White Sox position players: A way-too-early projection

Last week around this time, I offered some thoughts on how the White Sox pitching staff stacks up as the calendar turns to 2026. 

There is still ample offseason remaining, and there are plenty of free agents still available. So, we're a long way from knowing who the Sox will put on the field on Opening Day. But here's a best guess on who the position players would be as we sit here the second week of January:

C: Kyle Teel. You often hear Teel's name mentioned in the same breath as Edgar Quero, but for this exercise, we need to pick one starting catcher. We'll go with Teel on the basis of his better bat -- a 121 OPS+ last season -- and the fact that he was the centerpiece of the trade return in the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. That alone makes the organization heavily invested in Teel's success.

1B: Munetaka Murakami: You probably won't see a bigger free agent outlay from the Sox this offseason, after they gave a two-year, $34 million contract to the Japanese slugger. A 25-year-old left-handed batter, Murakami once slugged 56 homers in a season, and he has 246 career home runs over eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Sure, the swing-and-miss rates are high on this player, but the Sox need power, and this was a worthwhile gamble. At least they did something!

2B: Chase Meidroth: The 24-year-old batted .253/.329/.320 in his rookie season. There isn't much power there, and Meidroth will need to improve upon the 84 OPS+ he posted last year to stick as an everyday player. He's competent at both middle infield positions, which helps his cause, although his arm is more suited to second base.

SS: Colson Montgomery: Just when I was ready to write this guy off as a prospect, he comes to the majors and slugs 21 home runs in 71 games. A .529 slugging percentage will play, but is it sustainable? Montgomery struck out 83 times in 284 plate appearances. You can live with some swing-and-miss with that kind of power, but I would like to see a little more contact this season. The good thing is Montgomery proved to me that he can play shortstop. Unlike Meidroth, he absolutely has the arm strength to play on the left side of the infield.

3B: Miguel Vargas: The acquisition of Murakami moves Vargas across the diamond to third base. The 2025 season was an up-and-down one for Vargas, but after a disastrous Sox debut in 2024, a 1.9 bWAR last year wasn't the worst possible outcome. Vargas batted .234/.316/.401 with 16 homers. You'd like to see him put the ball over the fence a little more, but he did contribute a team-high 32 doubles.

LF: Andrew Benintendi: It feels like the declining veteran has been here forever, but he's only been with the Sox three seasons. He has two years left on his contract, which feels as unmovable as ever. This is the gift from the Rick Hahn era that keeps on giving. Benintendi batted .240/.307/.431 with 20 homers last year. He's essentially a league-average offensive player. But a chronic Achilles' injury has sapped all his defensive value, and the Sox have said he might be slated for more time at DH this season.

CF: Luis Robert Jr.: He's still here! The Sox continue to value Robert Jr. as a premium trade piece, but other teams do not see him in that light. Therefore, I remain skeptical that there's any deal to be made, despite rampant trade rumors. Injuries limited Robert Jr. to 110 games last year. What else is new? He finished the year at .223/.297/.364 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs. He was playing well late in the season until a hamstring injury ended his year Aug. 26. Typical.

RF: Brooks Baldwin: I don't know what the Sox are going to do in right field. Mike Tauchman was non-tendered this offseason, and while there have been a few minor acquisitions in the outfield, none of them scream "starting right fielder" to me. We figure Baldwin will make the team and play somewhere, so let's put him in right field for now. Baldwin improved with the bat in the second half last season, hitting seven of his 11 homers and posting a .769 OPS after the All-Star break.

DH: Lenyn Sosa: What to do with Sosa? We can't ignore the fact that he led the Sox with 22 homers and 75 RBIs last season. But we also can't ignore that it only resulted in a 101 OPS+, because Sosa struck out 127 times and drew only 18 walks. We also can't ignore that Sosa doesn't play any position well. He can stand at first base or second, but he'll hurt your defense at either spot. Can they just put him at DH and hope for another 20 to 25 homers? A lot of Sox podcasters think a Sosa trade is coming, but rival GMs are aware of his shortcomings, too.

