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Which Of The Boras Four Will Be The First To Sign?

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Spring Training games got underway yesterday. The regular season opens in less than a month. Offseason activity is far from over, though, largely on account of the so-called “Boras Four.” Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman remain unsigned.

Over the past couple weeks, a handful of teams have indirectly suggested they weren’t going to be suitors for the top free agents. High-level executives with the Giants, Rangers, Nationals, Mariners and Twins have downplayed the chance of a free agent strike of note. Angels owner Arte Moreno has suggested payroll is coming down, while Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins indicated they could have to move money if they’re to make another significant acquisition. Others, like the Red Sox and Cubs, appear to be in a holding pattern as they try to wait out the market.

Perhaps there’s some element of public posturing from a few of those teams. If any of these players are close to an agreement, though, there hasn’t been much indication of that. Unsubstantiated reports suggested the Yankees were closing in on a deal with Snell earlier this week, but both SNY’s Andy Martino and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com confirmed there hasn’t been any recent movement on that front.

If the number of plausible suitors for any of this group has dwindled, perhaps a Spring Training injury can change the calculus. The Orioles revealed early in camp that #2 starter Kyle Bradish has a UCL injury that’ll send him to the injured list. Mets staff ace Kodai Senga was diagnosed with a posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder yesterday; he’ll also start the year on the shelf. President of baseball operations David Stearns shot down the idea that’d increase the urgency for the Mets to go outside the organization for rotation help.

Again, it’s possible that’s designed not to publicly concede leverage in talks with the Boras Corporation if the Mets did circle back on Snell or Montgomery. To this point, there’s no indication any of these players have meaningfully moved off asking prices from the early part of the offseason. Will that change, or will one of these teams push beyond their comfort zone and reward any of these players’ patience?

Whose market with thaw most quickly? Which of the Boras four is going to be the first to agree to terms? Will any of this group linger in free agency beyond Opening Day?

Who Will Be The First To Sign?
Blake Snell. 30.24% (4,441 votes)
Jordan Montgomery. 30.19% (4,434 votes)
Matt Chapman. 21.25% (3,121 votes)
Cody Bellinger. 18.32% (2,691 votes)
Total Votes: 14,687

 

How Many Of The Boras Four Will Sign After Opening Day?
2 42.57% (3,960 votes)
1 24.04% (2,236 votes)
3 17.23% (1,603 votes)
4 16.16% (1,503 votes)
Total Votes: 9,302

 

Brewers Notes: Sanchez, Ortiz, Bour

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The Brewers finalized their restructured contract with Gary Sánchez yesterday. While he’d initially agreed to a $7MM guarantee, an issue with his physical led the sides to rework the deal to lock in only $3MM. Sánchez could still get to $7MM for the upcoming season, but that is conditional on his health.

The Associated Press reports the specifics. Sánchez will make a $3MM salary and has a buyout on a 2025 mutual option. The buyout figure could rise as high as $4MM depending on how much time Sánchez spends on the MLB roster or injured list for a fracture or ligament tear in any area of the body other than his right wrist.

He’d receive the full $4MM buyout if he reaches 150 days on the active roster or IL for a notable non-wrist injury. That dips to $3MM for 120-149 days, $2MM for 90-119, and $1MM for 60-89 days. There’d be no buyout for 59 days or fewer. The deal also contains a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade.

Sánchez broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch while playing for the Padres last September. While that was the initially reported cause of the contract restructure, Sánchez told reporters this evening that he recovered fully from that incident (link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Via translator, the catcher indicated he injured his hand while working out over the offseason, which he says was the cause of the team’s concern.

In any case, ironing out the issue positions Sánchez to serve as a backup catcher/DH for the Brew Crew. He joins first baseman Rhys Hoskins and trade pickups Jake Bauers and Joey Ortiz as offseason additions to a reworked offense. Jack Magruder of MLB.com writes that Ortiz, acquired from the Orioles in the Corbin Burnes deal, could see action at both second and third base.

Ortiz has played mostly shortstop in the minors but doesn’t have a path to regular playing time there in 2024, barring a surprising late Willy Adames trade. Brice Turang is the frontrunner for reps at the keystone, although he’s coming off a well below-average .218/.285/.300 batting line as a rookie. Turang is a former top prospect who played strong defense, so it’s likely the Brewers will give him another run. That’d leave Ortiz vying with Andruw Monasterio and perhaps Owen Miller at third base.

