The White Sox Opening Day roster continues to come into focus as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times reports that both utilityman Romy Gonzalez and right-hander Gregory Santos are expected to make the team out of camp this spring. The pair join outfielder Oscar Colas and infielder Hanser Alberto, who were previously reported to be making the Opening Day roster as well.
Gonzalez has mostly played second base during his 42 games in the big leagues so far, but has also appeared at shortstop, third base, and in both outfielder corners, making him a versatile bench piece for manager Pedro Grifol to utilize as needed. A career .241/.261/.350 hitter in the majors, Gonzalez doesn’t bring much to the table with his bat, but a .795 OPS in 286 minor league games and an .808 OPS this spring both indicate the 26 year-old Gonzalez could take a step forward with more exposure to big league pitching, though he will surely have to cut down on his concerning 35.2% career strikeout rate in order to do so. Gonzalez’s spot on the Opening Day roster likely comes at the expense of third baseman Jake Burger, who has posted an above average 114 wRC+ in 66 career big league games but is largely limited to the infield corners in terms of versatility. Gonzalez will join a bench that appears poised to include Alberto, Gavin Sheets, and Seby Zavala.
Santos seemed to be a potential favorite for a roster spot after Bryan Shaw and Nick Avila were told they would not make the roster earlier today. Chicago acquired Santos in December from the Giants, who Santos had pitched just 5 2/3 innings for at the big league level, allowing seven earned runs in the process. Santos has a 19.3% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate for his career across the major and minor leagues, and tends to keep the ball on the ground, with groundball rates between 50 and 60% in the minor leagues. Santos seems likely to join Jose Ruiz and Jake Diekman in middle relief for the White Sox this year, with Kendall Graveman, Aaron Bummer, Joe Kelly, and Reynaldo Lopez figuring to get more late-inning work to begin the season.
I’d really like to see Burger on the roster.
Prunella Vulgaris: Especially since Moncada injured his back today. It’s heartwarming to see so many of the players on this season’s roster with really good numbers in the minors and really bad numbers in the majors.
That’s what you get when your manager is a vegan.
White Sox have room for one more bullpen arm assuming they will roll with 8 relievers. At this point it appears to be Jimmy Lambert or the signing a released pitcher.
The addition of Lambert to the pen makes a lot of sense with starting pitchers not fully stretched out early in the season. He has generally been a starting pitcher in his pro career and is more suited to a multiple inning role than any of the other current White Sox bullpen arms. That isn’t likely to change until Garrett Crochet returns from the IL later this spring or SP Davis Martin gets a recall from AAA Charlotte.
Hey nrd, our Chisox only have 2 more years and $40M more on the Moncada contract. That trade was a steal – especially after Giolito bolts.
Here we go.. Moncada has a ‘lower back injury’.. How long will he milk this for? 10,15, or 30 days?
At first glance, I thought George Santos announced he made the White Sox Opening Day roster. My bad.
Haha! With money, anything can happen. Maybe Jake Burger needs to get into investing and buy his way on.
Bye bye Leury “The Legend”!
Shaw had a solid spring, surprised Santos beat him out for a spot.