3:27 PM: According to James Fegan of The Athletic, Hanser Alberto is expected to make the Opening Day roster with Garcia not making the team.
2:57 PM: The White Sox continue to shape their roster in advance of Opening Day, and according to reporter Francys Romero (Twitter link), outfielder Oscar Colas has been told by the team that he will break camp. In a more surprising development, Leury Garcia will not be part of the 26-man roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (via Twitter).
Garcia was initially acquired from the Rangers in an August 2013 trade, and has since become a longstanding roster staple. Used mostly as a bench player over his 10 seasons with the White Sox, Garcia’s ability to play all over the diamond has made him a solid backup and fill-in option, as he has logged many games at all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base, and second base. This versatility has helped offset Garcia’s lack of offense, as he has only a .253/.293/.350 career slash line over 2402 plate appearances.
When Garcia entered the free agent market last winter, the Sox re-signed him to a three-year, $16.5MM deal that stood out as relatively steep for a 30-year-old career backup. The decision to retain Garcia became even more questionable when his offense declined even further in 2022, as he hit a meager .210/.233/.267 over 315 PA. Garcia’s 39 wRC+ was the lowest of any player in baseball last season with at least 300 plate appearances, and he was a sub-replacement -1.1 fWAR player overall.
In terms of other utility options, minor league signing Hanser Alberto has had a strong camp, and Romy Gonzalez is something of a utilityman-of-the-future down at Triple-A (plus, Gonzalez has already had a taste of the big leagues). Since veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning to the White Sox as their new second baseman, manager Pedro Grifol hinted yesterday to reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan) that Andrus’ presence made Garcia somewhat redundant.
“Our backup shortstop plays second base for us every day,” Grifol said. “So, it’s not really a pressing need to have a utility player on our bench that is a shortstop. We are not pressed to do that. Would it be of value? Yeah, maybe. Not of great value, but of some value.“
It remains to be seen if Garcia would accept an assignment to the minor leagues, or if his omission from the roster is the beginning of the end of his time in the organization altogether. The Sox would be eating the remaining $11MM on Garcia’s contract in the event of a release, and a trade or a waiver claim seems pretty unlikely since teams won’t want to absorb that salary.
As for Colas, there was little doubt that he would be heading north to the Windy City, and the 24-year-old now seems set to make his MLB debut on Opening Day. Colas signed with Chicago for a $2.7MM bonus when the 2022 international signing period opened, and he hit a combined .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers over 526 combined PA at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels in 2022.
While Colas has only had okay numbers throughout Spring Training, his minor league dominance and his past track record in the Cuban National Series has indicated that he is ready for MLB competition. Colas is expected to get the majority of work in right field, with Eloy Jimenez (when he isn’t at DH) and Gavin Sheets also in the mix. Between the debuting Colas and the newly-signed Andrew Benintendi, Chicago’s outfield will have a new look, with Luis Robert returning as the incumbent in center field.
Love seeing these rookies make the opening day rosters
I guess that means Marisnick makes it as the 4th OF?
Hamilton
I hope not. We don’t need him unless we’re in contention late in the year.
Hamilton is the OF on the team, if he made the team. Haven’t heard anything about him.
Hamilton is the BEST OF on the team.
Haseley had a great Spring.
Gavin Sheets is the 4th OF. The bench is Romy, Hanser, Sheets, Zavala. So no to Marisnick, Hamilton and Haseley.
It took the White Sox a very long time to realize that Leury Garcia can’t really hit.
What did Grifol mean when he said they didn’t need a utility player on the bench that plays ss? If he meant Garcia, he obviously hasn’t read the article. Garcia can play almost anywhere. And if Andrus has to move to SS, who plays 2b? It’s been a gaping hole for two-plus seasons.
That’s too bad about Leury. He is a great bench player and good in the clubhouse. The problem is that the Sox have had so many injuries that he has been overused. I value experience over a hot spring if you’re a contending team.
It’s pretty obvious that Hanser Alberto will slide in at 2B whenever one of Anderson or Andrus need a day off.
