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| Nick Madrigal |
With the offseason signings of
Yasmani Grandal,
Dallas Keuchel and
Edwin Encarnacion, the White Sox have sent a clear signal that they have made the transition from a rebuilding team to a team that intends to contend in 2020.
Accordingly, there are fewer position battles in spring training this year, with more players considered "locks" for the 26-man roster when compared with what we've seen in the past.
That said, here are three spots the Sox still need to sort out before the season opens March 26 against the Kansas City Royals.
1. Second base
We know
Nick Madrigal eventually is going to get his chance to be the second baseman in Chicago. The question is, how soon? The 22-year-old former first-round pick is a career .309/.371/.398 hitter with only 21 strikeouts through 163 professional games.
However, Madrigal has only played 29 games at the Triple-A level, and general manager Rick Hahn has hinted he wants to "see more" from Madrigal before bringing him to the majors for full-time work.
If Madrigal tears apart the Cactus League, it's going to be hard to send him to Charlotte, especially in a win-now season, when every game matters, and when it's imperative to have the best man for the job on the field at every position.
But, if Madrigal is mediocre or struggles in Arizona, he's not coming north with the team when the season starts. The Sox could give
Danny Mendick a month of starts at second base, just to see if there's any staying power to the .308/.325/.462 slash line the 26-year-old posted in 16 games during his September call-up last season.
Or,
Leury Garcia is always an option, even if he's not an exciting one. Garcia isn't going to be starting in the outfield anymore -- unless someone among the
Eloy Jimenez,
Luis Robert,
Nomar Mazara group gets injured. The Sox obviously like Garcia, so it wouldn't be a surprise if his new job description reads "stopgap at second until Madrigal arrives."
2. Last spot in the bullpen
I hesitate to call the Sox bullpen a strength. I see scenarios in which it could be, but with
Alex Colome,
Aaron Bummer and
Evan Marshall all being regression candidates, I also can see scenarios where the Sox struggle to close games.
However, I'm pretty sure it's going to be an eight-man bullpen. And I'm pretty sure who seven of those eight men are going to be.
Colome and Marshall will be joined by fellow right-handers
Kelvin Herrera,
Steve Cishek and
Jimmy Cordero. Bummer and
Jace Fry will be the two lefties.
That leaves who, exactly, for the eighth spot? Maybe
Carson Fulmer gets one more kick at the can? He's out of options, and the Sox are notoriously slow to give up on former first-round picks in whom they've invested a lot of time and capital.
Looking at the seven names above, none of them qualifies as a "long reliever," someone who can come in and provide some length on days when the starting pitcher gets knocked out early. Does that open the door for left-hander
Bernardo Flores, who has started throughout his minor league career, but maybe lacks a bread-and-butter pitch to stick in a big league rotation?
Matt Foster,
Ian Hamilton,
Zack Burdi and
Jose Ruiz are other possibilities among pitchers currently on the 40-man roster. Hamilton and Burdi both were once regarded as solid prospects, but injuries have derailed their careers. Are they healthy enough to compete for a spot?
Among nonroster invitees, here are three names to watch:
Tayron Guerrero,
Codi Heuer and
Tyler Johnson.
3. Remaining bench spots
For purposes of this blog, let's say Madrigal starts the season in Triple-A, and Garcia starts the season at second base. I happen to think that's the most likely scenario, so let's go with that.
That puts Mendick in the bench infielder role, and we know
James McCann will be the second catcher after Grandal. That's two of the four bench spots. What about the other two?
You figure one of them will be an outfielder, and
Adam Engel has the inside track with his superior glove. A career .215 hitter, Engel doesn't have a good track record with the bat, but he did slash .313/.360/.482 in 89 plate appearances against lefties in the 2019. That's, well, something, and it's a skill that could keep Engel around as a bench player if he shows a similar ability this spring.
Nicky Delmonico is back with the organization, too, if for some reason the Sox still think he can be a viable lefty bat off the bench. He lacks a position, so he faces an uphill climb. The same can be said for
Daniel Palka, who missed an opportunity to establish himself last season.
Veteran infielder
Andrew Romine is in camp on a minor league deal, and there's always the possibility he makes the club if Engel falters, and the club decides they're better off with Garcia serving as the backup outfielder.
Then there's
Zack Collins and
Yermin Mercedes. The Sox have five catchers on the 40-man, which is rare, and both these two guys are bat-first players. Neither has distinguished themselves as a receiver, but there don't seem to be many DH at-bats available with both Encarnacion and
Jose Abreu on the roster. Could either Collins or Mercedes stick as a pinch hitter and third catcher?
I'd say Mercedes has a better shot, because bench bat is probably his ceiling. Collins is a former first-round pick, so I doubt the Sox will be OK with him playing once a week in the majors and getting the occasional pinch-hitting appearance. I look for Collins to start the season as the everyday catcher in Charlotte, but he may be the first call in the event an offense-first player gets injured in Chicago.
