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Nick Senzel Elects Free Agency

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Infielder Nick Senzel has elected free agency, per James Fegan of Sox Machine on X. The White Sox had designated Senzel for assignment earlier this week and it appears he cleared waivers. Since he has more than five years of service time, he has the right to elect free agency while also retaining his salary.

Senzel, 29, started the season by signing with the Nationals, a one-year deal with a $2MM guarantee. He hit .209/.303/.359 in 235 plate appearances, production that translated into an 88 wRC+. He was designated for assignment in July and the Nats simply released him, likely due to his aforementioned right to elect free agency.

He then signed a major league deal with the Sox, which didn’t lead to better results. He only got into 10 games in over a month on the roster, stepping to the plate 32 times. He produced a dismal line of .100/.129/.133 in those, dropping his season-long line to .195/.283/.331 and a 73 wRC+. When combined with his time with the Reds in previous seasons, he has slashed .232/.299/.363 for a 76 wRC+ in over 1600 career plate appearances.

He hasn’t been able to provide anything on the other side of the ball either. He came up as a third baseman but the Reds had that spot filled by Eugenio Suárez at the time and moved Senzel around to other spots. He’s now played over 2,000 major league innings in the outfield, as well as over 800 at the hot corner and a brief look at second base to this point in his career. Advanced defensive metrics have given him negative grades at all those spots.

Given that track record, any interest in Senzel at this point would be based on his previous prospect pedigree. The Reds took him second overall in the 2016 draft based on his huge numbers at Tennessee, where he hit .332/.426/.509. He then hit .314/.390/.513 in the minors over the 2016-18 period, which got him onto the top ten of most league-wide prospect lists. But the big offensive production stopped once he reached the majors in 2019.

The results have come in far below expectations thus far, but Senzel is a cheap flier for any club that still has hope of him tapping into his previous form. The Nats are still on the hook for his salary since they released him earlier this year. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Nats are paying.

White Sox Designate John Brebbia For Assignment

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The White Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever John Brebbia for assignment and optioned third baseman Bryan Ramos to Triple-A Charlotte. Their roster spots will go to infielder Jacob Amaya, whom the Sox recently claimed off waivers, and right-hander Prelander Berroa, who’s being recalled from Charlotte.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Brebbia, who signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal with the Sox over the winter. He started the season with five scoreless appearances and was generally sharp through mid-May before enduring a massive three-week slump. He righted the ship in early June and went on a dominant six-week stretch where he pitched to a sub-1.00 ERA with elite strikeout and walk rates … only to fall into another, even lengthier slump from which he’s yet to escape. Dating back to July 14, Brebbia has allowed 16 runs in 11 2/3 frames.

All told, Brebbia’s Jekyll-and-Hyde act will result in a grisly 6.29 ERA through 48 2/3 innings. He had multiple stretches where he pitched far, far better than that ultimate mark would suggest him to be capable of, but when Brebbia has been off his game, things have often snowballed in a hurry. He’s had six different relief outings this season in which he’s been tagged for at least three earned runs — including a four-run drubbing in what’ll now be his final outing with the Sox.

Ugly as this season’s results have been, Brebbia has a nice track record overall. In six prior big league seasons, he pitched 299 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate between the Cardinals (2017-19) and Giants (2021-23). Brebbia missed the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery and struggled to a 5.18 ERA in his 2021 return (albeit in just 18 1/3 innings). Outside of that short ’21 showing and this year’s implosion with the South Siders, he’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA every season.

Even with that track record and some legitimately impressive stretches interspersed throughout his 2024 season, Brebbia won’t be claimed off waivers. He’s owed not only the balance of his $4MM base salary (about $688K) but also a $1.5MM buyout on next year’s $6MM club option. If that combined $2.188MM for a four-week rental isn’t dissuading enough, Brebbia would also pick up a $250K bonus the next time he takes the mound, under the terms of his current contract. (He’s already earned $500K of bonuses for reaching 45 and 50 appearances and had identical bonuses available at 55 and 60 games pitched.)

Instead, Brebbia will pass through waivers unclaimed and become a free agent (whether by straight release or rejecting an outright assignment). At that point, a new team could sign him for only the prorated league minimum for any time spent in the majors. The incentives built into his White Sox contract would not follow him to a new team on a new free-agent deal, so that $250K bonus and the option buyout (which is still owed to him by the White Sox) will be nonfactors for Brebbia’s next team.

