 1.15 ERA in seven starts and 39 innings, grabbing the White Sox attention.
Palisch’s debut didn’t come on Friday, but it shouldn’t take long. Venable said ahead of the win that the 26-year-old is expected to pitch in a bulk role out of the ‘pen. Two more injuries to the pitching staff means there should be plenty of innings to cover in the near future.