White Sox acquire RF Nomar Mazara from Texas Rangers

Nomar Mazara

Unless there are more moves to come, your starting right fielder for the 2020 Chicago White Sox is Nomar Mazara.

Underwhelming, isn't it?

The Sox acquired the 24-year-old outfielder from the Texas Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for outfield prospect Steele Walker.

Before we talk about Mazara, let's be clear about one thing: While Walker had a good season at Class-A Winston-Salem in 2019, he was expendable. He's a 23-year-old who has never taken a single at-bat above A-ball. So, from that perspective, wouldn't you rather have a 24-year old with four years of MLB experience? That's Mazara.

Mazara batted .268/.318/.469 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs in 116 games for the Rangers last season. I'm not impressed, but before we get to why, let's check off some of the good points for Mazara:

• He bats left. That's an area of need, and he did bat .288/.344/.500 with 13 home runs against right-handed pitching last season. You can do worse than an .844 OPS against righties.
• He's clearly better than Daniel Palka, Jon Jay or Ryan Cordell. Duh. As I indicated, you can do worse than an .844 OPS against righties, and the Sox did do worse last season when their right fielders posted a collective .565 OPS. Blech.
• Mazara has hit 20 home runs in three of his first four seasons, and he has a 101-RBI season under his belt (2017).
• He's only 24, so there's still a chance that he could improve, and he's under control for two more years.

Now, here's some of the reasons NOT to be excited about this trade:

• In his four seasons, Mazara has posted a career OPS+ of 93. In each individual season, his OPS+ has been 93, 90, 96 and 96. A league-average right fielder has an OPS+ of 100, so Mazara has been 7% below league average for his career. His career OPS is a pedestrian .754.
• Mazara has never posted a WAR of more than 1.1 in any season, according to baseballreference.com. In part, this is because he is a subpar defender with limited range, who takes poor routes in right field.
• He can't hit lefties and needs a platoon partner. He batted .220/.252/.394 against left-handed pitching in 2019.
• He strikes out a lot, just like everyone else who plays for the Sox. Mazara struck out 108 times last season, and that represents a career low.
• He doesn't walk. Mazara also walked a career-low 28 times in 2019, and his career on-base percentage is .318. That fits right in with an endemic problem the Sox have: They don't get on base nearly enough.
   

It seems to me this move is only good if Mazara is placed in a platoon role. There are better outfielders out there in free agency -- Nicholas Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, Yasiel Puig -- and most of them swing from the right side of plate. Maybe the Sox need to bring one of these guys in to play right field against left-handed pitching and serve as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching. (For the record, Puig is my choice.)

Mazara just doesn't strike me as a good "Plan A" in right field for a team that claims to be taking steps forward toward contention over the next couple of years.

Of course, Mazara is 24, so he could get better, but given the Sox's track record, do you trust that they can unlock whatever untapped potential may be lurking inside this player? 

White Sox have two big lineup holes -- I mean, big lineup holes

Leury Garcia

When Leury Garcia lined the second pitch he saw Tuesday night off the top of the right-field fence for a long single, he narrowly missed hitting the fourth home run of the season for White Sox right fielders.

Yes, you read that right. It is not a misprint.

Major League batters have hit 6,085 home runs coming into Wednesday night's play. If 20 home runs are hit in Wednesday night's games -- a good bet -- a new single-season record will be set.

However, only three of those 6,085 home runs have been hit by Sox right fielders. That's pathetic, given that corner outfield is considered an offensive position.

I don't mean to single out Garcia, who has seven home runs and has seen most of his playing time in center field this season. He is a very small contributor to the lack of power in right field -- Jon Jay, Ryan Cordell, Charlie Tilson and Daniel Palka are the main culprits in this outage.

Here is the season slash line for Sox right fielders: .212/.270/.272 with three home runs and 35 RBIs.

Yikes. Remember when we used to complain that Avisail Garcia wasn't hitting for enough power? His 19 home runs with Tampa Bay would look pretty good on the South Side right now, don't you think?

This problem is compounded by the fact that Sox designated hitters stink. They've hit .195/.276/.320 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs.

It's pretty tough to compete when you're getting such poor production out of two offense-oriented positions.

