White Sox outfielder Jon Jay will undergo surgery on his hip, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report on Twitter. Jay will not be able to return this year.
This news wraps up a less-than-productive tenure on the South Side for Jay. He had inked a $4MM, one-year pact over the winter. At the time, the Sox were adding affordable veterans while pursuing young star Manny Machado, whose personal ties to both Jay and also-acquired veteran Yonder Alonso didn’t lead to a signing.
Of course, the White Sox also hoped that Jay would represent a stabilizing force in an outfield mix that was short on sure things. That simply hasn’t come to pass. Jay has been sidelined for lengthy stretches and has not performed when available. In 182 plate appearances on the year, he has slashed just .267/.311/.315 with nary a home run.
Jay has typically been more useful than that at the plate. He’s an accomplished pure hitter, with a .285 lifetime average, and has done enough in the on-base and slugging departments to carry a 101 wRC+ through more than four thousand career plate appearances. With the ability to line up anywhere in the outfield, Jay was a solid semi-regular player at his peak.
Now, with a diminished recent history at the plate and increasingly worrisome slate of maladies, it’s quite likely that Jay will be looking at a minor-league deal when he reenters the market this fall.
I always liked Jay… here’s hoping he makes a full recovery
Another article making him into something he isn’t….good.
You don’t seem to like him
That’s an interesting interpretation. I think I characterized him just the way he was/is.
Could just be scar tissue from back when Jay and Machado were allegedly attached at the hip.
This would be a nice opportunity for CF Luis Robert to make his MLB debut and finish the final 4 weeks of the 2019 season gaining some valuable MLB experience. The same should occur with the promotion of 2B Nick Madrigal but most White Sox fans are resigned to that not happening since the organization seems to value MLB service time over the team becoming more competitive sooner rather than later.
We’ll probably have to settle for more Adam Engel and Ryan Cordell in the outfield in September and wait for Robert to debut early next season. That being said, I hope I’m wrong and the White Sox surprise all of us.
better off top keep them in the minors. there is going to be a strike/lockout when the CBA expires. keeping them down with a looming strike ensures that even if the season is a loss you can keep them longer.
The White Sox are pretty much the only non-contending team that fails to recognize the importance of developing players in the majors.
The service time argument is weak and played out.
The 2020 White Sox are going nowhere. It’s best to focus on 2021 and beyond.
mohoney: That is a very premature forecast considering the offseason hasn’t even begun, one in which a White Sox team that is transitioning from rebuilding to contending status is expected to be major players in free agency and potentially with trades as well.
maximumvelocity: I agree with some of this although there are plenty of White Sox fans who would argue that their team often rushes their best prospects to the majors. This was a frequent complaint with pitchers including first round picks Carlos Rodon and Carson Fulmer and might also apply to Dylan Cease this summer.
The White Sox have also been an organization that has extended long term contracts to many of their best young players well before the onset of arbitration and even before playing their first MLB game as was the case with Eloy Jimenez earlier this spring. There were plenty of White Sox fans who were flabbergasted when the team gave long term contracts to both Tim Anderson and Adam Eaton well before they had established themselves as certain MLB talents. No White Sox fan I know has since regretted either extension. This is part of my argument in thinking and hoping that the front office won’t play the service time game and will prioritize MLB experience and winning above all else.
I don’t believe that “major players in free agency” for one second.
The White Sox are going to have a very low payroll next season where they can dish out money to two or three potential free agents. You probably already know that since! Sarcasm!
well at least they got Machado
K.
Minor league deal? This dumpster-diving organization will give him 5 years guaranteed to hit cleanup again
Daniel Descalso.
And rather than call up the most qualified player, we get treated to more Ryan Cordell.
This was the only way that Renteria was going to stop using him. Too bad Renteria can’t be sent away as well.
I understand hip pain, and feel bad for Jay.
Hopefully, this isn’t another offseason of disappointment. The White Sox never get the players that match their needs because the owner is extremely frugal and tight with his money. This entire rebuild depends on the Sox using their financial flexibility to contend within the next three years. If they can’t get a TOR ace signed, they can forget it. They could use a big bat in RF as well, since they rank near the bottom of the league in HRs and runs scored.
For some reason I see Puig going to the south side. He will fit in just fine there
Good chemistry is crucial during a rebuild. I doubt they want Puig influencing a clubhouse full of young players with his immaturity.
On a team that struggles to get good free agents to come over do you think they are gonna let in your opinion a guy who is immature not sign? Btw I’ve heard he’s a great teammate. I don’t particularly care for him myself.
All I see are certain posters being negative, talking trash, and never offering anything constructive to any conversation, specifically in regards to White Sox discussions. If you cannot at least offer something more constructive than ‘The Sox owner sucks’ the org only is ‘ and ‘the GM does not know what he is doing’ garbage comments, then do the rest of us a favor and go away. I mean really, take a break, go take a walk, smell some flowers or something because your lives obviously are not fulfilled if you feel the need to only be negative all the time you post. I can only imagine what your personal lives are like if you apparently glean so much satisfaction from being so negative in a message board.
I get there are trolls all around, and no org, GM, or owner, is perfect, but man, you guys are nothing but negative 24 hours/ 7 days a week especially when it comes to the Sox and their fans.
I get people don’t like negativity. But this team has given fans little to be positive about. Outside of the development of Giolito and Moncada, there have been no major successes that will have a long-term impact at the major league level. Anderson has been great a plate, bad in the field. Jimenez is a work in progress, as is Cease, and pretty much everything else has failed, including every major free agent move or trade.
Robert and Madrigal have been great. So has Mercedes. Where are they? The team has no clear direction or plan for prospects, other than to hold them back for service time considerations. Teams don’t do this anymore. Lux was just called up by the Dodgers. They don’t even call up guys who have no legit service time worries. If they want to compete next year, and not witness what is happening with Jimenez, they should see what guys can do now, and build a plan for improvement over the offseason.
This team has had no winning seasons under Hahn. Fans owe this franchise nothing. Start acting like you want to win, and stop telling fans to be infinitely patient while you continue to take our money.