Ely on the short list

Castle:

Right-hander Ely, one of the top Sox pitching prospects, found out from his agent he was on the short list of potential compensation for the Dodgers as Internet reports claimed he and pitcher John Link would be the players dispatched. Should he depart for Los Angeles, that will end a childhood dream of pitching for the Sox.

“I’d be excited either way, but I grew up a Sox fan,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Ely, a Homewood-Flossmoor alum who was the Sox’s third-round draft pick out of Miami (Ohio) in 2007. “I wanted to pitch for a team I grew up watching.”

“Honestly, I was a little surprised,” he said of being on the list. “But the Sox have a very solid rotation. The more I thought of it, the more excited I was. There would be plenty of opportunity (as a Dodger).”