Even with this season’s poor bottom-line results, Brebbia has whiffed 27% of his opponents and limited walks at a sharp 7.9% clip. A contender in need of bullpen depth might be intrigued by that K-BB profile and take a low-risk flier on the veteran righty. So long as he’s with his new organization on or before Aug. 31, he’d be postseason-eligible.

White Sox Claim Jacob Amaya, Designate Nick Senzel For Assignment

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The White Sox announced today that they have claimed infielder Jacob Amaya off waivers from the Astros. The latter club had designated him for assignment on the weekend. Infielder Nick Senzel was designated for assignment by the White Sox in a corresponding 40-man roster move for the claim of Amaya. Infielder Bryan Ramos has been recalled to take Senzel’s active roster spot. The Sox also recalled left-hander Sammy Peralta and optioned lefty Ky Bush.

Amaya, 25, has just five major league games and ten plate appearances but is now joining the fourth organization of his career. An 11th-round pick of the Dodgers, he was flipped to the Marlins in the January 2023 trade that sent infielder Miguel Rojas to Los Angeles. He spent just over a year in the Marlins’ system but was designated for assignment in April of 2024 before being flipped to the Astros for right-hander Valente Bellozo and cash considerations.

Prospect evaluators have long praised Amaya for his defense, but his bat has been more questionable, which is borne out by the numbers. In 450 minor league games from 2021 to the present, he has slashed .240/.335/.384 for a wRC+ of 86. His 12.3% walk rate in that time is strong but he hasn’t made a ton of impact when putting the bat on the ball.

Amaya can still be optioned for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He has mostly played shortstop but has also seen some time at second and third base. The rebuilding Sox don’t have a ton set in stone in their future infield. Nicky Lopez has appeared in 105 games for them this year but is hitting a tepid .240/.309/.293 for a wRC+ of 74. He could be retained via arbitration for next year but would be a due a raise on his $4.3MM salary and could be non-tendered. Paul DeJong was traded to the Royals. Yoán Moncada is in the final guaranteed season of his contract and club won’t have much interest in picking up his $25MM club option for 2025.

Perhaps that will get Amaya a chance to earn some playing time for the rebuilding club. Even if his bat doesn’t come around, having a glove-first infielder is a sensible move for a rebuilding team that will undoubtedly be giving plenty of chances to unproven pitchers in the future.

That same uncertainty is what opened a spot for Senzel. The White Sox signed him in the middle of July after he was released by the Nationals. He got 32 plate appearances with the Sox but hit just .100/.129/.133 in those. Those struggles have nudged him off the roster and the Sox will have to put him on waivers now that the trade deadline has passed.

The Nats signed him to a one-year, $2MM deal in the offseason after he was non-tendered by the Reds. He was designated for assignment by the Nats in July, when a trade was still possible, but he ended up released. Presumably, the interest hasn’t been raised during Senzel’s tenure with the White Sox, so he’s likely to end up a free agent again.

Though he was once a second overall pick and ten ten prospect in the sport, his bat hasn’t played at the major league level. He has over 1600 plate appearances to this point but has hit .232/.299/.363 in those for a wRC+ of 76.

The Nats are still on the hook for the majority of that $2MM salary. If another club is intrigued by Senzel’s past prospect pedigree, they could sign him and pay him only the prorated portion of the $740K major league minimum salary. That amount would be subtracted from what Washington pays.

Moncada, Soroka Nearing Rehab Assignments

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  • White Sox GM Chris Getz told reporters (including Mike Clark of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Yoan Moncada and Michael Soroka will start Triple-A rehab assignments on Tuesday.  Moncada played in only 11 games before a left adductor strain sidelined him for the majority of the season, but it looks like he’s on track to get back to the majors at some point in September.  Soroka had a 5.23 ERA over 72 1/3 innings in his first season with the White Sox, and he has missed close to six weeks recovering from a strain in his right shoulder.

Jimmy Lambert Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Jimmy Lambert’s lost 2024 season has officially come to a close, as the White Sox announced that the right-hander underwent shoulder surgery earlier this week.  The exact nature of the surgery and a timeline aren’t yet known, so it is possible Lambert could face another extended recovery period that stretches beyond Opening Day 2025.