In other Brewers news, Milwaukee added a former big leaguer in a non-playing capacity. Justin Bour announced (on X) that he’s taking on a role in the player development department. Bour hit .253/.337/.457 in parts of six MLB seasons between 2014-19. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting when he hit 23 homers for the Marlins in 2015. Bour played in a few foreign leagues before announcing his retirement as a player last February.

Marlins, Vladimir Gutierrez Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Marlins are in agreement with right-hander Vladimir Gutiérrez on a minor league deal, reports Francys Romero (X link). He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Gutiérrez joins the second organization of his career. The Cuban hurler was a high-profile international signee by the Reds back in 2016. Cincinnati paid a hefty $4.75MM for his services. Gutiérrez was just 21 at the time and began his affiliated stint in High-A. His prospect stock dimmed over the next couple seasons as he struggled at the higher levels of the minors.

Cincinnati nevertheless called Gutiérrez to the big leagues in 2021. He held a spot in the rotation for the majority of that season, starting 22 games and logging 114 innings. Gutiérrez allowed 4.74 earned runs per nine innings while striking out a below-average 17.7% of opposing hitters. He started eight of 10 appearances the following year and was tagged for a 7.61 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

In early June, the Reds placed Gutiérrez on the injured list with forearm soreness. That often ominous diagnosis predated a Tommy John procedure the following month. He spent the remainder of that year and almost all of 2023 on the injured list. Gutiérrez logged 6 1/3 minor league innings late last season but didn’t return to the big leagues. The Reds placed him on waivers at the start of the offseason, sending him to free agency.

Now that he has put the surgery behind him, Gutiérrez profiles as rotation or long relief depth for the Fish. Miami hasn’t done much to address a rotation that lost Sandy Alcántara to Tommy John surgery last October. They acquired Darren McCaughan in a small trade with Seattle and have brought in Matt Andriese, Yonny Chirinos and Kyle Tyler on non-roster deals.

Rockies Notes: Lawrence, Kinley, Bard, Bouchard

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The Rockies are evaluating righties Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley as potential closing options in camp, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both pitchers held the ninth inning at points last season and are battling for the job to open this year.

Colorado began last year with Pierce Johnson in the closing role. Johnson struggled and was bumped from the ninth inning before he was traded to Atlanta. Lawrence stepped into the role in June. He pitched well through the end of July but hit a skid in August, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings. Colorado activated Kinley from the injured list in August, the culmination of a year-long recovery from elbow surgery. Skipper Bud Black gave Kinley the ninth inning for the season’s final few weeks.

Despite the shaky finish, Lawrence is coming off the best season of his career. He logged a personal-high 75 innings and turned in a 3.72 ERA. He pairs a mid-90s sinker with a mid-80s slider, against which opponents hit only .149 last season. Lawrence has the raw stuff to hold a late-inning job, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll throw enough strikes to stick in the ninth.

Last season’s 11% walk rate was the best of his career but remains well higher than the league average. Lawrence’s low arm slot could also pose a platoon issue, as left-handed batters can pick up the ball early in his delivery. Southpaws didn’t have much success against him last season, hitting .221/.336/.361 in 149 plate appearances. Lawrence’s strikeout and walk profile was far better against righties, though. He fanned 27.7% and walked 10.2% of right-handed opponents; against lefties, those numbers sat at 19.5% and 12.1%, respectively.

Kinley has more major league experience than Lawrence, but he’d never closed until last fall. His results last season weren’t great. After returning from surgery, he tossed 16 1/3 innings of 11-run ball. His velocity came back stronger than ever, giving reason for optimism that he can find his pre-injury form after a healthy offseason. Kinley was amidst a breakout first half in 2022, turning in a 0.75 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate over 24 innings before going on the shelf.

Beyond that duo, Saunders indicates that Daniel Bard could work back into the closing picture once he’s healthy. He held the job in 2021-22, combining for 54 saves. Anxiety issues, which Bard has battled throughout his career, unfortunately resurfaced early in the ’23 season. While he was able to get back on the mound, he lost his feel for the strike zone. Bard walked more hitters than he struck out, knocking him down the leverage hierarchy.

