Vinny Capra

Today: The White Sox have officially announced Montgomery’s promotion. To open a space on the active roster, the team designated infielder Vinny Capra for assignment. They had claimed Capra off waivers from the Brewers in May. He hit .190 with a .443 OPS over 23 games in Chicago, while splitting his time between second base, third base, and shortstop. The White Sox now have five days to trade Capra. If they cannot find a taker, they must place him on outright or release waivers.

In an additional transaction, the White Sox reinstated left-handed pitcher Fraser Ellard from the 60-day IL and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Because Montgomery was already on the 40-man and Ellard will essentially take Capra’s spot, Chicago’s 40-man roster remains at 38 players.

July 3: The White Sox will promote Colson Montgomery for this weekend’s series against the Rockies, reports Kris Norton of WITZ Radio in Indiana. Montgomery is already on the 40-man roster, so the Sox only need to make an active roster move.

It’s the first MLB call for the 23-year-old, who’ll likely make his MLB debut tomorrow against Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela. Chicago’s first-round pick in 2021, the lefty-hitting shortstop was one of the sport’s top prospects not too long ago. Montgomery placed among Baseball America’s top 50 minor league talents entering each of the past three seasons. BA ranked him as the best prospect in the Sox’s system each year from 2022-24.

Montgomery is listed at 6’3″ and 230 pounds, giving him big raw power potential for a middle infielder. A very patient plate approach led to strong on-base marks against low minors pitching, but he has had a tougher time against more polished arms. Montgomery spent all of last year at Triple-A Charlotte, where he hit .214/.329/.381 in 130 games. He connected on 18 home runs with a strong 12% walk rate but struck out in nearly 29% of his trips to the plate.

Chicago needed to add Montgomery to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’d surely have been selected despite the middling Triple-A numbers, so that was an easy call for the front office. They optioned him back to Charlotte to begin the season, and he’s had similar concerns in his second crack at the level. He has struck out a third of the time while batting .218/.298/.435 in 55 games.

While the season numbers don’t exactly demand a promotion, they’re weighed down by an atrocious April. Montgomery had a serviceable May and was very productive in June, batting .281 with six homers and 11 extra-base knocks in 16 games. The plate discipline concerns persist — he struck out 22 times while drawing only five walks in 71 plate appearances last month — but he’d shown enough from a power perspective for the team to give him a look.

The Indiana native has played four games at third base this year but has otherwise been a full-time shortstop in his minor league career. It’s unlikely the Sox would call him up if they weren’t prepared to give him everyday playing time at his natural position. Rookie Chase Meidroth has gotten the playing time there. Meidroth, acquired from the Red Sox in the Garrett Crochet trade, is hitting .260 with a solid .347 on-base percentage. He hasn’t shown any kind of power, but the disciplined approach is probably enough to stay in the lineup.

Meidroth’s defensive grades are serviceable, but most scouting reports project him as a second baseman. The Sox could slide him to the keystone and move Lenyn Sosa to third base to push Josh Rojas out of the mix. Sosa is a known commodity as a utility type as well, so the focus should be on getting Montgomery and Meidroth into the lineup on a daily basis.