Lambert suffered a right rotator cuff strain in March and began the season on the 60-day injured list.  He started a rehab assignment in July but he was shut down again after pitching in two Arizona Complex League games.  Since an arthroscopic ankle surgery also cut short Lambert’s previous season, he hasn’t pitched in a big league game since September 3, 2023.

A fifth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2018 draft, Lambert made his MLB debut in 2020 and has compiled a 4.33 ERA over his 99 2/3 career innings in the Show.  It seemed like Lambert had found a niche for himself with a solid season out of Chicago’s bullpen in 2022, but he ran into renewed problems with the home run ball last year, contributing to a 5.26 ERA in 37 2/3 frames in 2023.  Walks have also been a consistent issue for Lambert in the majors, as per his career 11.3% walk rate.

Spending the entire season on the Major League injured list has banked a full year of MLB service time for Lambert, making him eligible for salary arbitration this coming offseason.  That isn’t much consolation since it now makes it more likely that the White Sox will just non-tender Lambert, or they could work out a low-cost new contract to keep him in the organization while he recovers from surgery.

What Might It Cost To Extend Garrett Crochet?

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Despite months of trade speculation, Garrett Crochet was not moved at the deadline. His contract status seemed to be a big reason. A few days before the deadline, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Crochet sought an extension if he was going to pitch in the postseason. Whether he'd simply have refused to play in October if he landed with a contender isn't clear. Crochet didn't have the leverage to force a team to sign him long term.

At the same time, Crochet's stance complicated the White Sox's efforts to find a package they felt worthwhile. GM Chris Getz seemed taken aback by the public revelation of Crochet's extension desire (link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). While Getz maintained that the relationship between the player and team was still strong, he said the manner in which the situation was addressed was "a bit hurtful ... considering I felt like we could have handled it a little bit differently."

The Sox continued to discuss Crochet right up to the July 30 deadline. No deal came together. Only the White Sox know whether that's because of the extension hold-up. In any case, he'll finish out the year in Chicago. Crochet could be the most popular trade candidate of the upcoming offseason. The Sox are very unlikely to be competitive in the next two seasons. Chicago should try to move Crochet this winter.

Maybe they won't need to make progress on an extension to do so. Crochet's desire for a long-term deal was tied to his workload reaching a level which he'd never approached in college or the minor leagues. His camp was worried about his arm health if he pitched into October. That's not happening with the White Sox, who can pull back on his workload in an effort to keep him on the field. They're already doing so. Crochet hasn't thrown more than four innings in a game since the start of July. That's generally not a performance question but a clear goal to avoid stressing his arm. Chicago pulled him yesterday after 57 pitches and four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts.

Even if an extension isn't an absolute necessity to facilitate a trade, Crochet is presumably still amenable to discussing a long-term contract. That's unlikely to come with the White Sox, who are at the nadir of a rebuild and have never guaranteed a player more than $75MM (the ill-fated Andrew Benintendi deal). If a contender wanted to extend Crochet -- either as a condition of a trade or simply after acquiring him -- what kind of price could it take?

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Details On The Dodgers’ And Phillies’ Pursuit Of Garrett Crochet

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The July 30 trade deadline came and went without a Garrett Crochet deal, even though several teams reportedly had interest in the White Sox southpaw.  The Dodgers and Phillies were two of the clubs involved in Crochet’s market, and while The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the two NL contenders made “attractive” offers to the Sox, the bidding only went so far.

Beginning with the Phillies, they weren’t willing to include Andrew Painter, who remains a top-34 prospect in the view of both Baseball America (20th) and MLB Pipeline (34th) even though he hasn’t pitched since September 2022.  A UCL sprain sidelined Painter during Spring Training 2023 and he underwent a Tommy John surgery in July 2023, putting the highly-touted righty on pace to be ready for the start of the 2025 campaign.

The 13th overall pick of the 2021 draft Painter has only pitched 109 2/3 pro innings, including 28 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.  He could start 2025 back at Double-A if the Phillies want to relatively ease him back into action after his long layoff, though if all goes well, Painter could move up the ladder pretty quickly and become an option for Philadelphia’s big league staff before the end of next season.  Since Painter is still just 21 years old, it is understandable why even a win-now team with a pretty crowded pitching staff would be wary about moving a top prospect with front-of-the-rotation potential.

Rather than make a big splash of a Crochet trade, Philadelphia instead made a more modest set of moves prior to the deadline.  The Phillies’ discussions with the White Sox about Crochet might’ve spun off into the trade that brought Tanner Banks to Philadelphia, and the Fightins’ deadline adds also includes the likes of Carlos Estevez and Austin Hays.