His efforts at a rebound campaign are delayed after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee last week. While he didn’t need to undergo a meniscus repair as the team originally feared, his recovery timeline isn’t quite certain. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that Bard hasn’t been cleared to begin working from the mound.

On the other side of the ball, the Rox have most of their expected starting lineup penciled in to open the year. The biggest point of uncertainty is probably right field, although there seems an established frontrunner for that job. Both Saunders and Harding wrote this week that Sean Bouchard has the upper hand on right field early in camp.

Bouchard, who turns 28 in May, has shown well in limited playing time over the past two seasons. The UCLA product debuted midway through the 2022 campaign and hit .297/.454/.500 over 27 games. He had a shot at a starting job last spring but suffered a left biceps rupture that required surgery early in camp. That kept him on the injured list until mid-August. Colorado didn’t promote him back to the big leagues until September.

As he did during his debut season, Bouchard put up strong numbers in a small sample last September. He hit .316/.372/.684 through 43 plate appearances, albeit with 14 strikeouts. Bouchard isn’t regarded as a great defensive outfielder but owns a .276/.356/.492 batting line over six minor league seasons. Carrying over that on-base ability in an extended look against big league pitching would be a welcome boost for a lineup that had a subpar .310 OBP a year ago. Only five teams had a lower on-base mark even though the Rox play half their games at Coors Field.

With Kris Bryant moving to first base and Charlie Blackmon likely to see the bulk of his time at designated hitter, the Rockies are set to turn to Nolan Jones and defensive stalwart Brenton Doyle in the other two outfield spots. Highly-regarded prospect Yanquiel Fernandez is on the 40-man roster but will begin the season in the minors, likely at Double-A. Hunter Goodman is on hand as a first base/corner outfield option, while the Rox have Bradley Zimmer in camp on a non-roster deal.

Latest On White Sox’s Stadium Plans

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Last month, the White Sox announced plans for a potential new stadium on Chicago’s South Loop. Justin Laurence of Crain’s Chicago Business reported last week that the organization was seeking roughly $1 billion in public funding for the project.

Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf traveled to the Illinois capital to meet with state officials yesterday. Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson spoke with reporters this afternoon and sounded broadly open to the possibility of approving money for both the White Sox and NFL’s Bears.

“I’m grateful that both organizations are committed to having these conversations. As far as financing these projects, both organizations know that they have to put some skin in the game. They’re expressed a commitment to do that,” Johnson said (link via Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times). “As far as public dollars, we haven’t gotten into any of those specifics just yet. But I will say that we’re going to explore all options. But we have to make sure that we’re doing right by the people of Chicago. … Everything is on the table here. But again, I want to make sure there is a real commitment to public use and public benefit.”

It’s not clear how much the White Sox plan to invest in the project. They’ll surely continue discussions with both city and state officials as they look to drum up funding. The team’s lease at Guaranteed Rate Field runs through the 2029 season. The stadium opened in 1991, making it the eighth-oldest park in the majors.

Hyun Jin Ryu Signs Eight-Year Deal With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles

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Hyun Jin Ryu is headed back to South Korea. The KBO’s Hanwha Eagles announced the signing of Ryu to an eight-year deal worth 17 billion won (equivalent to just over $12.4MM). The contract also contains an opt-out provision at an unspecified date. Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News relayed the details (on X). A Korean-language report from X Sports first reported the 17 billion won guarantee. It’s the largest contract in KBO history.

Ryu debuted with the Eagles in 2006 at age 19. He won the league’s MVP award as a rookie thanks to a 2.23 ERA through 201 2/3 innings. The southpaw turned in a 2.80 ERA in 190 appearances over a seven-year run with the Eagles. After the 2012 season, Hanwha announced they’d make Ryu available to major league teams through the posting system.

Under the MLB-KBO posting rules in effect at the time, teams placed blind bids for the right to exclusive negotiation with the player. The Dodgers bid upwards of $25MM to win that auction. That opened a 30-day window for them to sign Ryu. The sides eventually came to a six-year, $36MM guarantee with various performance bonuses.

