White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero suspended 3 games for hitting Cubs' Willson Contreras with a pitch; manager Rick Renteria gets a 1-game ban
CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for hitting the Cubs’ Willson Contreras with a pitch in the seventh inning of Friday’s City Series game at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Sox manager Rick Renteria was suspended for one game for Cordero’s “intentional actions,” according to a Major League Baseball release announcing the news Saturday. Renteria will serve his suspension Saturday.
“They did what they had to do,” Renteria said when asked about the suspension. “They have a protocol that they instituted this year and they’re trying to stay consistent and follow it. …
“We stated our case. We explained it wasn’t something that we were looking to do, and it happened. But again, it’s in their judgement. It’s the protocol that they have in place. So we just abide by it.”
Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper, both of whom were ejected from the game along with Cordero, were fined an undisclosed amount.
Contreras hit a three-run home run off Dylan Cease in the third inning Friday in a 10-0 Cubs rout. Contreras flipped his bat high into the air as he started making his way around the bases.
Cordero plunked Contreras with a sinker on the second pitch of the seventh-inning at-bat. Cordero said after the game the pitch wasn’t intentional.
The Sox have not announced whether Cordero will appeal the suspension. If he does appeal, according to the Sox, the suspension would be pushed to the 2021 regular season.
Cubs manager David Ross addressed the incident Saturday, saying he thought MLB reacted appropriately.
“I don’t know any manager that would really admit to throwing at a player,” Ross said Saturday. “As a manager just being in the seat, if a player throws at a guy, whether it slipped or didn’t, there’s no way to really know that, in my seat.
“I know how it looks. I think Ricky knows how it looks, and Major League Baseball knows how it looks, and it was really bad. So they did their job, and we’ll move on.”
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Chicago Tribune reporter Mark Gonzales contributed.
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