The average big league team has hit 203 home runs this season. The Sox have hit 155. Let's say the Sox need to add one, if not two, middle-of-the-order bats for 2020.

White Sox salvage 1 out of 3 against Los Angeles Angels

Tim Anderson is leading the AL in hitting.

The White Sox kicked away a winnable series at Guaranteed Rate Field over the weekend, losing two out of three games to the Los Angeles Angels.

It's disappointing because the Angels (67-77) had lost 11 out of 13 games coming into the series, and Mike Trout left in the middle of Friday's game and didn't play the rest of the weekend. This was a favorable situation for the Sox (63-80), and they failed to take advantage.

But, the win Sunday was the Sox's 63rd of the season, which means they will not duplicate last year's 100-loss campaign. So, at least there's that.

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

Friday, Sept. 6
Angels 5, White Sox 4: The Sox had been 49-1 this season when leading after seven innings. Make it 50-2, as relievers Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome combined to let this one get away.

Lucas Giolito was seeking his 15th victory of the season, and he did not disappoint, turning in another strong outing. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on only three hits. He struck out six and walked one. Tim Anderson backed Giolito with a two-run homer, and the Sox led, 4-2, going into the eighth inning.

But that's when Bummer walked pinch-hitter Taylor Ward, and two batters later, gave up a two-run homer to Brian Goodwin, who had taken over in center field after Trout left the game with a foot injury. The blast tied the game at 4.

Colome entered to try to preserve the tie in the ninth, but Justin Upton homered on the first pitch of the inning to put the Angels ahead to stay. The Sox could get nothing done against Los Angeles closer Hansel Robles (5-0), who retired all six batters he faced over the final two innings.

Daniel Palka struck out looking to end the game. He is now 1 for 54 this season.

Saturday, Sept. 7
Angels 8, White Sox 7: What will it take for the Sox to stop using Dylan Covey as a starting pitcher? Covey (1-8) was shelled for seven earned runs on seven hits over just 2.2 innings. His ERA is 7.69. It's baffling that this "experiment" has not ended yet. For goodness sake, put Hector Santiago out there. He usually can at least get to the fifth inning before having a meltdown on the mound.

The Sox trailed 7-2 when Covey left in the third inning, and they tried to come back. But, the hole was too deep. Jose Abreu's 30th home run of the season, a 3-run shot in the seventh inning, brought the Sox to within a run. However, they were unable to mount a threat in either of the last two innings, with Robles nailing down his 20th save.

Anderson went 2 for 5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. The Sox shortstop got the day off Sunday, so he exits this series with a .334 batting average. He leads the American League in hitting. New York's DJ LeMahieu was second at .328 entering Sunday's play.

Sunday, Sept. 8
White Sox 5, Angels 1: It wasn't a great day for Sox rookie Dylan Cease, but it could have been worse. Cease needed 36 pitches to get through the first inning, and 30 more to get through the second. However, the Angels managed only one run in those two innings and left the bases loaded both times.

The pitch count caught up with Cease, as he lasted only 3.1 innings. He allowed the one run on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts. Fortunately, the Sox bullpen bounced back from Friday's debacle. Josh Osich (2-0), Bummer and Colome combined for 5.2 innings of one-hit relief.

Osich allowed one hit over 2.2 scoreless innings. Bummer allowed only a walk in two innings, and Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth.

Abreu hit his 31st home run of the season in the third inning to give the Sox the lead for good. The slugger now has a career-high 112 RBIs.

Danny Mendick also connected for his first career home run. The 25-year-old September call-up started at shortstop with Anderson getting the day off, and he has not looked out of place thus far. Mendick is 5 for 14 in five games, three of them starts.

The Sox will get an off day Monday before hosting the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series Tuesday through Thursday.

White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka is batting .019 ... .019!

Do you suppose it's safe to delete this picture of me with Daniel Palka from SoxFest 2019? I get the feeling Palka is not going to be in the big leagues -- or with the White Sox -- for too much longer.

Palka is 1 for 53 at the big-league level this season. His slash line sits at .019/.133/.019 after an 0-for-4 performance in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

He's batting .019!

I'm trying to think of another case where a position player had a batting average that low. Sure, some pitchers have had a crummy average like that over the course of a season -- Al Leiter in 2003, for example. Leiter was 1 for 53, just like Palka.

