White Sox infielder Josh Rojas has a hairline fracture in his right big toe. Manager Will Venable passed the info on to reporters, including James Fegan of Sox Machine. Rojas is currently in a walking boot. He left Saturday’s game with soreness in that toe. Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Rojas was “shaking off some contact” with a baserunner on a tag play earlier in the game.
Venable didn’t specifically rule Rojas out for Opening Day, but that seems to be a fair inference. Per Fegan, the skipper said his return will mostly be about pain tolerance and he’s currently in a fair amount of pain. Opening Day is just over a week away and the Sox have little reason to rush him if he’s not 100%.
Rojas, 31 in June, was signed to a one-year, $3.5MM deal in January. When healthy, he will likely be bouncing around to various positions, depending on the performance of other players on the roster. He has primarily played third and second base in his career, though he has also had some appearances at shortstop, first base and the outfield corners.
The hot corner appears to be spoken for. Venable said last month that Miguel Vargas will be the primary third baseman. He’s having a huge spring, currently hitting .393/.455/.571. Andrew Vaughn isn’t performing that well in camp but should be the regular at first base.
There’s less certainty up the middle. There was a chance for Colson Montgomery to secure the shortstop job but he hit .111/.111/.444 in spring and got optioned last week. That left Rojas, Lenyn Sosa, Brooks Baldwin and Jacob Amaya as some of the middle infielders that were both on the roster and in camp. If Rojas needs to miss some time, that could create extra room for the guys in that group.
It could also open some paths to playing time for non-roster invitees. Veteran Brandon Drury has plenty of second base experience and is hitting .361/.395/.806 this spring. Nick Maton is another NRI crushing the ball right now, with a .346/.433/.731 line in camp. Tristan Gray currently has a .353/.333/.824 line going. Spring stats are always to be taken with a grain of salt but the Sox are coming off a 121-loss season and should be using the 2025 to ride any hot hand that comes along.
Great, there goes the White Sox season!
(Did that sound sarcastic enough?)
No, still needs the “/s” for the literal minded folks.
This injury seems fitting for a hairline major leaguer.
Devish: That’s the thing about this team. A bunch of minor leaguers with no particular specialty, making them interchangeable with very little ability wherever they end up.
You better hit those bunks my little babies, or Sergeant Hulka with the ‘big toe’ is gonna see how far he can stick it up your arse.
The White Sox definitely need some youth on their roster however a few veterans all around will help the young guys grow.
They are trying to give Chase Meidroth a chance to earn a roster spot, but he’s struggling to get hits when that’s his calling card to be a scrappy on base guy. Best to not force things and build a culture of earning promotions.
The White Sox do not have a shortstop. They will go with Chase Meidroth or Jacob Amaya. Where is BeeBee Richard when you need him?
This is surely going to impact them to get to 50 wins.
Hopefully this doesn’t impact his start of the season too much. Pretty sure Rojas wants to put up decent numbers to become a trade chip at the deadline.
Did this fluke injury just expose whether Chicago has a real long-term vision, or if they’re still aimlessly patching holes in a sinking ship?
Wish Rojas the best