White Sox Notes: Hendriks, Right Field, Colas, Garcia

The White Sox will open the season without closer Liam Hendriks, who announced in January that he’d begun undergoing treatment following a non-Hodgkins lymphoma diagnosis. The team hasn’t provided much in the way of updates since that time, but general manager Rick Hahn tells reporters on the eve of Opening Day that Hendriks is making good progress in his battle (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). While the Sox aren’t placing a formal timeline on his return, Hahn noted that the Sox have deliberately avoided placing Hendriks on the 60-day injured list thus far.

That’s certainly not a guarantee that Hendriks will return within the season’s first two months, but the fact that the Sox are leaving themselves open to the possibility is encouraging. Hendriks will still open the season on the 15-day injured list, and if the White Sox need a 40-man roster spot at any time prior to his activation, he can be transferred to the 60-day IL without penalty. (The 60-day term is retroactive to the original IL placement and does not reset when a player is moved from the 15-day to the 60-day.)

More on the South Siders…

• Manager Pedro Grifol has not yet announced who’ll get the first start of the year in right field, though it’s expected to be one of Oscar Colas, Eloy Jimenez or Romy Gonzalez. Colas, one of the White Sox’ top prospects, will play in right field frequently this season even if he doesn’t get the Opening Day nod, Grifol tells the White Sox beat (Twitter link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). The 24-year-old Colas hit .314/.371/.524 across three minor league levels in 2022, improving his production at each stop (albeit with just seven games in Triple-A). Jim Callis of MLB.com takes a look at what the Sox can expect from Colas in 2023, writing that despite a two-year layoff from competitive games, he arrived in Chicago’s farm system as a more advanced hitter than anticipated in 2022. Colas hit .262/.273/.431 with three homers, two doubles, a walk and nine strikeouts in 66 spring plate appearances.
• Reports emerged over the weekend that Chicago was moving on from utilityman Leury Garcia. That came as a bit of a surprise considering the Sox still owe Garcia $11MM over the next two seasons under the terms of an ill-fated three year free agent contract. Hahn addressed the situation this afternoon, saying that owner Jerry Reinsdorf “was clear that we need to go with the best 26 to put us in the best position to win this year” (link via James of the Athletic). “Even if in the end, as was the case with Leury, it wound up with us having to eat some sunk cost on the contract there.” There’s no question Garcia will go unclaimed on waivers, as no team will assume the remainder of his contract. He’ll hit free agency — either via release by the Sox or rejection of an outright assignment — and seek out other opportunities in the coming days. Gonzalez and Hanser Alberto are likely to assume the utility role Garcia has played in recent seasons, with the Sox widely expected to select Alberto’s contract tomorrow morning.