When Hanser swings (and he swings a lot), he rarely misses. Ideal pinch hitter guy in addition to helping at 2nd. Loved him here in Baltimore.
And he’s useful at getting Diamondbacks out from his time w the Dodgers. The serpent wrangler is a veritable crocodile dundee
Great move by Rick Hahn and Pedro Grifol. Leury is a auto-out for the most part and Colas looked very good this spring. Now with Leury gone, Lenyn Sosa and Romy Gonzalez will see more time as the replacement player during the week, they are both better than leury at this point.
Hanser Alberto will be “replacement” player to begin the season. Romy Gonzalez may also make the opening day roster. Lenyn Sosa will be a depth piece at AAA.
The re-signing of Elvis Andrus to play 2B gave the White Sox less need for a backup SS. Andrus will assume that duty when Tim Anderson needs a day off. The Andrus signing opened the door for Alberto and pretty much shut it for Leury Garcia with JR willing to eat his remaining salary.
Hahn deserves absolutely no credit here. That Garcia deal was ridiculous the day it was signed, and now they’re having to foot the bill for it.
You assume that it was Hahn’s decision to make. TLR liked Garcia and it is widely understood in Chicago that LaRussa and not Hahn pushed for that deal.
people always excuse the bad moves by attributing them to Reinsdorf, Williams or TLR. Yes, the power structure is muddled, but I’m not going to use it to excuse Hahn’s myriad terrible moves and give him credit for the ones that work.
Hahn is not the guy who batted Leury lead off… and cleanup.
Neither am I. Trading for Cesar hernandez 2 years ago and Jake Diekman last year are both terrible moves and solely on Hahn. As is drafting Nick Madrigal, Zack Collins, Carson Fullmer, and a whole just of other 1st round picks that have all flamed out while trading useful pieces for nothing. That’s all on Hahn.Leury is not on him though.
Hernandez was actually having a pretty good season for the Indians when the Sox traded for him but completely forgot to hit or field once he got here. Madrigal was a very good hitter and fielder and should never have been traded. He was the Sox’ last real 2b man. Nothing but garbage there the last two seasons. it Collins, who somehow is still playing professional baseball, and Fulmer were big mistakes.
Madrigal is a guy who needs to hit .400 to justify a starting position. Adequate fielder, wont walk sand hits ground balls. The scout who suggested drafting him got fired.
Luis Arraez would like to have word…
Agreed. At least Pedro Grifol saw things differently, which I like. He is not good at the plate or in the field. I don’t care how many positions he plays, maybe he should just stick to one or two. I like Pedro already.
Sosa is a AA players and Gonzalez a AAA. The Sox are going to have to do better than that for back-ups.
Leury Garcia shouldn’t have been on any roster with championship aspirations. Ever. Profoundly incompetent organization.
Championship aspirations? Really? This version of the Sox will be lucky to get a WC spot. Filling in holes on the cheap doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.
Leury Garcia must have the highest K/HR rate ever.
When you think of garbage think of Leury Garcia
He’s actually not horrible as a bench player and stays healthy for the most part. Problem has been that he’s usually starting somewhere most days.
I will not go as far as to call this guy garbage. He is a good human being who as a baseball player was overused, and misused, a lot. Garcia was always supposed to be a backup utility guy, nothing more. It was inept White Sox management that made him a regular player when they should have opened the checkbook for starters.
You put it better than me. I also agree that he seems like a great dude and team mate. Always smiling and enjoying the game. He’s actually had a handful of good games and big hits as well.
Wouldn’t write him off entirely. Unless he refuses a minor league assignment (where’s he gonna go?) he’ll be ready if the inevitable injury occurs. Wish benches were a bit longer in MLB ( and bullpens shorter)
LaRussa and Garcia are both gone. Who will the haters obsess over now?
Were people “hating” on them or accurately pointing out that they did their jobs badly?
^ don’t use facts. You’ll confuse him. thank God they are gone.
I’m not defending either of them… just pointing out that the haters need a new villain.
And there’s plenty of them to be had.