Bench

C: Quero: The 22-year-old didn't have a lot of power in his offensive profile, but you can do worse than .268/.338/.392 as a rookie. Quero has a good sense of the strike zone for a young hitter, and while his receiving behind the plate still needs work, he's pretty good at picking guys off third base. He'll at least get a couple of starts a week behind the plate, and we'll see how the Sox handle the DH spot this year. Will both Teel and Quero be in the lineup at the same time? 

INF: Curtis Mead: The 25-year-old infielder came over in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay last year, but he didn't do much with the opportunities he got in 41 games. He didn't hit a single homer in a Sox uniform -- a red flag for a corner infielder -- and batted just .240/.280/.304. Supposedly, much like Vargas the prior year, the Sox had some "offseason adjustments" they wanted Mead to make. He's out of options, so his time could be running out. But I think he's on the roster for now.

OF: Derek Hill: Somebody has got to play center field when Robert Jr. is ouchie, right? I figure that's the reason the Sox tendered the journeyman Hill a contract. The 29-year-old is on his sixth organization because he's a lifetime .229 hitter. He's not going to give you much with the bat, but hey, he can play the outfield. That's a skill. Michael A. Taylor has retired, so Hill seems to be penciled into that role for now. 

C: Korey Lee: I don't know what to do with the final bench spot, so I'll give it to the most competent guy on the 40-man roster who I haven't mentioned. That's Lee, who has a good throwing arm behind the plate and seems to work with pitchers well. Unlike other catchers, he has some base running ability, so he can be used as a pinch runner late in the game for the slow-footed Quero. And hey, if you want to DH either Teel or Quero, it's probably not a bad idea to have Lee around on the bench for catching emergencies. This probably isn't a great case for keeping Lee, but I'm not impressed with the other options.

Speaking of other options, they include outfielders Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters, and infielder Bryan Ramos. The Sox also inked post-hype prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal, so he'll be another name to watch in spring for the outfield mix.

But anyway, I'm hoping the Sox add another outfielder to the roster at some point, and then Baldwin can shift back into the utility role that best suits him. Only 76 days until the season begins. What will change between now and then? 

White Sox exercise Luis Robert's $20 million option

Luis Robert Jr. will be back in center field for the White Sox in 2026. 

Probably. If he doesn't get injured or traded first. 

Sox general manager Chris Getz had been insistent since the middle of summer that the team would exercise Robert Jr.'s $20 million contract option for next season, and on Tuesday, the club did exactly that.

It looks like a massive overpay. The 28-year-old batted just .228/.297/.364 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs in 2025. Robert Jr. stole a career-high 33 bases, but two stints on the injured list once again limited him to 110 games.

He did not play after Aug. 26 after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain. 

Despite all that, the argument for keeping Robert Jr. is simple: The Sox don't have anyone else to play center field. Michael A. Taylor retired at the end of the season, so that leaves Brooks Baldwin as the only other guy on the roster who can stand at that position. Does that sound like a good plan to you? Me neither.

What about free agency, you ask? Cedric Mullins and Harrison Bader are probably the two best available guys who can play center field. Trent Grisham is out there, too, but after his 34-homer season with the New York Yankees, let's assume he's going to have offers from teams better than the Sox.

If you're going to overpay a guy, I guess you overpay the guy you already have in house. Robert Jr.'s upside is still higher than those aforementioned three players, even if his 38-homer season in 2023 feels longer ago than two years.

Robert Jr. has been with the Sox for six years, and 2023 remains the only season in which he has hit more than 14 homers. It's also the only season in which he has played more than 110 games. Yes, the two things are related.

A word of caution: I think the ship has sailed on the idea that Robert Jr. can be a premium trade piece. Getz held onto him at the trade deadline this past summer because he didn't like the offers he received, and I think you're going to see something similar this July -- even if Robert Jr. is healthy and effective.