But typically, a position player will run out of chances when he gets around, say, 1 for 30. Palka, however, is getting a chance to redeem his season as the Sox made him one of their September call-ups.

He's started two of the three games since rejoining the South Siders, and he's 0 for 8 with four strikeouts.

It's actually a little confounding that Palka is this miserable at the plate. He led the Sox in homers with 27 in 2018, and it isn't as if he had a bad season at Triple-A Charlotte:

2018 with White Sox: .240/.294/.484, 27 HRs, 15 2Bs, 67 RBIs in 124 games
2019 with Triple-A Charlotte: .263/.374/.527, 27 HRs, 23 2Bs, 72 RBI in 106 games

Maybe Palka hasn't set the world on fire with these numbers, but he also hasn't done so poorly that you would expect historic ineptness from him at the plate.

I was watching Palka's at-bat against Cleveland pitcher Tyler Clippard on Wednesday night, and he fouled off five pitches before grounding out to second base. Normally, you would say it was a good battle -- fouling off five pitches -- but four of those were pitches were right in the center of home plate. We're talking middle-middle strikes.

One of the four was a high changeup, a pitch that MLB hitters regularly put in play hard. The other three were hittable fastballs. Palka could not put any of them in fair territory, and that suggests his struggles have become a mental thing.

It may be about time to send him home for the year, then designate him for assignment at the end of the season. Palka was a fun story last year, but it just isn't working out anymore.

Lopez shuts down Cleveland

Maybe I'll keep this photo of me and Reynaldo Lopez a little while longer, after Lopez had one of the best outings of his career in a 7-1 win over the Indians on Thursday.

Lopez (9-12) became the first Sox pitcher to throw a complete-game one-hitter with 10 or more strikeouts since Floyd Bannister did it in 1987.

The right-hander's final line: 9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 11 Ks, 3 BBs

I missed the game because I was at work, but it was real nice to hear that Lopez had bounced back after getting knocked out in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves in his previous start.

Lopez has shown us that he can be an effective starter at times. There's just not much consistency. But the guess here is he's shown enough flashes of brilliance to be in the Sox's starting rotation once again in 2020.

Charlotte Knights blow opportunity to go to Triple-A playoffs

If you've been watching White Sox games lately -- and you deserve a medal if you have -- you have probably noticed that the TV broadcast team of Jason Benetti and Steve Stone has been touting the potential benefits of a deep playoff run for the Sox's Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.

It was hard not to feel as though Benetti and Stone were preparing fans for the inevitable -- the fact that top prospects were not going to be called up for September, and that "going to win a championship together" would be ideal for the better players on that Charlotte roster.

Well, guess what?

Charlotte lost eight of its last nine games and blew a four-game lead in the wild-card race over the last 10 days. So, I guess you might say the Knights had the experience of "choking together," and we can only hope the players involved will deal with the situation better should they receive such an opportunity again.

The losing streak was characterized by a three-game sweep at the hands of the Durham Bulls, the team that ultimately took the playoff spot away from Charlotte. Here's a true story: Manny Banuelos and Carson Fulmer basically blew it for the Knights.

Banuelos made a rehab start Aug. 27 and got shelled for seven earned runs over four innings. He gave up seven hits, including three home runs, as Durham beat Charlotte, 10-6.

The very next day, the Knights took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, only to see Fulmer come on and allow three of the four batters he faced to reach base -- two on walks and one on a hit. Two of those runners ended up scoring as Durham topped Charlotte, 3-2.

If the Knights win either of those two games, they are in the playoffs, Durham is not, and the season continues for two of the Sox's top prospects -- Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal.

Instead, Robert and Madrigal are going home without a September call-up -- money and service time are most important, you know? -- while Fulmer and Banuelos hysterically were the only two men the Sox called to the big leagues on Sept. 1.

Both these two failed pitchers were seen on the mound Monday, giving up runs as the Sox lost, 11-3, to the Cleveland Indians. With the defeat, the South Siders (60-77) tied their season-worst losing streak at seven games. Will these guys ever win a game again? It doesn't seem like it.