It turned out to be an excellent investment. Ryu pitched to an even 3.00 ERA over 30 starts in his debut campaign, finishing fourth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. He turned in a 3.38 mark during his sophomore season before losing almost all of 2015-16 to shoulder and elbow problems. Ryu spent time on the injured list with various lower-body concerns between 2017-18 but remained effective when healthy. He finished his Dodger tenure with a flourish, turning in 182 2/3 innings with an MLB-best 2.32 ERA in 2019. He secured an All-Star nod and a runner-up finish to Jacob deGrom in NL Cy Young balloting.

That stellar year couldn’t have been timed any better. Ryu returned to free agency that winter, this time with all 30 teams eligible to put in offers. He signed a four-year, $80MM pact with the Blue Jays going into 2020. Through two seasons, it looked like a strong move. Ryu turned in a 2.69 ERA over 12 starts during the abbreviated schedule, finishing third in Cy Young balloting. He wasn’t as dominant the following season but managed a reasonable 4.37 ERA while starting a career-high 31 games.

Ryu’s final two seasons were impacted by injury. He battled forearm issues early in the ’22 campaign. An attempt to pitch through the injury was unsuccessful and he required Tommy John surgery in June. That kept him off an MLB mound well into the 2023 season.

The Jays reinstated Ryu on August 1. He managed 11 starts in the final two months, working to a 3.46 ERA. That’s solid production but wasn’t without some worrisome indicators. His fastball velocity sat at a personal-low 88.6 MPH. He struck out just 17% of opposing hitters and allowed 1.56 home runs per nine innings. The Jays deployed him in a very sheltered role. Skipper John Schneider called on Ryu to work beyond five innings just once. He only faced an opposing hitter for a third time in an appearance on 33 occasions.

That all worked against Ryu as he returned to the open market for what’ll be his age-37 season. At the beginning of the offseason, he said it was his preference to remain in MLB. It’s very likely that Ryu could’ve gotten a big league contract offer — the Mets and Padres reportedly showed interest — but it’s possible the market from major league teams wasn’t as robust as he’d anticipated.

Whatever the rationale, Ryu is returning to his home country. He’d spoken before about wanting to pitch for the Eagles between the end of his time in MLB and his overall playing career. He’ll do just that on a record-setting contract that runs through his age-44 season.

This almost certainly marks the end of Ryu’s time in the major leagues. He has had an excellent MLB career, allowing 3.27 earned runs per nine in 186 appearances. He tossed 1055 1/3 innings, struck out 934 batters, and collected 78 wins. A two-time Cy Young finalist, he also received down-ballot MVP votes in 2019 and ’20. Ryu made nine playoff starts over five separate seasons, working to a 4.54 ERA in 41 2/3 frames.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Yonathan Daza Signs With Mexican League’s Tecos De Los Dos Laredos

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The Tecos de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League announced the signing of outfielder Yonathan Daza for the 2024 season. Daza had appeared in the majors in four of the last five seasons, including each of the past three years.

Last year, the outfielder started in center field for the Rockies on Opening Day. Daza got off to a slow start, hitting .270/.304/.351 through 24 contests. Colorado outrighted him to Triple-A at the beginning of May. The Rox turned center field over to rookie Brenton Doyle. Daza hit .305/.350/.415 over 39 games with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque before suffering a left shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.

Daza reached minor league free agency at season’s end. Instead of signing a minor league pact with an MLB team, he’ll head to Mexico. Daza is a solid athlete who can handle all three outfield positions. His offensive profile has been built primarily on putting the ball in play with minimal impact. He’s a .281/.329/.354 hitter in a little less than 1000 career MLB plate appearances. If he gets out to a strong start with the Tecos, he could find renewed minor league interest down the line.

Latest On MLB’s Expansion Timeline

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With the A’s and Rays nearing resolution on their long-running stadium disputes, expansion could become a more pressing topic for MLB in the second half of the 2020s. Rob Manfred said earlier this month he hoped to have the next couple major league cities agreed upon by the end of his tenure as commissioner. Manfred plans to retire at the conclusion of his term in January 2029.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that while there are no current expansion plans in place, many high-ranking team and league officials consider it inevitable the league will move to 32 franchises. Passan suggests that’s unlikely to occur before the early portion of the 2030s, a timeline that generally aligns with Manfred’s goal of getting the ball rolling before leaving office in five years. There are clear logistical issues — expansion fees, stadium construction, etc. — that’d need to be sorted out between narrowing the field of cities and putting two more MLB teams on the field.