Chicago’s talks with Los Angeles were still ongoing in the last hour before the deadline, before the Dodgers apparently pivoted and instead landed Jack Flaherty from the Tigers.  Since Flaherty is a free agent after the season and his trade market may have been impacted by some injury concerns, naturally the Tigers’ ask for the right-hander was much lower than what the White Sox were seeking for Crochet, who is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season.

Top catching prospect Dalton Rushing wasn’t included in the Dodgers’ offers for Crochet, but River Ryan was, though Rosenthal notes that “the White Sox had concerns about [Ryan’s] health.”  Chicago’s focus was on the shoulder problem that cost Ryan the first two months of the minor league season, but Ryan has since been sidelined by a Tommy John surgery that will likely keep him out of action for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.

The Dodgers had such a need for pitching that Ryan got a bit of a fast track to the majors following his shoulder injury, as Ryan amassed only 24 1/3 innings in the minors (16 1/3 at the Triple-A level) this season before he was called up for his MLB debut.  To this end, moving a big league-ready starter for Crochet probably wasn’t an ideal scenario for an L.A. team that basically needs all the arms it can get at this point, yet the Dodgers were obviously going to have to give up a lot to pry Crochet away from the White Sox.

Rushing’s name has been involved in trade speculation even before Will Smith signed his big contract extension with Los Angeles in March.  Smith’s status as the Dodgers’ catcher of the foreseeable future could make either Rushing or fellow catching prospect Diego Cartaya expendable, yet it could be that L.A. didn’t want to move Rushing before experimenting with him at another position.  Rushing has been playing only left field since his promotion to Triple-A earlier this month, and he has kept up the hot hitting even while adapting to a new position and facing a higher caliber of pitching, so it isn’t out of the question that Rushing could make his Major League debut before 2024 is over.

In another note about the Crochet trade talks, Rosenthal writes that “the White Sox also entertained offers in which they would have received lesser [prospect] packages but gained salary relief.”  These particular discussions reportedly involved Andrew Benintendi, so in this scenario, an unknown team would’ve eaten all or most of Benintendi’s remaining contract as a sweetener to obtain Crochet.  Rosenthal didn’t specify which teams made such offers, though the Dodgers and Phillies both seem less likely candidates, as adding Benintendi’s contract would’ve come at an even heftier cost for two teams deep into luxury tax territory.

On the one hand, Benintendi’s five-year, $75MM contract is already looking like a misfire less than two seasons in, so packaging him along with Crochet might be Chicago’s only reasonable method of getting Benintendi off the books.  That being said, Crochet is also the team’s best trade asset, and moving him for a prospect package of maximum value is a clear way for the Sox to bring more talent into the organization.  Diluting that return just to save some money wouldn’t seem all that prudent, especially since the White Sox reduced payroll in other deadline deals.  Benintendi is owed $47.5MM over the 2025-27 seasons, but the Sox have just under $41MM committed to their entire 2025 payroll, as per RosterResource.

White Sox Claim Enyel De Los Santos Off Of Waivers From Yankees

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The White Sox have claimed right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos off of waivers from the Yankees, the team announced. The club also recalled right-hander Gus Varland from Triple-A Charlotte and placed fellow right-hander Steven Wilson on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain. In addition, the White Sox transferred righty Mike Clevinger to the 60-day IL. The veteran underwent season-ending neck surgery in July. Transferring Clevinger to the 60-day IL frees up a space for De Los Santos on the 40-man. However, the White Sox will need to make an additional transaction in order to add him to the 26-man roster.

De Los Santos, 28, started the 2024 season with the Padres, who acquired him over the winter in exchange for Scott Barlow. Across 44 games for San Diego, De Los Santos pitched to a mediocre 4.46 ERA, giving up 21 runs (20 earned) on 39 hits over 40 1/3 innings. His underlying numbers were a little more promising (3.22 SIERA, 3.91 xFIP), and he was solid for the Guardians from 2022-23, putting up a 3.18 ERA and 3.57 SIERA over 120 appearances. Nonetheless, the Padres ran out of room for him after acquiring several new relievers at the trade deadline, so they flipped him to the Yankees alongside pitching prospect Thomas Balboni Jr. in exchange for minor league outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

The Yankees quickly soured on De Los Santos, however, designating him for assignment earlier this week. Funnily enough, the final straw for De Los Santos in the Bronx might have been his outing against the White Sox on Monday, when he gave up seven earned runs to his future team in 1 2/3 innings of work.

