Steve Carlton May Join White Sox

Steve Carlton, the four-time Cy Young Award winner who announced his retirement last week, is expected to sign with the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

The Inquirer, citing unidentified sources close to Carlton and the team, said the White Sox will schedule a news conference Tuesday to announce that they will be the third club to employ the left-hander in the space of six weeks.

Carlton, 41, was released by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 25 and was signed by the San Francisco Giants, with whom he made five starts. He had a 5-1 record and a 5.89 ERA with the two clubs. He announced his retirement Wednesday.

The Inquirer said Carlton had been negotiating with the White Sox for two days and could start for Chicago Tuesday night in Detroit.

Chicago General Manager Ken Harrelson would not comment, the Inquirer said.

The Inquirer said that it had learned that Carlton did not officially retire. He did not put his name on the voluntary retired list or submit a letter of retirement to the National League, the newspaper said.

If he had, he would have been ineligible to sign with another club for at least 60 days.