The list of injuries this player has suffered through the years is so long now that he simply can't be trusted, and a healthy first half of 2026 isn't going to be enough to erase that thought from the minds of rival GMs.

If you think the Sox are going to deal Robert Jr. for two or three high-level prospects at midseason, get that thought out of your head right now. It's not realistic.

The hope is he'll be healthy and perform well for a full season with the Sox, and perhaps, finally help pull the team out of the basement in the American League Central.

Perez declines mutual option

In other news, left-handed pitcher Martin Perez declined a $10 million mutual option for 2026 and instead will receive a $1.5 million buyout.

Perez went 1-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) in 2025. There was nothing particularly wrong with his performance, but Perez missed significant time with a left elbow strain and left shoulder inflammation. He was on the injured list at season's end.

At age 34, and with two injuries to his pitching arm in the same season, Perez can no longer be trusted to take the mound. It's best that the Sox move forward without him. 

Fraser Ellard, Bryan Ramos join White Sox as September callups

Major League Baseball rosters expanded to 28 on Monday, with each team being allowed to add one pitcher and one position player for September.

No matter what the White Sox did, it probably wasn't going to be all that inspirational. They chose two players we've seen before: left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard and infielder Bryan Ramos.

The 27-year-old Ellard has been struggling all season. He made the Sox out of spring training, but he didn't do much with the opportunity. He appeared in eight games, going 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA. Then he got hurt. Twice. 

Ellard has since made 23 appearances at Triple-A Charlotte, where he is 2-1 with a 6.84 ERA. 

It's not great, but that didn't stop the Sox from throwing Ellard right into the fire Monday. He was used as the opener in a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ellard got five outs and would have completed two innings if not for an error on third baseman Curtis Mead. He was charged with an unearned run, as he walked three batters despite not allowing a hit. That said, the Sox were leading 3-0 when he walked off the mound with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning. It could have been worse.

Ramos batted .202/.252/.333 in 32 games with the wretched 2024 Sox, but we hadn't seen him in Chicago this season until Monday.

His season started with an elbow injury, and when he came off the injured list in April, he slumped badly in Triple-A Charlotte. But, he has shown signs of life in the second half, and he's already on the 40-man roster, so perhaps that's why he's getting an opportunity.

Ramos is batting .218/.317/.391 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs in Charlotte this season. Not impressive, right? However, it's only fair to look at what's been happening recently:

• First half: .194/.305/.358
• Second half: .254/.336/.440 

That second half isn't anything great, but hey, it's palatable. Ramos appeared as a pinch runner in the eighth inning Monday, replacing Chase Meidroth, who had twisted an ankle earlier in the game.

Ramos ended up scoring the game-tying run on a double by Brooks Baldwin. Moments later, Mike Tauchman doubled home Baldwin as part of a two-run eighth that turned a 5-4 Sox deficit into a 6-5 win.

Some other highlights from Monday:

• Colson Montgomery hit his 16th homer of the season. He has homered in each of the four games he's played against Minnesota.
• Meidroth hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast off a hanging slider from Minnesota starter Bailey Ober in the second inning.
• Jordan Leasure retired all four batters he faced for his team-leading fifth save. Yes, five saves is enough to lead the Sox bullpen.

The Sox are 50-88, and they have evened the season series with the Twins at 5-5. 

White Sox trounce Royals in series opener

Maybe a different venue is all it takes? Consider these numbers:

• White Sox record vs. Royals at Kansas City: 0-7
• White Sox record vs. Royals at Rate Field: 3-1
• White Sox runs scored vs. Royals in three games Aug. 15-17: 5
• White Sox runs scored vs. Royals in the first four innings Monday: 6

The Sox were ready for Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron (7-6) on Monday night at Rate Field, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth. The early offense led to an easy 7-0 victory.

After Chase Meidroth started the bottom of the first with a single, the Sox stacked up three run-scoring doubles by Edgar Quero, Lenyn Sosa and Curtis Mead to take a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Sox hit back-to-back homers. Korey Lee's two-run shot made it 5-0. Brooks Baldwin followed with a solo blast.

