Quick hits: Colon missing, Mitchell signed, and more thoughts on the Pena trade

July 8, 6:34 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

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A few thoughts to pass along before today's game:

• Of all the players in the organization, it seems like Bartolo Colon would be the hardest to lose, right? Wrong. It's not like the Sox are in desperate need for Colon to come back anyway, even if Clayton Richard hasn't been very good lately. Granted, it'd be nice to have some more starting depth in case Richard doesn't right himself, but Colon may not even be able to provide that depth. We won't know until he resurfaces from wherever he is and pitches a game, though. If he comes out throwing in the 90's and isn't walking people, it's possible that he could give the Sox some quality starts like he did early in the year. However, if he's struggling to get above the high 80's and doesn't have good control, there's a good chance that he won't be back in the majors with the White Sox.

• If Colon doesn't come back from his hibernation, I have to wonder if the Sox will turn to Aaron Poreda to start a game in July 24th's doubleheader. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but Poreda would be the best option to pick up that start against Detroit. Calling up a Wes Whisler, Jack Egbert, or Carlos Torres for one start doesn't seem like the best idea given that somebody would have to be sent down to make room for one of them. The only problems with starting Poreda are 1) he probably wouldn't be stretched out after spending a long time in the bullpen and 2) he's the team's long reliever, so if he can only go four or five innings it really could hamstring the bullpen for the rest of the important series. Even after that, the Sox don't have an off-day until August 3, so only getting a few innings out of Poreda could have lasting implications past the Detroit series.

• First-round pick Jared Mitchell was signed today and will report to low-A Kannapolis. A few things to keep an eye on in Mitchell's first taste of pro ball: can he continue to take walks? Will he be able to maintain a good slugging percentage? Can his base stealing instincts carry over from college? If all these questions can be answered affirmatively, there's a chance we'll see him starting 2010 in double-A Birmingham. Otherwise, he'll probably move up to Winston-Salem for next year.

• Finally, I've had some more time to think about yesterday's trade, and I don't dislike it as much as I did when I wrote that. As one of my readers pointed out, the Sox have options to replace Brandon Allen as Paul Konerko's successor at first when he leaves. I'd have to guess that it'll be Dayan Viciedo given 1) his defensive struggles at third and 2) that Gordon Beckham is likely entrenched at the hot corner unless Alexei Ramirez or Chris Getz completely fall off the table. If Viciedo continues to develop, then that would make Allen a little more expendable. Plus, Pena is under contract until 2012—and he's cheap. He's going to be the guy to replace Octavio Dotel, assuming Dotel leaves during/after this year. I guess I'm more disappointed that the Sox may have sold low on Allen, who was really struggling in Charlotte since tearing it up in Birmingham this year. If the team was a bit more patient and waited for Allen to [hopefully] start coming around in AAA, they maybe could have pulled a better return than a middle reliever with mediocre peripherals for him.

• More reaction to the Pena trade: SouthSideSox, Soxmachine, AZ Snakepit