White Sox roster news: Zack Collins and Yermin Mercedes are in; Jonathan Lucroy is out

Jonathan Lucroy

Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy will not make the 2021 White Sox roster. The 34-year-old asked for and was granted his release from a minor league contract, according to reports.

It sure seems like catcher Zack Collins is on the roster. First off, Collins has had a good spring, slashing .295/.380/.523 with three home runs and six RBIs. Most importantly, he's cut his strikeout rate. He's only struck out six times while also walking six times in 50 plate appearances.

Secondly, fortune smiled on Collins with left fielder Eloy Jimenez suffering a torn pectoral tendon that will sideline him for five months. Now, Andrew Vaughn, the presumed DH to start the season, is being tried in left field. That opens the door for DH at-bats for Collins, when he's not catching. 

It also sounds like Yermin Mercedes is on the club as a third catcher and DH, according to reports. Mercedes has slashed .283/.340/.348 this spring, and could be the right-handed half of a platoon with the left-handed Collins.

The Sox also are reportedly picking up infielder Jake Lamb, if he clears waivers and pending a physical. Lamb was in spring camp with the Atlanta Braves, but did not make the club. He's a left-handed hitter who can play first or third base.

All right, that's a lot to digest. But first let's talk about Collins. It's now or never for him. He's 26 years old, and he's been in the Sox organization since he was picked 10th overall in the first round of the 2016 draft. He's getting close to that line where he's too old to be considered a prospect anymore.

The Sox have invested a lot in him, and at some point they have to find out whether he can help them. I'm not a big believer in Collins, but at this time, there's no clear data about him one way or the other. What can you tell from 120 sporadic plate appearances at the major league level? There are no clearly superior options in camp for a second catcher -- Lucroy didn't meet that standard -- so it's time to find out once and for all whether Collins can play.

We know the Sox will carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players. The Opening Day roster hasn't been announced yet, but let's hazard a guess:

Starting lineup:

1. Tim Anderson, SS
2. Adam Eaton, RF
   
3. Jose Abreu, 1B
4. Yoan Moncada, 3B
5. Yasmani Grandal, C
   
6. Luis Robert, CF
   
7. Collins, DH
   
8. Vaughn, LF
   
9. Nick Madrigal, 2B

Bench players: Leury Garcia IF/OF, Mercedes, C/DH and ??????.

Will it be Lamb? Infielder Danny Mendick? Maybe outfielder Billy Hamilton? I'll guess Lamb. I don't think they picked him up to send him to the alternate site. And he's likely the left-handed fallback option if Collins fails.

Catching options available to the White Sox

Yasmani Grandal

With Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith both having moved on, Welington Castillo is the only catcher on the White Sox's 40-man roster who you would expect to be in the majors when the 2019 season opens.

Seby Zavala most likely will start the season at Triple-A Charlotte, so that means there's a move to be made behind the plate. Will it be someone who will start, relegating Castillo to a backup role? Or is Castillo the starter, with the Sox looking to add a second-stringer to the roster?

I've heard a lot of Sox fans say they want to see the the team sign a "one-year stopgap" at catcher. OK, but isn't that what Castillo is? He is a veteran with one guaranteed year remaining on his contract (there's a team option for 2020) at a value of $7.25 million. For me, that's the stopgap. Where is the long-term solution?

We'll see what the Sox do. There's a lengthy list of free agent catchers available.

At the top of that list is Yasmani Grandal, who might have hurt his market with a struggling performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. But Grandal has a track record of being able to both hit and play his position, and he's clearly a superior player to Castillo and all of the other catchers on the free agent market.

If the Sox are looking for someone who can hit, but is just OK behind the plate, Wilson Ramos is available. Want a glove-first guy? How about Martin Maldonado? He can't hit, but he's a good receiver.

Jonathan Lucroy and Matt Wieters aren't as good as they used to be, but they are available if the Sox want to make it two one-year stopgaps behind the plate.

Caleb Joseph and James McCann were non-tendered by their previous clubs. If the Sox sign either of those guys, it would be cheapening out, so I hope they don't go that route.

A few other guys might be available in a trade: J.T. Realmuto, Francisco Cervelli and Russell Martin.

Realmuto is the top-of-the-line option. He has two years remaining on his contract, and would come at a heavy price in any deal with the Miami Marlins. Cervelli and Martin both have one year remaining on their contracts -- again stopgap options -- and I would say Cervelli still can contribute. He's a lot like Ramos. He can hit, and his catching is neither great nor terrible.

Martin, to me, is about done at age 36. He hit .194 last season, and I'd be inclined to stay away.

Which of these catchers will be joining the Sox in 2019? Or will it be someone I have not mentioned here?

The World Series Game 1 hero is ... Roberto Perez?

There are three players in Cleveland Indians franchise history to have a multi-homer game during the playoffs: Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and, of course, Roberto Perez.

Cue Cookie Monster and his famous song, "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other Things":

Indeed, Thome has 612 career home runs. Ramirez has 555 career home runs. Perez has, well, 11 career home runs. But the career .220-hitting catcher managed to go deep twice Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series, becoming the unlikely hero in Cleveland's 6-0 victory over the Cubs.

Perez also became the first player in World Series history to have a multi-homer game while batting in the No. 9 spot in the order. Not bad for a guy who is "Plan C" for the Indians behind the plate. Perez is only playing because Yan Gomes has been a combination of injured and bad all season, and because Jonathan Lucroy rejected a trade to Cleveland at the deadline and went to play for Texas instead.

In the biggest game of his life so far, Perez clubbed a solo home run off Cubs ace Jon Lester in the fourth inning to increase Cleveland's lead to 3-0. The home run had an exit velocity of 112.9 mph, making it the hardest-hit ball off Lester all season, according to Statcast.

Perez capped his night by hitting a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning on a hanging slider from Cubs reliever Hector Rondon. That made the score 6-0 and took all the drama out of the ninth inning.

Cleveland pitching was good again in this game, with Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen combining to strike out 15 Cubs hitters. Kluber had eight strikeouts through three innings and finished with nine Ks in six innings. Miller pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the seventh, striking out Addison Russell and David Ross to close the inning. He also struck out Kyle Schwarber with two on and two out to end the eighth and snuff out the Cubs' last legitimate chance to get back in the game.

Game 2 is Wednesday night, and the start time has been moved up an hour to try to avoid a weather delay. Rain is in the forecast for Cleveland. The Cubs will try to even the series behind right-hander Jake Arrieta. The Indians will counter with right-hander Trevor Bauer.

The best news for the Cubs right now is the fact that Kluber won't pitch in Game 2. And, Miller might be limited, as well, after throwing 46 pitches over two innings of work in Game 1.