But perhaps the story of this game was starting pitcher Shane Smith (4-7), who needed only 80 pitches to complete seven innings of shutout ball. Smith struck out three, walked one and allowed just one hit. He threw 54 of his 80 pitches for strikes. 

After a midseason malaise, the rookie right-hander looks rejuvenated since coming off the injured list on Aug. 1. In five starts this month, Smith is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA. He's got 24 strikeouts against 11 walks across 27.1 innings pitched. He's allowed only 16 hits, which means he's only allowing one batter to reach base per inning over that span. 

That's what you're looking for from a starting pitcher.

Tyler Gilbert pitched two innings of scoreless relief to finish off a combined two-hitter in Monday's game.

The Sox are 48-83. 

White Sox option Sean Burke to Triple-A Charlotte

In a somewhat surprising move, the White Sox optioned starting pitcher Sean Burke to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Burke, who was the team's Opening Day starter, has had an up-and-down season, going 4-10 with a 4.28 ERA. The 25-year-old right-hander has appeared in 24 games (20 starts), and he's pitched a team-leading and career-high 117.2 innings.

And Burke has struck out 110 batters across those innings. That's the good part. He has shown some ability to miss bats. However, he might be hitting a bit of a wall during these dog days of August. 

On paper, his last five starts aren't that bad -- a 3.92 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 20.2 innings. But that last number -- the innings -- is the sore spot. Burke is barely averaging four innings per start over this stretch. 

In his previous two outings, he needed 88 pitches to get through 3.1 innings against Cleveland. He needed 85 pitches to get through 3.2 innings Saturday against Kansas City. That's taxing a Sox bullpen that has been struggling.

It's not a great sign that both Burke and Jonathan Cannon have been optioned to Charlotte in recent days. No doubt the Sox were hoping one (or both) of them would have a breakout season and solidify a rotation spot for 2026. Neither man has done that.

Martin Perez is back off the injured list, and he'll rejoin the rotation when he starts Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves. Perez and Aaron Civale make up the veteran part of the starting staff. 

Shane Smith has looked much better since recently coming off the injured list, and Davis Martin threw six innings of shutout ball in a no-decision Sunday in Kansas City.

So, four of the rotation spots are still covered, despite the struggles of Burke and Cannon. Apparently, the Sox want to take a look at righty Yoendrys Gomez, who had a strong five-inning start with seven strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 12.

Gomez pitched Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves, as well, and he picked up his second consecutive victory as the Sox beat Atlanta, 13-9.

The Sox were ahead 10-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, so Gomez (3-1) was once again effective through five. Alas, he gave up three runs in the sixth, and that made his final line look mediocre -- four runs on seven hits, with three strikeouts and one walk.

The 13 runs and 19 hits were season highs for the Sox. Brooks Baldwin, Luis Robert Jr., Lenyn Sosa and Kyle Teel all homered for the Sox. 

For Sosa, it was his third homer in the four games on the current road trip. He now leads the team with 17 home runs. Teel and Andrew Benintendi each had four-hit games. 

The Sox are now 45-80. 

Nick Maton? Why not Tim Elko, Corey Julks or Dominic Fletcher?

We noted earlier this week that the White Sox have had a lot of trouble scoring runs in Kansas City in recent years.

Nothing new to report Wednesday night: The Royals got a two-run homer from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and that was enough for Kansas City to beat the Sox, 2-1.

One thing you notice about the Sox: There is almost no power whatsoever in their lineup. After Wednesday's loss, it has now been five consecutive games without a home run for this team. Luis Robert Jr. hit his fifth home run of the season last Friday in a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros, but the quick-strike offense has been lacking for the South Siders.

Adding to the problem: another injury for Andrew Benintendi, who hit the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a calf strain. Whatever power the Sox have, it typically comes from Robert Jr. and Benintendi. The two are tied for the team lead in homers with five. 