For the record, the Sox did make some call-ups on Tuesday now that Charlotte's season is over. Zack Collins is back, as he should be, and Danny Mendick is rightfully getting a shot. With Jon Jay going on the 60-day injured list with a hip problem, Mendick was added to the 40-man roster.

Let's hope both Collins and Mendick get some playing time from manager Rick Renteria. It would be nice to have more information on these two players going into the offseason. Can Collins be on this roster as a catcher in 2020? Is Mendick a viable option as a utility infielder? I don't know, but now is a good time to see what we can learn about these two guys.

Outfielder Daniel Palka and pitcher Dylan Covey also were recalled, in two moves that we need not get excited over. Let's just hope we don't see Covey back in the starting rotation, and let's hope we don't see Palka getting at-bats ahead of Collins.

White Sox reinstate Yoan Moncada from injured list

White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada was reinstated from the injured list Thursday before the South Siders opened a four-game weekend series with the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Moncada, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 1 with a strained right hamstring, played five rehab games with Triple-A Charlotte. He went 9 for 22 with two home runs, a double, six runs scored and six RBIs.

Based on those numbers, there's no reason to think he isn't ready. Hopefully, the Sox lineup won't look so anemic now, because Moncada has been the best position player on the team this season.

He's hitting .301/.358/.535 with 20 home runs, 59 RBIs, 21 doubles, three triples, 58 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 97 games. What are the odds he finishes the season with a .300-plus batting average? Not sure, but the fact that he has a chance to do that is amazing given the struggles we saw from him in 2018.

To make room on the roster for Moncada, the Sox optioned outfielder Ryan Cordell to Triple-A Charlotte.

Cordell is hitting .227/.284/.356 this season with six home runs, seven doubles and 20 RBIs in 81 games. I feel as though I've seen enough of Cordell to confidently say he is not a major-league player moving forward, but somehow, I sense that we'll see him back on the South Side when rosters expand in September.

It would be nice if Moncada had brought Luis Robert along with him from Charlotte, but that's not how the Sox roll. We're likely to see more of guys such as Cordell, Daniel Palka and Dylan Covey down the stretch.

White Sox option Daniel Palka to Charlotte, claim AJ Reed off waivers

AJ Reed

Catching up on some roster comings and goings before the White Sox return from the All-Star break:

After Sunday's 3-1 victory over the Cubs, the Sox optioned outfielder Daniel Palka to Triple-A Charlotte. Palka, 27, made 10 plate appearances in his latest stint on the South Side and went 0 for 10.

His line for the season is ugly. He's 1 for 45 in 52 plate appearances with 18 strikeouts. His slash line now stands at .022/.154/.022.

It's hard to believe Palka was the feel-good story of the 2018 season, when he led the Sox with 27 home runs. This season, he's not going to get 27 hits at the big-league level, let alone 27 home runs, even if he gets recalled when rosters expand in September.

And at this point, it's fair to ask whether that will happen. We may have seen the last of Palka in a Sox uniform.

At the time of Palka's demotion, the Sox said they would make a corresponding roster move before Friday night's game against the Oakland Athletics. With injured veteran catcher Welington Castillo on a rehab assignment, I was assuming he would be the one added to the 25-man roster.

Turns out, the Sox claimed left-handed hitting first baseman AJ Reed off waivers from the Houston Astros. He is expected to be on the roster Friday night.

Reed, 26, once was ranked among the top 15 prospects in the game, but he's never been able to hit major league pitching. Over parts of three seasons with the Astros, he's hitting .153/.253/.244 with three home runs, three doubles, eight RBIs and 50 strikeouts in 150 career plate appearances.

He had a decent season at the Triple-A level last year, where he made the All-Star game and hit .255/.374/.540 with 28 home runs and 108 RBIs in 123 games.

However, Reed has fallen on hard times this season -- he's hitting only .224 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs in 56 games at Triple-A Round Rock. Numbers such as those can cause you to fall off a 40-man roster. Now the Sox are taking a flyer on Reed, and this may be his last kick at the can to stick in the major leagues.

This probably means the DH at-bats against right-handed pitching will belong to Reed, not Zack Collins. This guess here is Collins goes back to Triple-A Charlotte, maybe as soon as this weekend, whenever Castillo is activated.

