White Sox move Erick Fedde to bullpen, keep Noah Schultz in rotation after Luis Castillo trade

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Erick Fedde wasn’t thrilled being moved to the bullpen after the White Sox acquired Luis Castillo from the Mariners, but he has been so accommodating during this surprisingly successful season, he wasn’t going to stop now.

“They just told me [they] wanted to switch my role to the pen and keep me stretched out,” Fedde said of his meeting Sunday with coaches. “And I said, ‘All right, let’s do it.’ ”

“He understood,” manager Will Venable said. “He views himself as a starting pitcher, and I think there’s some disappointment with that. At the same time, I know more than anything he wants to help our team win, and if that means changing roles, ultimately he’s on board with that.”

Rookie Noah Schultz will stay in the rotation — for now. At 88 innings with the Sox and Triple-A Charlotte, he’s one-third of an inning shy of his career high. The Sox want to maintain Fedde’s length, but Venable admitted it’ll be tough to do out of the pen. Fedde isn’t concerned the move will affect his performance. He has lowered his ERA from a season-high 5.47 in May to 4.13.

“Luckily, I’ve had those experiences in my career,” he said. “You’ve got to be a little more focused on prep and make sure you’re keeping yourself in a good position. Maybe it’s a little harder on the body. If they’re keeping me stretched out, it shouldn’t hopefully be too bad.”

Fedde allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts in his last start, a 6-1 victory Friday against the Rays.

As for Castillo, he’s likely to make his Sox debut this week in Boston. The Sox had yet to set up their rotation for the three-game series, which begins Tuesday.

‘Everything’ works for Kay in win

Anthony Kay threw a career-high 6 ⅓ innings and didn’t allow a run, and the Sox hit three homers to rout the Rays 9-1 and take the three-game set from the American League leaders. The Sox outscored the Rays 15-3 for the series, which drew a sizable contingent of Sox fans.

Kay allowed seven hits, and the only walk he allowed was to the last batter he faced. Venable said Kay had “everything” working for him in his 89 pitches, but Kay made particular mention of his cutter.

“That’s my go-to pitch, getting the cutter in on guys,” he said. “I think a lot of the success today was with that. Getting the cutter in leads to being able to use the changeup more and the four-seam [fastball] up. When that thing’s working, that’s when I’m at my best.”

Andrew Benintendi, Everson Pereira and Miguel Vargas went deep. Pereira was inserted into the lineup late when right fielder Braden Montgomery was scratched because of a skin infection on his right ankle. Pereira went 2-for-4 with a double that snapped an 0-for-20 skid, the homer and four RBI. Montgomery is expected to be fine.

Tristan Peters snapped an 0-for-24 skid with a single in the fourth. He also walked in the sixth.

Smith, McDougal adjusting to pen

The Sox are preparing Triple-A left-hander Hagen Smith and right-hander Tanner McDougal — their Nos. 2 and 4 prospects, respectively — for bullpen roles this season. Both are coming off injuries, but Sox director of player development Paul Janish said they’re in good shape.

“Being able to not worry about five innings and being able to empty the tank for five or six outs is something that they’re adjusting to,” Janish said. “But they’re both doing really well — healthy, which is the most important thing. Assuming that health, I think they’re both going to get a chance to perform at the major-league level this year.”

General manager Chris Getz mentioned his excitement to see them in the Sox’ bullpen. Next season, both will be built up to start, Janish said.