Strangely, the Sox selected the contract of Nick Maton to take Benintendi's place on the roster. You might recall that Maton was designated for assignment on April 26, after batting .173/.295/.327 in 23 games to start the season.

I guess Maton did hit two homers in those 23 games, but I wouldn't say he's the sort of player who is a threat to hit the ball out of the park with any regularity. He's not going to fill any power void.

He's also an infielder, so he's not going to fill the holes the Sox have at the corner outfield spots. Benintendi, Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater are all injured now, leaving the South Siders woefully thin in the outfield.

Brooks Baldwin, an infielder by trade, has been playing left field in this series against Kansas City. Joshua Palacios started in right field on Wednesday. Palacios is lucky to be in the big leagues, but at least he's playing his natural position. 

This is why the addition of Maton is so curious. He doesn't help in any of these two glaring problem areas, and the Sox have other options at Triple-A Charlotte.

Tim Elko is batting .348 with 10 homers and 23 RBIs for the Knights. No, Elko is not going to stand at a corner outfield spot, but you can put him at designated hitter and at least have another guy besides Robert Jr. who is a threat to hit a ball into the seats.

Then there's Corey Julks, who is pretty much a Quad-A player. But he's dominating at Charlotte, hitting .364 with three homers and 14 RBIs. We've seen Julks before, and we know that production won't translate all that well to the majors, but at least he can play a competent corner outfield in the short run.

Dominic Fletcher is hanging around Charlotte, too, batting .265 with an .836 OPS. Fletcher is actually a good defensive outfielder, especially if you put him at a corner spot. At least that's *something,* a skill that has some utility.

What exactly is Maton going to give the Sox? I always say, even if I disagree with a move, I can live with it if I understand the thought process behind it. 

But I just don't see the logic here of passing over Elko, Julks and Fletcher to add Maton to the roster.

White Sox opener strategy works ... sort of

Give White Sox manager Will Venable credit for trying something new. 

The Athletics have a left-handed-dominant top of the batting order, and the Sox have nothing but right-handers in their starting rotation. 

It's a matchup made in hell, so Venable used a left-handed reliever to pitch the first inning of all three games in Sacramento this weekend, and then he went to his regularly scheduled right-handed starter in the second inning.

Even though the Sox lost two of three games, it mostly worked. Tyler Gilbert pitched a scoreless first inning Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Brandon Eisert allowed one run in the first inning Sunday. 

The right-handers who followed them pitched well. On Sunday, Davis Martin tossed six shutout innings. Jonathan Cannon got his first win of the season Saturday when he allowed three runs over 7.2 innings. Sean Burke on Friday allowed three earned runs over 5.1 innings, which wasn't great, but it was an improvement over his previous outings.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 25

Athletics 6, White Sox 5: The Sox took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Burke got in trouble. With two on and two outs, Jacob Wilson singled to center, and Luis Robert Jr. booted the ball, allowing both runners to score and tie the game at 3.

The A's tacked on two in the seventh and one in the eighth to take a 6-3 into the ninth. The Sox rallied against closer Mason Miller. Lenyn Sosa singled and scored on a two-run homer by Brooks Baldwin. Miguel Vargas lined out to center, and Edgar Quero just missed tying the game on a fly ball to right that was caught at the wall.

Four good ABs in a row, and then Robert Jr. struck out on three pitches, the last of which was nowhere near a strike. It was a tough game for Robert Jr. overall: 1 for 4 with three strikeouts and the crucial error that flipped the game in the Athletics' favor.

Saturday, April 26 

White Sox 10, Athletics 3: Robert Jr. redeemed himself with a solo home run in the top of the first that started a four-run rally. Quero walked, and then there were three straight RBI doubles by Sosa, Michael A. Taylor and Baldwin.

The Sox added two more in the second inning and jumped out to an early 6-0. Cannon (1-3) made it work from there with his best outing of the season. He struck out five and walked two, while allowing six hits over his 7.2 innings.

Taylor finished 3 for 5 with three doubles. Quero and Vargas also had two-hit games.