Collins has had limited at-bats since the Sox called him up, but he's done little with those opportunities. He walked in his first plate appearance and hit a 3-run homer in his second, but he is now hitless in his 25 plate appearances since -- although he has drawn five walks.

Still, the .045/.222/.182 slash line is hard to excuse, and it seems reasonable to say Collins could use some more time in Charlotte. He'll likely be headed there soon.

White Sox to designate Yonder Alonso for assignment

Yonder Alonso

There hasn't been an official announcement, but the White Sox are expected to designate first baseman Yonder Alonso for assignment, according to sources.

Such a move will no doubt bring much rejoicing from the fan base, as Alonso has been a huge disappointment this season.

In 67 games, Alonso has posted a slash line of .178/.275/.301 with seven home runs, six doubles and 27 RBIs. His name has been left out of the lineup more frequently in June. As we sit here on the 27th day of the month, he's had only 35 plate appearances since June 1.

Most people believe Alonso was acquired from the Cleveland Indians over the offseason to try to lure his brother-in-law Manny Machado to the South Side of Chicago. The Sox swung and missed on that sales pitch. Machado signed with the San Diego Padres, and that left general manager Rick Hahn in damage control mode, as he tried to justify the acquisition of Alonso as a "baseball move."

From that perspective, the left-handed Alonso was supposed to provide some pop against right-handed pitchers. He was nothing short of a miserable failure. He actually posted reverse splits while in a Sox uniform.

Against righties, Alonso slashed .156/.249/.249 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 197 plate appearances. That's too pathetic for words, and it's the sort of performance that causes a man to lose his roster spot.

Presumably, the Sox will make two additions to the 25-man roster before they open a weekend series with the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Shortstop Tim Anderson is expected to hit the injured list with a high ankle sprain suffered Tuesday in Boston.

There has been no starting pitcher announced for Friday's game, so the Sox will add at least one pitcher to the roster. Perhaps they will also add an outfielder (Daniel Palka? Adam Engel?) knowing that everyday center fielder Leury Garcia is likely going to play shortstop while Anderson recovers from his injury.

Palka to Charlotte; Giolito to IL; Cordell excels; Fulmer flops

The White Sox on Wednesday optioned outfielder Daniel Palka to Triple-A Charlotte, just hours after he broke an 0-for-32 slump with a broken-bat single in a 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Of course, Palka also grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning, and he also made the final out of the game in the bottom of the 10th -- making weak contact in both at-bats.

It was time to send him down. Past time, in fact.

Amid all the Tim Anderson controversy, it was almost forgotten that pitcher Lucas Giolito had to leave Wednesday's game in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. It was unfortunate, because Giolito had his good stuff working. He had not allowed a hit and struck out five through 2.2 innings.

These two roster moves allowed Ryan Cordell and Carson Fulmer to return from Charlotte for Thursday's game in Detroit, a 9-7 White Sox loss. 

Cordell started in right field batting ninth, and went 3 for 4 with his second home run of the season, which briefly gave the Sox a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning. On this blog, we previously endorsed Cordell's recall from Charlotte, although I had suggested he replace Adam Engel, not Palka.

In any case, Cordell seems to be the best of the bad options in the Sox outfield right now. He's swinging the bat better than Palka, Engel or Nicky Delmonico, who is at Charlotte.

As we've stated before, Cordell should not be seen as a long-term solution to anything, and as a Sox fan, I long for the day when we aren't talking about shuffling through a bunch of never-will-be outfielders. But, this is the situation right now, and the Sox need to give the playing time to the man who is doing the best job.

At the moment, that's Cordell. Give it a week, and it might be someone else's turn.

As for Fulmer, he found himself on the mound in the eighth inning of a 7-7 game Thursday, and he gave up two runs and lost it on a single, two hit batters and two sacrifice flies. Fulmer continued his longstanding habit of giving things away by loading the bases with the two hit batsmen.

I didn't really like Fulmer being on the mound in that situation on his first day back in the bigs, but in fairness to Sox manager Rick Renteria, he lacks good options in the bullpen.

For me, Fulmer is a symbol of why the Sox rebuild has stagnated. The rebuild proponents want to the team to tank again for draft position this season, but the thing is, the Sox haven't done a good job with their first-round draft picks, of which Fulmer is one.