While the league could get a jump on that process, expansion isn’t yet a priority. The A’s are still figuring out where they’ll play between 2025-27. Manfred said this month that MLB also needed to “get our footing on local media a little bit better” before making significant changes. That’s a reference to the uncertain broadcasting revenues facing a number of teams as cord-cutting has threatened the viability of many regional sports networks.

There will also be another round of collective bargaining negotiations before the expansion process kicks into gear. We’re two-fifths of the way through the current CBA, which expires in December 2026. The last round of collective bargaining resulted in a 99-day lockout over the offseason, the first official MLB work stoppage since the strike in 1994-95. Labor issues also delayed the return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It’s possible the next round of CBA negotiations could be similarly contentious.

Once expansion does become a more immediate concern, various cities could make a push for teams. Passan reports that early planning is to choose one team each from the East and West. According to Passan, Nashville and Salt Lake City have emerged as preliminary frontrunners.

Music City Baseball was established in 2019 with the goal of bringing a franchise to Nashville. Don Mattingly, Tony La Russa, Bruce Bochy, Dave Stewart and Dave Dombrowski are among a host of high-profile people who have been associated with the project.

Salt Lake City’s push didn’t begin in earnest until last April. Big League Utah, a group led by former Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller, began the process of seeking an expansion franchise. SLC is one of three cities — joining Oakland and Sacramento — that is in contention to host the A’s before their planned Vegas stadium opening in 2028. Landing the A’s on a temporary basis would presumably boost their chances of securing a franchise of their own in the future.

Of course, plenty can change in the intervening few seasons. Nothing is anywhere near set in stone. The process hasn’t yet begun, but it could come into focus within the next couple years. MLB has been at 30 teams since adding the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays in 1998, the longest static period since the league first expanded from 16 to 18 teams in 1961. Passan’s column is worth a full read, as he lists a few other cities that have been floated as possibilities and covers a number of challenges that groups could face as they try to secure a new franchise.

Hollander: Mariners Additions Likely To Be “More On The Margins”

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Mariners general manager Justin Hollander met with reporters this afternoon to discuss the possibility of some late-offseason acquisitions. While Hollander — who is second in the Seattle front office hierarchy behind baseball operations president Jerry Dipoto — left the door ajar for anything, he indicated the likelier course of action was to supplement towards the back of the roster.

“You never know. I think this group of players that we have — our 40-man roster as is — we may add on the margins. We may add in a more significant way, but I would expect it’s probably more on the margins than a real significant way based on where we’re at,” Hollander said (link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).

The comments come a couple days after Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that the M’s have had internal discussions about Matt Chapman, one of the top four unsigned free agents. Hollander didn’t comment on Chapman — the CBA limits what team personnel are allowed to say regarding specific players — but Kramer writes that the M’s conversations about the third baseman occurred earlier in the month.

There was never any indication that Seattle is deeply involved in Chapman’s market. Kramer reports that the M’s interest has been contingent on the four-time Gold Glover lowering his asking price significantly. According to Kramer, a nine-figure deal for Chapman would be a “non-starter” for Seattle. The MLB.com report indicates the Mariners would be amenable to a shorter-term/incentive-laden contract, although that unsurprisingly hasn’t been of interest to Chapman’s camp at the Boras Corporation.

Third base looks like a relative weak point for Seattle. The Mariners dealt Eugenio Suárez to the Diamondbacks at the beginning of the offseason. They brought in Luis Urías in a small trade with the Red Sox and indirectly addressed the hot corner with last month’s Jorge Polanco deal. Installing Polanco at second base pushes lefty-hitting Josh Rojas over to third, likely in a platoon with the right-handed Urías.

Urías enters camp at a little less than full strength. The Mariners reveled today that he is battling some soreness in his throwing shoulder coming out of winter ball (via Divish). It’s not a serious issue but will keep him from throwing across the diamond in infield drills early in Spring Training.

Hollander downplayed any concern about the third base platoon. Asked if the M’s felt they’re vulnerable at the position, he replied: “I don’t really feel that way, no. … We feel really good about what the combination of Josh and Luis can do for us this year.”

That’s the expected tone for a GM to strike publicly. That said, Chapman is the only unsigned third baseman who’d be a clear upgrade on the Rojas/Urías pairing. If Seattle is simply keeping tabs on his market in case the opportunity presents itself to jump in at a lower price, they’re presumably otherwise content with their in-house options.