Sunday, April 27

Athletics 3, White Sox 2 (10 inn.): The Sox had 14 men reach base in this game -- nine hits, four walks and a hit batsman. You would think that would be a recipe for more than two runs, but you'd be wrong.

Joshua Palacios hit a solo home run to start the game, but the Sox didn't score again until the top of the 10th when Robert Jr. plated the ghost runner with an RBI single to put the South Siders ahead 2-1.

Quero then singled, advancing Robert Jr. to third with only one out. It looked like the Sox might break the game open. Alas, Andrew Vaughn grounded into a double play to drop his average down to .157 and kill the inning.

That proved really costly because the Sox needed another run. Jordan Leasure (0-2) gave up a homer to Luis Urias in the bottom of the 10th with the ghost runner aboard, and that provided the winning margin for the Athletics.

The Sox stranded 10 runners, went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and hit into two double plays. Woof.

The 10-game road trip is over. The Sox went 3-7 and are now 7-21 for the season. They start a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Rate Field.

White Sox swept by Athletics

Entering Thursday's play, the Sacramento Athletics ranked 14th out of 15 American League teams in pitching.

However, that did not stop them from shutting out the White Sox, 8-0, to complete a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Rate Field.

As a matter of fact, A's pitching only gave up four runs the whole series. Three of those runs came in the first inning of the first game Tuesday, on a 3-run homer by Andrew Vaughn.

In the following 26 innings, the Sox managed just a solo home run by Brooks Baldwin.

It's probably not a good sign for the South Siders to get outscored 23-4 at home in a three-game set against a team that is expected to finish near the bottom of the American League West. 

On Thursday, the Sox had only four hits off A's starter JP Sears and three relievers. 

Check out the batting averages for the 2-3-4 hitters in Chicago's lineup on Thursday. Luis Robert Jr. went 0 for 3 with a walk and is now down to .136. Vaughn managed a bloop single in this game, raising his average to a robust .138. Miguel Vargas was also 1 for 4, and he's hitting just .149.

Those three guys are supposed to produce runs for the Sox. They aren't getting it done.

Edgar Quero, a top Sox catching prospect, made his MLB debut in this game. He went 0 for 3 with an HBP, a flyout to right field, a lineout to the pitcher and a strikeout.

The Sox are 4-14. Next up, a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox that starts Friday night at Fenway Park.

White Sox take 2 of 3 from Red Sox

The Boston broadcasting booth might have given the White Sox some bulletin board material before the start of this weekend's three-game series at Rate Field.

During a Thursday game between the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, play-by-play man Dave O'Brien stated, "The White Sox invent ways to lose games." Color commentator Will Middlebrooks added, "The trip to Chicago could be coming at a perfect time." 

Now we all get to laugh and point at Boston because the White Sox surprised most observers by taking two out of three games. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 11

White Sox 11, Red Sox 1: We're used to Chicago prospects coming up and looking terrible in their major league debuts, so it was refreshing to see Chase Meidroth make a positive first impression.

The rookie middle infielder went 1 for 1 with a single, three walks and two runs scored. It's pretty cool to make four plate appearances in your first game and come out with a 1.000 on-base percentage. Meidroth became the first White Sox player to walk three times in his MLB debut since Ray Morehart on Aug. 9, 1924. 

They should give free admission to anyone who saw Morehart play, but I digress.

Boston committed five errors in this game, leading to six unearned runs for the White Sox. Michael A. Taylor went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, and Lenyn Sosa had two hits and two RBIs to lead the South Siders' offense.

The 12-hit attack made life easy for starting pitcher Davis Martin (1-1), who worked six-plus innings and allowed just one run to pick up the victory. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.

Saturday, April 12

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2: Boston starting pitcher Richard Fitts was sailing along with a 2-0 lead through five innings, but the White Sox caught a break when Fitts departed in the sixth after experiencing pain in his pitching shoulder.

Reliever Zack Kelly walked Miguel Vargas, and one out later, Luis Robert Jr. connected for his first home run of the season to tie the score at 2.

