As many as 60 players can participate, but for now, the Sox are bringing 44. Additional players eventually will be added to bring the roster to the full complement of 60, but general manager Rick Hahn says those players will not report until mid-July.
Thirty players will make up the Opening Day roster, while the remainder will make up a "taxi squad," which will conduct workouts elsewhere in Chicago to stay ready in the event of an injury or a COVID-19 infection. It is anticipated that no minor league baseball will be played this summer.
For now, let's take a look at the 44 players, position by position:
Catchers (4): Yasmani Grandal, James McCann, Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes
Comments: Grandal and McCann are roster locks, if healthy, and it remains to be seen whether the Sox want to use either Collins or Mercedes as a bench bat. Collins has the advantage of being a left-handed hitter, and of having had previous major league experience. Mercedes was impressive in March and played his way into the conversation.
Infielders (10): Jose Abreu, Leury Garcia, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Edwin Encarnacion, Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Romine, Danny Mendick, Nick Madrigal, Cheslor Cuthbert
Comments: If healthy (a common phrase right now), Abreu, Anderson and Moncada are entrenched starters. Let's include Encarnacion in the entrenched starters group, as he will be the primary designated hitter. But what about second base? Garcia will be on the club as a super-utility guy, and the guess here is he starts the season at second base. The Sox will hold Madrigal back for a week for service time reasons. One week of sitting him out is all they need to retain another year of team control. Vaughn is a great prospect, but there are no at-bats for him right now at the big league level. Romine is a Quad-A extra who could see time in the event of an injury. Will Mendick make the 30-man roster, or will the Sox carry extra pitching? We'll see.
Outfielders (6): Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Nomar Mazara, Adam Engel, Nicky Delmonico, Luis Alexander Basabe
Comments: We know the starters, if healthy, are Jimenez, Robert and Mazara. We know Engel is the extra outfielder, and we know Garcia provides extra depth when he's not playing infield. Delmonico is on the roster bubble. He was impressive in March, but he has a thin track record against major league pitching. Basabe's inclusion shows the Sox view him as the most rosterable among the remaining outfield prospects not named Robert.
Starting pitchers (9): Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, Gio Gonzalez, Michael Kopech, Carlos Rodon, Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert
Comments: Kopech and Rodon should be completely recovered and ready to go after elbow surgeries. Neither man was expected to be on the Opening Day roster had the season started as scheduled, but now we figure to see both in the Sox's rotation. Gonzalez may no longer be needed as a starter, since he was viewed as a stopgap to get the Sox through the April, May and June. Still, he's a veteran presence, so he'll be on the team, perhaps as a long reliever. Only Dunning and Lambert, two others who are coming off elbow surgery, figure to not make the Opening Day roster. Suddenly, the Sox have seven starting pitchers to choose from.
Relief pitchers (15): Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer, Jimmy Cordero, Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera, Steve Cishek, Carson Fulmer, Evan Marshall, Jose Ruiz, Ian Hamilton, Ross Detwiler, Codi Heuer, Tayron Guerrero, Tyler Johnson, Drew Anderson
Comments: Will they carry eight relievers? Perhaps nine? Maybe even 10? I guess it depends on how much they want to protect their starting pitchers, who probably won't be ready to pitch deep into ballgames right at the start of the season. The roster locks, if healthy, are Colome, Bummer, Cordero, Fry, Herrera, Cishek and Marshall. There's seven. At the start of the year, we thought Fulmer would get one more kick at the can because he's out of options. Maybe that's still true. Heuer impressed in Arizona in March and is a dark horse to make the roster.
Notable omissions: RHP Zack Burdi, C Seby Zavala, OF Micker Adolfo, OF Blake Rutherford, OF Luis Gonzalez, LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Jared Kelley
Comments: Any or all of these guys could be added when the roster fills out to 60. It's a surprise Burdi isn't in the mix in the first group, just because so much has been invested in the former first-round pick. I figure Zavala will eventually come on board. What if two of the other four catchers get the coronavirus? Wouldn't it be nice to have a good defensive catcher such as Zavala hanging around? I believe so. As we said in the outfielders section, evidently Basabe is more highly regarded that the other fringy outfield prospects, all of whom I included on this list. Crochet and Kelley are the Sox's top two draft picks. Is there any plan for them this year? Crochet, in particular, could contribute immediately as a reliever, depending on how the Sox want to develop him.
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