White Sox acquire speedy Dyson from Bucs

CHICAGO -- The White Sox made an addition with a look as much to the postseason as the regular season by acquiring outfielder Jarrod Dyson from the Pirates on Friday in exchange for $243,300 in international signing bonus pool money. The White Sox also designated outfielder Nicky Delmonico for assignment and optioned outfielder Luis González to the alternate training site in Schaumburg ahead of their game against the Royals.

“Some speed, can play the small ball, can defend,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of Dyson. “Gives us some flexibility to be able to do a couple of those things. Been notorious in the past stealing bases against us, so it's nice to have somebody like him and [Adam] Engel to possibly use in those types of situations.

“It's something that was being considered for a while in the conversations that they were having and how we were having them and how he might bring a little bit more depth on the bases for us, and obviously defend and help us play little ball. He can do quite a few little things. We'll try to balance it all out and try to take advantage of his skill set.”

Dyson, 36, has great speed, the ability to play across the outfield defensively and comes with playoff experience from his time with the Royals. The left-handed hitter was batting .157 with four stolen bases over 20 games for the Pirates but has 254 stolen bases over 11 Major League seasons with Kansas City (2010-16), Seattle (2017), Arizona (2018-19) and Pittsburgh (2020). Dyson leads all active players with a career 85.2-percent stolen-base success rate, and he ranks sixth in steals.

Defensively, he had six Outs Above Average last season for the D-backs, ranking among the top 25 outfielders in the Majors. This year, he has two OAA, tied for fifth-most among outfielders. Dyson was with the team on Friday.

Madrigal returns
Second baseman Nick Madrigal was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned catcher Zack Collins to Schaumburg. Madrigal, the No. 4 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, was placed on the injured list on Aug. 6 (retroactive to Aug. 5) with a separated left shoulder suffered on Aug. 4 at Milwaukee while sliding into third base trying to go from first to third on a single.

Madrigal is batting .294 with two runs scored and one RBI over five games this season. He looked good hitting and moving in Schaumburg on Monday, when the workout was open to the media, even launching a home run off the top of the scoreboard in left-center.

“Yeah, I think it did go a little bit faster than I thought it was going to be,” Madrigal said of his recovery. “I was feeling really good by the beginning of this week, so I was kind of thinking that's when I would get the callup. It was a huge difference from last week to the week before. I felt way better this week.”

Danny Mendick earned the start at second base Friday despite Madrigal being available. Mendick has started 20 consecutive games since Aug. 5 and is hitting .303 with three doubles, three home runs and six RBIs during that stretch.

“Today I wanted [Madrigal] to come back into the club, transition with us, get comfortable again even though he has been here back and forth,” Renteria said. “Let Mendy continue to do his thing, and I’m sure you will see Nicky quite active in our lineups moving forward.”

Extra bases
? White Sox broadcasts on NBC Sports Chicago are averaging a 1.69 household rating, the club's highest through 29 games since at least 2012. The rating marks a 63 percent increase from last season.

? Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who works as special assistant to White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, celebrated his 50th birthday on Thursday.

He said it
“It would be fair to say I never doubted the players I have and the club that I have and what they are capable of doing.” -- Renteria, on not being surprised at his team's lofty standing in the AL Central entering Friday