It remained even until the bottom of the ninth, when Robert Jr. worked a leadoff walk against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. Robert Jr. eventually stole second and scored the winning run on a pinch-hit single by Brooks Baldwin.

Four Sox relievers combined to work 4.1 innings of scoreless ball. Most of the credit goes to Mike Vasil, who pitched two innings, and Jordan Leasure who got five outs across the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler Gilbert (1-0) was awarded the victory after he recorded the final out in the top of the ninth.

Sunday, April 13

Red Sox 3, White Sox 1: Former Chicago lefty Garrett Crochet got his revenge, taking a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning in the series finale.

In an interesting twist, Meidroth singled with one out in the eighth to break up the no-no. Most fans will recall that Meidroth was one of four players the White Sox acquired from Boston in the Crochet trade this past winter.

Meidroth eventually scored when Matt Thaiss singled off reliever Garrett Whitlock to slash the Boston lead to 2-1. In fact, the White Sox had runners on second and third with only one out, but they could not tie or take the lead. Pinch hitter Joshua Palacios struck out, and Vargas flew out to left to end the threat.

Trevor Story homered in the top of the ninth to restore the Red Sox lead to two runs, and Chapman got three outs in the bottom of the inning to pick up the save. Crochet struck out 11 and allowed only one hit and one walk in 7.1 innings pitched.

It was a tough-luck loss for Shane Smith (0-1), who allowed two runs over six strong innings. Smith's ERA is a respectable 2.04 through his first three MLB starts. Unfortunately, run support has mostly eluded him to this point in the season.

The White Sox are now 4-11. They'll take Monday off before hosting a three-game series against the Sacramento Athletics. I'm not sure we're supposed to call the A's that, but hey, they play their home games in Sacramento, so there's that.

White Sox option Colson Montgomery to Triple-A

Full disclosure: I've been bearish on the idea of Colson Montgomery as the White Sox Opening Day shortstop this year.

I understand Sox fans are tired of watching short-term stopgaps at almost every position on the diamond. I understand Sox fans want a glimpse of the future. I understand Sox fans are starving for hope of any sort. 

But the reality is Montgomery isn't ready for the task right now.

Team management agrees. On Tuesday, the Sox announced they are optioning the No. 39 prospect in baseball to Triple-A Charlotte. I see a lot of folks on social media expressing disappointment over this decision, but it's the right call.

If we're being honest, Montgomery hasn't proven he can hit at Triple-A yet. The ballpark in Charlotte is paradise for hitters, but the 23-year-old struggled in 130 games at that level in 2024, batting .214/.329/.381 with 18 homers, 63 RBIs and 164 strikeouts in 572 plate appearances. Only a strong finish brought Montgomery's OPS up to .710.

Yes, he did hit well in a small sample size in 11 games in the Arizona Fall League -- .311/.511/.656 with three homers, 10 walks and only six strikeouts in 45 plate appearances. Alas, the AFL is a hitters' league, and it's generally void of top pitching prospects. A halfway decent hitting prospect *should* dominate in that league.

I would have been skeptical of Montgomery even if he was having a good run in the Cactus League right now. Instead, he missed about 10 days with back spasms, and after homering in the spring training opener against the Cubs, he hasn't had a hit since. He's 1 for 9 with five strikeouts.

Given the timing of the injury, it's best that he start in Charlotte. Hopefully, he performs well in Triple-A for a couple of months, and then he can come to Chicago healthy and in top form later in the season.

Where does that leave the Sox for a shortstop in the short run? It's ugly. The candidates include Chase Meidroth, who is better suited for second base; Jacob Amaya, a good fielder who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat; and Brooks Baldwin, who looks like a future utility player.

The Sox front office made a mistake by not bringing in a serviceable veteran who can handle the position. They put all their eggs in the basket of Montgomery being ready, and that is simply not the case.

But, at least they are not doubling down on this. They are acknowledging that Montgomery needs more time in the minors. It's the correct move for the player and the team.