At this point in the season, the White Sox are simply looking for live arms to help them get to the finish line. They rank last in the AL with a 5.03 bullpen ERA, and their relief corps has been even worse as of late, pitching to a 6.17 ERA since the All-Star break. De Los Santos should be more than capable of providing the White Sox with innings over the final weeks of the season, and he could prove to be quite a smart pickup for Chris Getz and Co. if he rediscovers his 2022-23 form. He will be eligible for arbitration in 2025 and ’26, should the White Sox choose to keep him around.

The White Sox claimed Varland, 27, off of waivers from the Dodgers earlier this month. Neither his Triple-A numbers nor his MLB stats are particularly inspiring, but he can serve as additional bullpen depth for Chicago. Varland has a career 5.81 ERA and 5.45 SIERA across 26 1/3 innings with the Brewers and Dodgers over the past two years. Meanwhile, he has a 7.47 ERA and 5.00 FIP in 37 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season.

Wilson, 29, joined the White Sox this offseason as part of the trade that sent Dylan Cease to the Padres. Although he put up solid numbers during his two seasons in San Diego (3.48 ERA, 4.20 SIERA in 106 IP), he has had a difficult year in Chicago. Not only is this his second stint on the injured list with back troubles, but he has a 5.71 ERA and 5.38 SIERA in 40 appearances. According to Win Probability Added (WPA) and FanGraphs WAR, he has been one of the ten least valuable relievers in the AL this season.

White Sox Place Dominic Leone On 60-Day Injured List With Right UCL Sprain

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The White Sox announced that they have reinstated right-hander Matt Foster from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Dominic Leone was placed directly onto the 60-day IL with a sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times relayed on X prior to the official announcement that Foster would be activated and Leone would be going on the IL.

Foster, now 29, had a decent showing with the Sox from 2020 to 2022. In that time, he made 108 appearances for the Sox, allowing 4.39 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 23.7% of batters faced and gave out walks at an 8.2% clip.

Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in April of 2023, turning that into a totally lost season for him. He has been on the injured list since then and began a rehab assignment in June of this year. He has thrown 14 2/3 innings on the farm this year as part of that rehab with a 2.45 ERA, 30.8% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Foster qualified for arbitration for the first time after the 2023 campaign. Though he was still rehabbing from his surgery, the Sox tendered him a contract. But due to his missed time, he was only able to get a raise to $750K, barely above this year’s $740K league minimum salary.

He’ll likely be looking at yet another modest raise in arbitration this winter, since he’s already missed most of the season. The Sox can get a look at him over the next few weeks and decide what role they want him to play on next year’s club.

As for Leone, it’s unclear exactly how serious this injury is, but it’s evidently enough to end his season. By going directly onto the 60-day IL, he can’t come back during the regular season. The Sox are trending towards one of the worst seasons in history, currently sporting a record of 29-93, so the playoffs obviously aren’t remotely a consideration.

The veteran signed a minor league deal with the Sox and cracked the Opening Day roster, but he’s spent most of the season on the IL. Lower back tightness put him there for a couple of weeks in May. Just a few days after returning from that issue, he went back to the IL with right elbow inflammation. That elbow issue put him out of action for more than two months and he only just returned in the first week of August.

Overall, he has tossed 19 innings on the year but won’t be able to add to that total. A UCL sprain doesn’t necessarily always lead to surgery, but even the non-surgical recovery path requires a lengthy layoff. If he does require some kind of UCL surgery, that will likely wipe out his 2025 season, given the year-plus recovery times with such significant operations. If he’s able to avoid the surgeon’s table, he will be looking to return for a 12th straight MLB season. He has 427 career appearances with a 3.94 ERA.

