The White Sox will release John Danks on Thursday:

Danks has never been the same since he had shoulder surgery in 2012. He dropped his first four starts this season, prompting the White Sox to make a move.

Erik Johnson will be promoted on Thursday to pitch against the Red Sox, but Chicago general manager Rick Hahn says the fifth starter role is ”going to be a bit of a fluid situation.” He mentioned Miguel Gonzalez and Jacob Turner as two other possibilities, and played it coy when asked about Tim Lincecum‘s upcoming showcase in Arizona.

Danks is 25-48 since 2012 with a 4.92 ERA. His walk rate was decent, but his strike out rate was low and his home run rate was high. I suspect the White Sox didn’t help him much on defense either. His FIP the last few years tended to be better than his ERA, but not by much.

It’s too bad. After a long White Sox career he’s finally on a good squad. Of course, because the Sox are competitive this year, they really can’t afford to carry a marginal starter.