He's out of options, and this might be his last kick at the can with the Sox organization. Can a rebuild really work for an organization that a) doesn't draft well and b) doesn't want to spend in free agency?

It doesn't look good. The Sox (7-12) lost 100 games last season; they are on pace for 99 losses this season. As a friend texted me this afternoon, "This just keeps getting worse." 

Eloy Jimenez is on White Sox Opening Day roster (and so is Ryan Cordell)

As expected, top prospect Eloy Jimenez will be on the White Sox's Opening Day roster. He is scheduled to start in left field Thursday when the team begins the season against the Kansas City Royals.

Because Jimenez previously had been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte before signing a six-year, $43 million contract extension, someone had to be placed on the injured list for Jimenez to be recalled.

That someone is Jon Jay, who is sidelined by a hip injury.

As we noted in our previous blog, the Sox are carrying 12 pitchers to start the season -- four starters and eight relievers. Fifth starter Ervin Santana is on a minor-league deal. He isn't needed until April 10, so he won't be added to the 40-man roster, let alone the 25-man roster, until then.

That means the Sox are carrying 13 position players. Daniel Palka and Jose Rondon are safely on the team (for now), and surprisingly, Ryan Cordell is coming north with the Sox.

Cordell is likely to be optioned back to Triple-A Charlotte the moment Santana is needed. When Jay comes back, Palka, Rondon and possibly Adam Engel could be in danger of losing their roster spot.

Here are the 13 position players:

Catchers: Welington Castillo, James McCann
Infielders: Jose Abreu, Yonder Alonso, Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Rondon
Outfielders: Jimenez, Engel, Palka, Cordell, Leury Garcia

The thing I'll be watching on Opening Day: pitcher Carlos Rodon's performance. Rodon is "finally healthy," so they say, but I don't know if his velocity has ever come back since he had shoulder surgery late in 2017.

Rodon averaged only 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings in 20 starts last season. In previous seasons, he had never been below 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings. In 2018, he didn't have his best fastball, and his slider was spotty at best.

What kind of stuff will he feature this year? We get our first look Thursday.

Reports: White Sox working on long-term deal with Eloy Jimenez

Eloy Jimenez

So, there's hope that all that nonsense about Eloy Jimenez's service time will become a moot point.

Reports say the top prospect and the White Sox are close to agreeing on a contract that would put Jimenez under team control for the next eight seasons. Jimenez would get $43 million guaranteed over six years, and he could earn up to $77.5 million over eight years if two club options are triggered.

In other words, if this contract is signed, there is no need for the Sox to bury Jimenez in the minors for the first three weeks of the regular season in order to get a seventh year of team control -- now they've got him for eight.

As we've said all along, Jimenez appears to be the best starting option at a corner outfield spot, so that means he should be there on Opening Day.

Fingers crossed that it all works out, because the Sox are a team desperately lacking in buzz. They haven't even sold out their home opener yet.

If Jimenez is going to be on the team, that has ramifications for position battles in the final week of Cactus League play, too.

For the sake of argument, let's say the Sox are going to carry 13 pitchers. Personally, I think 12 is enough, but let's be honest, the Sox disagree with that. They've been carrying 13 pitchers for the past several seasons, and I fully expect them to break camp that way this spring.

That leaves room for 12 position players. Here's how it would look with Jimenez in the fold:

C: Welington Castillo
1B: Jose Abreu
2B: Yolmer Sanchez
SS: Tim Anderson
3B: Yoan Moncada
LF: Jimenez
CF: Adam Engel
RF: Jon Jay
DH: Yonder Alonso
Bench: James McCann
Bench: Leury Garcia
Bench: ????????

Daniel Palka, Jose Rondon and Nicky Delmonico are on the bubble. Before this Jimenez news, you'd have three men battling for two spots. Now, you've got three men for one spot.

I'm thinking Delmonico is an odd man out. Palka vs. Rondon is a much tougher call. Palka has that one big skill that nobody else on the team has -- left-handed power -- but that's all he does. Meanwhile, Rondon is right-handed hitter who hits lefties and can handle all infield positions competently.