Seattle has also been loosely tied to the top two remaining free agents, Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger. The link to Snell has primarily been about geography rather than team need. The defending NL Cy Young winner is a Seattle native and there has been some speculation he could prefer to stay on the West Coast after three seasons in San Diego.

Despite that chatter, Kramer writes that the Mariners haven’t shown much interest in Snell at any point during the winter. The M’s traded rehabbing starter Robbie Ray and depth arm Marco Gonzales but have held onto their top five starters: George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. Former top 10 pick Emerson Hancock remains on hand as a high-upside depth piece.

Bellinger was arguably a better roster fit, but Kramer reports that Seattle hasn’t considered the former MVP in either of the past two offseasons. The M’s reacquired Mitch Haniger and brought in Luke Raley from Tampa Bay as part of a reshaped corner outfield. Seattle shipped out one-time top prospect Jarred Kelenic, leaving Haniger and Raley as the presumptive starters alongside Julio Rodríguez on the outfield grass.

Seattle has generally preferred the trade route over free agency under Dipoto, particularly with regards to position players. This offseason’s two-year, $24MM deal for Mitch Garver was the first multi-year free agent contract for a hitter that Seattle has given out in Dipoto’s tenure. Roster Resource projects the organization’s 2024 player spending in the $135MM range. That’s a middle-of-the-pack figure that’s right in line with last year’s approximate $137MM Opening Day sum.

Dominic Fletcher Has “Leg Up” On White Sox’s Right Field Job

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While most of the White Sox’s offseason has focused on players they could trade away, they acquired outfielder Dominic Fletcher from the D-Backs a few weeks ago. Chicago sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to Arizona to take a look at Fletcher, so it’s no surprise he goes into camp with a good chance at securing a starting job.

General manager Chris Getz told reporters this evening that Fletcher has the “leg up” in the right field competition (via Vinnie Duber of CHGO Sports). If Fletcher secures the spot in camp, it’d be his first Opening Day job. The Arkansas product made his MLB debut at the end of last April.

Arizona didn’t give Fletcher much of a look in the majors. He appeared in 28 games and turned in a solid .301/.350/.441 showing through his first 102 plate appearances. Fletcher spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A Reno. He hit .291/.399/.500 with 10 homers in 334 trips to the plate. Fletcher kept his strikeouts to a modest 18.6% rate and walked at a strong 12.6% clip.

The 26-year-old has posted above-average offensive production throughout his professional career. He owns a .295/.366/.474 line in parts of four minor league seasons. That has generally come in hitter-friendly settings against younger competition, though, which is part of the reason that many prospect evaluators suggest he’s better suited as a complementary outfield piece than a regular. There are still questions about his pitch selection and raw power upside. Baseball America slotted him as the #20 prospect in the Chicago system after the trade.

Nevertheless, the White Sox are in position to give Fletcher an opportunity to try to outperform those projections. They had the worst right field grouping in MLB a season ago. Chicago received a .219/.271/.344 batting line with below-average defense from the position. Oscar Colás was a reasonably well-regarded prospect but posted a miserable .216/.257/.314 slash through his first 75 MLB games. Gavin Sheets’ .203/.267/.331 mark wasn’t much better. Colás and Sheets each have at least one minor league option remaining, so the Sox could send either player back to Triple-A Charlotte without putting them on waivers.

Aside from Fletcher, Chicago hasn’t done a whole lot to bolster the short-term outfield mix. They acquired Zach DeLoach from the Mariners as part of the Gregory Santos return. He’s on the 40-man roster but has yet to make his MLB debut. DeLoach had a .286/.387/.481 showing in Triple-A a year ago. He connected on 23 homers but also struck out at an alarming 27.8% rate. Kevin Pillar, Rafael Ortega and Brett Phillips are all in camp as non-roster invitees. Pillar, as a right-handed hitter, could have the best path of that trio to an MLB job. Each of Fletcher, DeLoach, Colás and Sheets hit from the left side.

The other two outfield spots at Guaranteed Rate Field are locked in. Luis Robert Jr. is a franchise cornerstone in center field. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi had a rough first season in Chicago but will get a chance at a rebound in year two of a franchise-record $75MM free agent deal.

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