White Sox Planning More Consistent Roles For Dominic Fletcher, Miguel Vargas

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The White Sox have gutted their roster over the past season as their rebuild has gone into full swing, but they’ll aim for some more consistency down the stretch in 2024. Outfielder Dominic Fletcher and infielder/outfielder Miguel Vargas will have more solidified roles down the stretch. James Fegan of Sox Machine tweeted recently that interim manager Grady Sizemore wants to give Vargas a consistent role (something he’s previously not had with the Dodgers), so he’ll play primarily at third base. Sizemore also said he plans to deploy Fletcher in a near-everyday role after he’s been heavily platooned prior to this point (X link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

Fletcher, 26, came to the Sox in an offseason deal that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to the Diamondbacks. His plus contact skills and solid glovework seemingly give him a high floor in the outfield corners, but Fletcher floundered through 66 plate appearances in the White Sox’ first 23 games and found himself quickly optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. He returned in mid-May, collected one hit in 18 plate appearances, and then hit the injured list with a shoulder strain.

The Sox sent Fletcher on a rehab assignment and optioned him afterward. He hit well in his last run with Triple-A Charlotte, was recalled to the big leagues the evening prior to the trade deadline, and now stands to log an everyday role down the stretch. He’s making the most of it in his tiny sample thus far; after hitting .283/.345/.377 in 53 Triple-A trips to the plate following his rehab stint, he’s tallied 27 plate appearances in the big leagues and gone 9-for-26 with a double, a walk and only three strikeouts. It’s a minuscule set of games, of course, but it’s still the most encouraging run Fletcher has had since landing in Chicago.

“I love Dom’s game,” Sizemore told the Sox beat (via Van Schouwen). “He’s a good all-around player, especially the defense.”

Fletcher hasn’t shown that yet with the South Siders, but he did slash .301/.350/.441 in 102 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks in 2023’s MLB debut. He’s also a lifetime .293/.376/.462 hitter in 889 turns at the plate in Triple-A, where he’s fanned in a lower-than-average 18.6% of his plate appearances and drawn walks at a stout 10.6% rate.

Fletcher has also drawn strong defensive marks in limited time. He’s played only 487 innings in the outfield in his big league career but been credited with plus marks in Defensive Runs Saved (7) and Outs Above Average (3). When looking at only his corner work (200 innings), both DRS (5) and OAA (5) feel he’s been even stronger. Again, it’s not a big sample, but scouting reports on Fletcher have been bullish on his glove for some time now. Prior to the season, Baseball America called him a potential plus defender at all three positions, noting that his “great reads and above-average routes … and above-average arm strength” all help to offset his roughly average speed.

As for Vargas, his time with the Sox has gotten out to a rough start after being acquired in the Erick Fedde/Michael Kopech deal. Recently fired skipper Pedro Grifol has played him at third base, designated hitter and in left field, but Sizemore seems keen to keep him at the hot corner moving forward. Still just 24 and only a season removed from ranking among the sport’s top 40 overall prospects, Vargas has batted .116/.240/.209 in 50 plate appearances. He’s at least shown good strike zone recognition, drawing seven walks (14%) and chasing only 19.8% of pitches off the plate — way shy of the 28.5% league average. Earlier this season, it didn’t take a much longer slump than this for the Sox to option Fletcher earlier, but it seems they’re understandably intent on giving Vargas some more time to work through his big league struggles.

After all, there’s little left for Vargas to prove in the minors. He’s a .297/.412/.512 hitter in 997 Triple-A plate appearances, including a huge .290/.440/.556 batting line there in 2024. The White Sox already know Vargas can clobber upper-minors pitching, and the focus will now shift on coaxing improvements from the talented youngster at the MLB level. With the Dodgers, they bounced Vargas from third base, to second base, to first base, to left field in an effort to get his touted minor league bat into a veteran-laden lineup where Vargas was largely blocked from a regular role. He’ll have a much clearer runway to playing time at Guaranteed Rate Field — and at his natural position, no less.

There’s minimal competition for either player at the moment. In the outfield, Fletcher has been lining up in right field alongside center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Oscar Colas hasn’t hit well in Triple-A or the majors this season. Corey Julks hasn’t hit much in the majors, either. Zach DeLoach, acquired from the Mariners in the Gregory Santos deal, has roughly league-average numbers in Triple-A.

It’s a similar story for Vargas at third base. Former top prospect Nick Senzel hasn’t hit with the Nationals or White Sox this season and will likely be non-tendered in the offseason. Lenyn Sosa has seen some time at third base but is a utility player in a best-case scenario. Bryan Ramos, who entered the season as one of Chicago’s top prospects, has taken a huge step back in 2024 after a breakout 2023 season in Double-A. With a strong finish, both Fletcher and Vargas could essentially stake their claim to regular jobs on what should be a largely wide-open White Sox roster in 2025.

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