Not an easy decision, but it's a decision I'd be happy to see the Sox have to make if Jimenez is coming north with the team.

Latest guess at White Sox's Opening Day roster

Tim Anderson

The White Sox are 6-10-2 in Cactus League play, and both of their split-squad games were rained out Tuesday. So with nothing meaningful to comment on, and with spring training about half over, let's take a guess at who makes the Opening Day roster as it stands right now.

Starting pitchers (5): Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, Ivan Nova, Ervin Santana.
Comment: Of course, Santana's presence is dependent on his health, and so far, there's nothing that's been said that leads me to believe he's off track. The only real question is who starts the season opener. The smart money is on Rodon, because he is the most experienced and most accomplished of the younger guys. And I don't think they are going to give the nod to the journeyman Nova.

Relief pitchers (8): Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Nate Jones, Jace Fry, Juan Minaya, Dylan Covey, Ryan Burr, Manny Banuelos.
Comment: None of the left-handed relief candidates have distinguished themselves. Fry was the Sox's best reliever last season, so he's on the club despite his struggling spring. But Aaron Bummer and Caleb Frare need to pick it up to make the team, and I can see Banuelos getting the nod as a second lefty ahead of both of them -- if for no other reason than Banuelos is out of options. Minaya has had a terrible spring, too, but he'll probably hang on because he had a 2.70 ERA the second half of last season. Covey has pitched himself back into the picture with a strong spring. Burr has been strong, as well, after struggling in his call-up to the majors last season. I'm thinking Burr gets a spot over Ian Hamilton, who is dealing with shoulder stiffness after he was in a car crash.

Catchers (2): Welington Castillo, James McCann
Comment: Same as it ever was. Will either Zack Collins or Seby Zavala be ready to come up from Triple-A Charlotte this year?

Infielders (6): Jose Abreu, Yonder Alonso, Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Jose Rondon
Comment: The Sox decided to rearrange the deck chairs after whiffing in their attempt to sign Manny Machado. Moncada now is the third baseman, probably for the long term, while Sanchez switches back to his natural position at second base. Is he keeping the seat warm for Nick Madrigal? Maybe. Anderson is having a great spring -- 12 for 27 with five extra-base hits and only four strikeouts. Please let that be real. Rondon makes the club because he's out of options and can play competent defense at any position on the infield. He also hits lefties, which is a skill this club needs.

Outfielders (4): Adam Engel, Daniel Palka, Jon Jay, Leury Garcia
Comment: Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. At least Engel is a good defender, so he's your everyday center fielder. Garcia being a switch-hitter, I assume we'll see him quite a bit against left-handed pitching, since neither Palka nor Jay are particularly good at hitting lefties. Somebody on the roster is keeping a seat warm for Eloy Jimenez. The guess here is Palka, Rondon and whoever the eighth reliever is will be in a battle to stay on the team past mid-April.

Eloy Jimenez's spring training slump provides cover for White Sox front office

Eloy Jimenez

Eloy Jimenez would have been called up to the big leagues last season if it weren't for service time manipulation.

Let's just be honest about it. The White Sox aren't *that* concerned with his outfield defense. They are concerned about what their payroll will look like seven years from now, and they want to delay Jimenez's free agency for as long as possible.

For that reason, he will start this season at Triple-A Charlotte, even if he were hitting .997 in the Cactus League.

While I believe Jimenez, the No. 3 prospect in baseball, should be starting at a corner outfield spot for the Sox on Opening Day, the reality is we won't see him until about mid-April at the earliest. After that, the Sox can call him up without losing a year of team control.

And make no mistake, some in the front office have to be breathing a sigh of relief that Jimenez is 3 for 23 with eight strikeouts and only one home run so far this spring. If this continues for another week or two, Sox brass will be able to point to this slump as a good reason to keep Jimenez in the minors for a little while longer.

They won't be completely wrong. As a rule, I'm in favor of calling players to the majors for the first time when they are playing well, not when they are struggling.

However, I don't think Jimenez is your typical prospect. I don't think this slump will lessen his confidence. He didn't seem concerned in this latest interview, and I think he believes that he's a big-leaguer right now, today. That's half the battle right there.

