The White Sox have signed outfielder Mark Payton to a minor league contract, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. It’s the second such stint for the Illinois native.
Payton also spent the 2022 campaign with the Sox. He appeared in eight big league contests, spending the remainder of the year at Triple-A Charlotte. The University of Texas product had a strong year with the Knights, hitting .293/.369/.539 with 25 home runs over 119 games. While Payton initially re-signed with the Sox for the 2023 season, he was granted his release to pursue a contract with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in December.
The left-handed hitter struggled in his crack at Japanese ball. Payton hit only .215/.266/.327 with five longballs in 225 trips to the plate. He spent some time in the minors and was not retained for 2024. That set the stage for a return to the White Sox.
Payton has 40 games of major league experience split between 2020-22. He’s a .296/.370/.515 hitter over six seasons at the Triple-A level. Payton can handle all three outfield positions but is probably best suited for left field. He’s likely to open next year, his age-32 campaign, back in Charlotte.
Quad A special for Uncle Jerry……. Fits his budget.
Quad A is being generous in this case. As usual, the Sox fill their high minors with 27-32 year old non-prospects that refuse to move on to their real careers yet.
Maybe, take a page from real baseball franchises and acquire lots of young talent, pay good coaches and scouts and develop the young talent into successful major league players?.
GL Mark Payton you’ll need it.
Signing another local guy. Maybe only friends and family will go to Sox games in 2024.
The future head of scouting no doubt.
Waiting for avenger to show up and start bitching.
I would just like to understand WHY any team signs 32 year old minor leaguers, Are they used as babysitters or baseball dummies to make your younger players stay out of trouble or look good?
Payton has 40 games of major league experience split between 2020-22. He’s a .296/.370/.515 hitter over six seasons at the Triple-A level.
That’s probably why.
A few reasons. First, they are cheap and easy to release if necessary. Second, they are going to fill in wherever needed but their playing time isn’t a priority – the true prospects get put into the lineup and you get what’s left if anything. Third, some of them want to be coaches or scouts when their careers are over, so a year of being a player-coach might help them get a college job afterwards.
And fourth, you don’t have to burn an option year on a prospect if the big league team gets a bunch of short term injuries. If Payton has to go sit on the White Sox bench for a week, nobody is going to claim him when he gets DFAd and he will come right back to Charlotte.
Sox had over likehalf their AAA team elect free agency not too long ago. They need bodies there.