Chicago White Sox Provide Update On Injured Pitcher Jonathan Cannon

Jonathan Cannon threw a bullpen on Tuesday and could begin a rehab assignment next week.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon (48) throws against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

CHICAGO – White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon is working to return from a lower back strain.

He threw a bullpen on Tuesday, and the plan is to throw an extended bullpen on Friday. If all goes well, Cannon will start a rehab assignment early next week, per the team.

The White Sox placed Cannon on the injured list on the 15-day injured list on June 3. In his last start on June 2 against the Tigers, he threw 85 pitches across three innings with four hits, five earned runs, three home runs, three walks and five strikeouts in a 13-1 loss.

The injury first affected Cannon's availability on May 24, when he was scratched from his scheduled start against the Rangers. He returned on May 27 against the Mets, and pitched 5.2 innings with nine hits, five earned runs.

"We have a process for evaluating a player, trust what he tells us," White Sox manager Will Venable said on June 3. "He's out there throwing bullpens and kind of a responsible ramp up to the decision point in which we decided that he was good to throw. So, fine about our process, again, also trusting the player that he was in a good spot. Jonathan is a competitor and wants to pitch and believed that he was in a good spot, and he just didn't come out of this last one feeling very good."

In his second season with the White Sox, Cannon, 24, has a 4.66 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP across 10 starts and 12 appearances. He logged 63.2 innings with 68 hits, 33 earned runs, 11 home runs, 21 walks, 51 strikeouts.

Without Cannon, the White Sox have turned to Mike Vasil in a bulk role out of the bullpen and as a starting pitcher. They also signed left-hander Tyler Alexander to a one-year, $760,000 contract, and traded Andrew Vaughn to the Milwaukee Brewers for starting pitcher Aaron Civale.

Shane Smith is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, followed by Sean Burke on Wednesday and Adrian Houser on Thursday to round out the series. The White Sox head to Toronto for a three-game series against the Blue Jays from Friday to Sunday.

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