Regardless of what anyone says, Jimenez is without question the best corner outfield option on the Sox's 40-man roster. No way Jon Jay, Daniel Palka or Nicky Delmonico should be playing ahead of him.

His cold spring hasn't cooled my opinion on him. I want to see him in the major leagues, and I think it pretty much stinks that he's being held back because of silly service time rules that hopefully will be changed in the next collective bargaining agreement.

Some other photos from SoxFest 2019

I mentioned in Monday's blog that I didn't get a great shot of the five Hall of Fame players on stage, but my girlfriend, Jen, did capture Harold Baines, Tim Raines and Frank Thomas together after that seminar.

Me with Manny Machado's brother-in-law (Yonder Alonso). I told him he would like Chicago better than Cleveland. (Who wouldn't?)

I tried to get in line to meet Ken Harrelson. That didn't work out. I was person No. 126, and he was only taking 125 photos. So, I got in the back of the line for Bo Jackson instead. Too bad Bo doesn't know Yaz.

Proof that SoxFest photographers aren't the best. I zoomed my phone in for this woman, and apparently, she zoomed it back out to take this photo of me and Jace Fry.

And then there is this very zoomed in photo of me with Reynaldo Lopez ...

Ozzie Guillen was at SoxFest for the first time since his last year as manager in 2011. Even though the feud between Guillen and former GM Ken Williams cost the Sox an opportunity to contend in that season, eight years probably is long enough to say that's water under the bridge.

I joked that I should try getting a haircut like Daniel Palka's. OK, maybe that's not such a good idea.

Sure, more than 13 years has passed, but the 2005 World Series trophy still is being displayed. Maybe the Sox should think about winning another one these sometime soon, huh?

White Sox sign outfielder Jon Jay, pitcher Kelvin Herrera

Jon Jay

This is starting to feel like a college recruitment, isn't it?

The White Sox are giving perks to the friends and family of Manny Machado, in hopes of luring the superstar free agent infielder to the South Side of Chicago.

They already traded for Machado's brother-in-law, Yonder Alonso. Now, reports indicate the Sox have agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with Jon Jay, who just happens to be Machado's close friend and offseason workout partner.

The Sox will try to portray that as a "baseball move," and it is fair to say the team needs outfielders. With Avisail Garcia non-tendered and Eloy Jimenez likely to start the season at Triple-A Charlotte because of service time manipulation, the incumbent major league outfield includes Daniel Palka, Adam Engel, Nicky Delmonico and Leury Garcia.

So, in that context, perhaps Jay can help. The 34-year-old has a career .352 on-base percentage, swings left-handed and can competently handle both left field and center field. (I don't think his throwing arm is strong enough for right field.)

Jay split the 2018 season between the Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks. He batted .307/.363/.374 in 59 games with the Royals, enticing the Diamondbacks to trade for him. It didn't work out for Arizona, as Jay slumped to a .235/.304/.325 slash line in 84 games.

Let's hope the Sox get the Kansas City version of Jay, or something similar.

In a separate move that likely has nothing to do with Machado, the Sox signed 29-year-old reliever Kelvin Herrera to a two-year contract worth $18 million. Minor league pitcher Ian Clarkin was designated for assignment to make room for Herrera on the 40-man roster.

Herrera, of course, had his best years with the Royals, and he possesses a World Series ring from the 2015 season. The rebuilding Kansas City club traded him to the Washington Nationals in the middle of the 2018 season, and he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness.

In 27 games with the Royals in 2018, Herrera went1-1 with a 1.05 ERA. In 21 games with the Nationals, he went 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA.

Once again, let's hope the Sox get the Kansas City version of Herrera, or something similar.

If the moon, the stars and the sun align, the Sox could have a pretty decent late-inning bullpen to start the season. Herrera joins Alex Colome and Nate Jones as veterans with plenty of high-leverage experience.

Alas, Jones and Herrera are injury risks, so who knows if manager Rick Renteria will have the luxury of stacking up these guys in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings?

Regardless, it's a good idea for the Sox to add veteran bullpen help to the roster. That pushes Juan Minaya, Ian Hamilton, Ryan Burr and Jose Ruiz down the leverage ladder. Those younger, inexperienced relievers should get late-inning opportunities only on merit now, as opposed to necessity, and that's the way you would prefer it.