Sox are tough to watch in loss to Seattle, but Sosa and Colas may bring hope

On and off the field, it’s been a brutal season for the Chicago White Sox.

The last few weeks have been particularly tough with players being traded, Tim Anderson’s suspension and Keynan Middleton’s comments about lack of leadership in the clubhouse.

Then came a report Sunday from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that the Sox are considering “drastic changes” in the front office and/or coaching staff.

In the midst of it all, there are still games to be played — 37 more, to be exact, after the Sox were smoked 14-2 Monday by surging Seattle at Guaranteed Rate Field. Touki Toussaint (1-6) walked four in the Mariners’ 5-run first inning.

Seattle (70-55) has won seven straight, while the Sox (49-76) have lost seven of nine.

Over the next 5½ weeks, manager Pedro Grifol wants to see who can prove they’ll be able to help next season and beyond.

“We can’t go into spring training with questions,” Grifol said. “We’ve got to make sure this off-season we’re closer to knowing when these guys are going to be completely ready to be major leaguers.”

Infielder Lenyn Sosa and right fielder Oscar Colas are two players Grifol and general manager Rick Hahn will watch closely.

The 23-year-old Sosa launched a 3-run homer at Colorado on Sunday to put an exclamation mark on a 7-run eighth inning. The Sox went on to win 10-5.

Sosa, signed as an international free agent in 2016, hit 16 HRs with 58 RBIs in 85 combined games at Class AA and AAA. He was recalled from Charlotte on Friday.

“So far I’ve liked what I’ve seen,” Grifol said. “His swing is shorter, he’s putting the ball in play, he’s concentrating on just playing the game to win — which is one of the things we told him when we sent him down. …

“He’s come back with a different focus.”

Sosa is 12-for-81 (.148) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 19 strikeouts with the Sox.

The 24-year-old Colas has bumped along for most of the season, barely keeping his average above .200 and his on-base percentage above .250. There have been promising signs of late, however, as Colas has gone 11-for-45 (.244) with a pair of home runs and 5 RBIs in his last 13 games.

Anderson should slot back into the lineup Wednesday when he returns from a five-game suspension, but Sosa will get plenty of playing time down the stretch — possibly at the expense of 34-year-old veteran Elvis Andrus.

Other vets figure to sit more as well when rosters expand in September. The Sox have eight active rookies on the active roster, fourth most in the American League.

“These guys have been around long enough to know that they were once that (young) guy,” Grifol said. “So hopefully they understand that. I think they will when the time comes. …

“We’ll see how those conversations go when the time comes.”

Seattle’s Luis Castillo (10-7) gave up 5 hits (3 of which were doubles) while striking out nine in 7 innings. The last 47 pitches Castillo threw were all fastballs, which seriously irked Grifol.

“We didn’t do anything,” Grifol said. “We didn’t adjust.”

Castillo’s average fastball speed was 96.4 mph and topped out at 98.5.

“That sinker is like a changeup and turbo sinker at the same time,” said SS Elvis Andrus, who led off the game with a double. “We knew how tough he is. Very uncomfortable.

“He works very well, gets you off time (and) the angle he throws it he’s very hard to pick up.”

Cal Raleigh (23, 24) hit a pair of home runs and drove in 6 runs for Seattle. Teoscar Hernandez (19) also homered and had 3 RBIs.