Don’t use the term ‘haters’, it will just make people think your IQ is low.
My IQ is 138. Who are the language police?
I can throw out numbers too. Point is, using the term ‘hater’ makes you look like your IQ is under 100…
Who gets to determine which words should be banned? Please tell me words that you “smart kids” use.
lol
This shows why the Chicago White Sox will never win. Until Kenny W & Rich H are gone
The sad part Is that right guy for the job Is available that been Jim H the former GM of the Cubs.
Bring In Jim H & along with former Cubs manager Mike Q as assistant general manager. And sit back and watch the White Sox Win
What?
First of all, although it would give the Sox more media attention, keep the cubs away from the Sox. The perfect manager for the Sox was, and still is, Renteria
Rich H is not part of the White Sox and the Jim Henry era on the North side was atrocious.
*Hendry
Auto correct meet manual correct
Don’t feed the troll, think he meant Jerry A
The Hendry era was very up and down. The highs were very high, but the lows were very low. He had a good vision for the team and a good eye for the talent, just not very good execution. Even when he knew he was let go, he stayed on to finish the job. He spent a lot of money (often unwisely) and the team didn’t live up to expectations, but it wasn’t atrocious. The Tribune era was another story, however.
Jim Hendry alt account found
Jim Hendry traded for Sammy Soser and built the Panama Canal. A man a plan a canal Panama- backwards and forwards
Now make colas a pitcher hitter like he did in the Japan minors!
Did right by Leury and did right by the fans. Solid organization. Anyone says otherwise is PS5 all day – every day
When Hanser Alberto is the better option it might be time to retire
Hey Gerrie, more money youve pissed away. This time it’s Garcia.
Our national nightmare is over.
People who obsess over stats, overlook the reason why Leury Garcia was a valuable asset. Because he was a switch-hitter, who could adequately play 6 positions, he actually filled TWO roster spots instead of one… thus allowing for the team to carry an extra pitcher or a third catcher (which they didn’t do). He also had very good speed, which provided value as a pinch runner.
He was never supposed to start 100 games per year… he was supposed to spell guys who needed a day off, or get someone off the field in games that were blowouts.
People who ignore stats overlook the reason why Leury Garcia is worthless. It’s being overly generous to say he can play any position “adequately,” and switch hitting is not a valuable trait when you’re one of the worst hitters in the game, not to mention what he costs you with his wretched baserunning decisions.
I don’t ignore stats at all. I just know that one utility player, taking the spots of two utility players… has value.
Again… your love of stats blinds you from the intelligence of the “game within the game”.
“People who ignore stats overlook the reason why Leury Garcia is worthless.”
Nobody “ignores stats”, some of us are mature enough to discern the variables.
So true. With the lack of versatility on the bench, Grifol will be sorry he didn’t keep Garcia. There are players on every team who have players who are good defensively but not so much offensively. It’s up to the other players to pick them up.
While its obvious that he had issues on the field, I can think of many more human beings as being ‘worthless’, and Garcia is not one of them. Was he a superstar? No, but then what idiot was thinking he was (or holding him to that standard)?!
He was a utility player, could play multiple positions, was a good teammate, and did the best he could when called on (which is more than can be said for some of his teammates). He did not force the Sox org to give him a meaty contract, nor did he ask to be hitting 3rd in games. He was a utility player and had moments where he did well (which how most utility guys are). If you want to aim any ire at anyone, blame management but anyone should have an issue with someone calling this guy ‘garbage’ or ‘worthless’.
He had a negative WAR (by a lot), so in terms of baseball production (which is the only thing that matters to this conversation), he was quite literally worthless in 2022. I’ll reiterate – being able to do a lot of different things on a baseball field does not equate to being a valuable asset if you do all of them at a below-average level.
Luery. Ick what a waste. I remember when they signed him and that Whitesoxfan guy PRAISED what a great decision that was.
The injury report by mid April could be interesting.
We FINALLY got rid of Leury Garcia. While he does hit from both sides and plays all positions, he does nothing well. He is getting worse on O and D. Time to move on.