The White Sox announced today that infielder Chase Meidroth has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 4th, with a right thumb contusion. Infielder Jacob Amaya has been selected to take his place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot for Amaya, right-hander Gus Varland has been designated for assignment.
Meidroth’s injury actually dates back over a week. On July 30th, he was hit on the hand by a pitch from Taijuan Walker, as seen in this clip from MLB.com. The club evidently didn’t think it was a serious issue, as they didn’t put him on the IL right away. However, he hasn’t started a game since then. He did play on Sunday, entering as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning.
Presumably, the thumb hasn’t healed as hoped, so the Sox will give him some more rest. IL stints can be backdated by three days if the player hasn’t played in that time frame, which the Sox have done here, so Meidroth could be back in a week if his condition improves.
While he’s been out, Colson Montgomery has moved over from third to shortstop, with Brooks Baldwin taking over at the hot corner. Curtis Mead, Lenyn Sosa and Josh Rojas have been splitting first and second base duties.
Amaya gives them an extra infielder to have on hand. He has 62 games of big league experience, mostly having played shortstop but also with some second base sprinkled in. He’s also played some third base in the minors. He’s considered a good defender but hasn’t hit much, with a .144/.176/.158 line in the big leagues. He is out of options and got passed through waivers earlier this year. Since then, he’s been hitting well in Triple-A, with a .291/.402/.464 line in 132 plate appearances. He struck out in 28.8% of those trips to the plate but also walked at a 15.2% pace.
He’ll try to carry some of that over to the big leagues. His out-of-options status may give him a tenuous hold on a roster spot. On the other hand, Mead can still be optioned while Rojas is having a terrible season and is on pace for a non-tender at season’s end. When Meidroth returns, perhaps Amaya could stick around since he’s still relatively young and years away from qualifying for arbitration.
As for Varland, he was optioned to the minors in mid-March, ahead of Opening Day. He made two Triple-A appearances before landing on the minor league IL due to a forearm strain, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. He started a rehab assignment in June but that lasted just six appearances before he was shut down. James Fegan of Sox Machine says Varland is out for the year.
The trade deadline has passed and injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Sox will have no choice but to release Varland. Though he’s hurt now, he could garner interest from other clubs based on his past results. He tossed 20 1/3 innings for the Sox last year with a 3.54 earned run average, 28.2% strikeout rate, 4.7% walk rate and 40.4% ground ball rate. He will still have one option season after this year and has just under a year of service time.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images
Given the current White Sox situation, I wonder what standards they use to determine when a player needs to go ? If they used the same metrics as good teams they might not be able to field a team for 9 innings.
It’s the “throw s*** at the wall and see what sticks” method
@jumanji: With respect, and without personal interest because I am not a White Sox fan, I think it’s time to stop posting things like what you have posted. A year ago, the Sox were a disaster and deserved to be mocked. But that is old news. The team now is much improved and no longer should be treated like a punchline. They have at least 8 or 9 young players on the roster who are not only promising but are good major-leaguers already, and they have a good “supporting cast” to back up those fast risers. If the season started now, they very possibly would not finish last in the division and could approach a .500 record. That or better is a realistic goal for next season. The proverbial arrow is pointing way up.
Alan53: While I agree the Sox have improved from last year (It would be difficult to do any worse), I think .500 is a bit optimistic. They still have plenty of holes in their roster and a gm that dfa’s players only to bring them back to Charlotte. They’ve gone from God awful last year to just awful this season.
Absolutely. The Chisox are on the rise.
Being ruled out for the season would seem to be a pretty valid reason for a release, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t just put him on the 60-day IL instead.
He blows!
Twins have a chance to do the funniest thing and bring Louie’s brother in
The Sox should release Rojas and let Mead play more.
Vargas is on the IL, perhaps after Vargas injury is healed I think they DFA Rojas. Mead can shift to 2nd/3rd if Vargas stays at 1B.
I think Mead is going to be playing some 1B while Vargas is on the shelf. They don’t like his arm at 3B. Ultimately, I think next year’s infield will be Vargas 1B, Mead 2B, Meidroth SS, and Montgomery 3B.
Rojas and Amaya just need to sit their useless asses on the bench every day.
Or, Mead at 1B, Montgomery SS, Meidroth 2B and Vargas at 3B.
“Infielder Jacob Amaya has been selected to take his place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot for Amaya, right-hander Gus Varland has been designated for assignment.”
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