Chicago White Sox

So the more I think about this, the more I expect the Sox to go with a bench of Sheets, Alberto, & Romy. The Sox need a left-handed bat somewhere on the bench and that role pretty much goes to Gavin by default. He can fill in at 1B/DH against tough righties when Vaughn/Eloy need a day off and can technically play a bad corner OF in a pinch (the Sox will use him much more then I would out there though). As for Alberto, I’m not quite sure I get the admiration around here, but it seems like all but a certainty that Grifol will place him on the OD roster. Personally, I think spring training stats are meaningless, so a nice camp doesn’t change the fact that he has been legit bad against RHP in his career. That being said, he does hit lefties fairly well and can play throughout the infield. As much as I’d love Burger’s bat on the bench, Alberto fills a similar need offensively with far more defensive versatility. As for the final spot, this could obviously go a lot of different ways and Leury in theory should be the favorite. However, it does seem like Hahn / Grifol may be ready to move on from Leury. If so, I think you’re looking at one of the pure OFs or a true utility guy like Romy. IMO, I think the Sox would prefer the latter and don’t think they will overreact to a strong camp and go with someone like Haseley. Yes, Romy has had a rough spring, but the defensive versatility is a huge plus and I think he will at least hit LHP well next year. And the latter is a big plus when you have two LH corner OFs who will need time off like everyone else.

Isn’t that the reason we signed Homer?

Love me some D’Onta Foreman!

Committing big dollars to a 28 year old RB ahead of a deep RB draft and when three of your four top receivers are coming up for extensions doesn’t make a lick of sense. Just draft a RB in the 4th and call it a day.

I donated to this cause and I’m more than content. f*** Jerry.

Threw some money on Colas to AL ROY a few months ago and that bet looks better & better each day.

If Colas proves himself that’s totally fine, but you don’t start the season with batting anywhere but the bottom 3rd of the lineup. And he may not end up a platoon bat (I’m optimistic he won’t), but it’s only natural to give him some rope to start the year against LHP.

Yeah, I do think against RHP, he’s slots in better around 5th or 6th. He’s still a solid hitter against RHP, but the subpar OBP doesn’t work quite that well at the top of the lineup.

Tim?

Honestly, you just need to get him back to his 2021 version and he’s a damn good lead-off hitter against RHP. For better or worse, I think Tim will be the lead-off hitter this year everyday he’s in the lineup though.

Since this camp has been incredibly boring, I figured it’s time to get some discussion going on more regular season oriented topics. The first one is how would you lay out the everyday batting order. For this exercise, let’s assume Colas makes the team. Also, note that any splits I’ve referenced reflect that player’s four year averages against RHP/LHP pitching from 2019 to 2022 unless noted otherwise. Here is what I’d do against RHP (OBP | ISO | wRC+): Anderson, SS (.335 | .138 | 112) Benintendi, LF* (.344 | .146 | 107) Robert, CF (.360 | .179 | 134) (‘21) Jimenez, DH (.329 | .240 | 129) Moncada, 3B# (.341 | .178 | 113) Vaughn, 1B (.309 | .184 | 112) (‘22) Grandal, C# (.347 | .178 | 105) Colas, RF* (.357 | .162 | NA) (‘22 W-S) Andrus, 2B (.303 | .116 | 84) Here is what I’d do against LHP (OBP | ISO | wRC+): Anderson, SS (.380 | .211 | 154) Robert, CF (.403 | .242 | 172) Jimenez, DH (.327 | .228 | 124) Vaughn, 1B (.383 | .286 | 154) (‘21) Grandal, C# (.420 | .231 | 148) Gonzalez, RF (.395 | .246 | NA) Moncada, 3B# (.344 | .164 | 112) Andrus, 2B (.297 | .126 | 81) Benintendi, LF* (.349 | .128 | 105)

What are his issues?

He hit in 2021

It’s going to be brutal if Robert misses any time.

I think he can be a legit #1 WR.

?

I’m just being a sarcastic dick. I’ve never been a fan of the “trade [insert player] because he deserves an opportunity”.

Agree…definitely don’t need the extra depth

What has been at this spring?

Who are three utility players you are referring to?

Can someone explain to me what Alberto brings to the table? Dude has a career 54 wRC+ against RHP. I’m not sure how that works playing beyond Andrus & Timmy.

I think there is zero chance Romy doesn’t make the team. Right or wrong, I think they plan to use him as the de facto 10th regular similar to how Tony used Leury. I really don’t see Hamilton being a realistic option with a four man bench. They should just fire Boston and make Billy the OF coach.

The question is which three guys provide the most utility based on our roster construction. Assuming Colas makes the team, the OF is filled with guys who really don’t need late game defensive replacements. Realistically, you’d want a 4th OF who can crush LHP and spell Robert in CF. I hate the concept of Eloy playing the OF too much, but he may be Colas’ platoon partner in RF to start the year. You could go with Leury who provides average defense at all three spots and put up a 104 wRC+ against LHP from 2017 to 2021. And while Romy hasn’t played a lot of CF in his career, he seems like he has the athleticism to play the position and he crush lefties (.931 OPS) in AA in 2021. Marisnick would provide probably the best CF defense of the three options, but offers very little value with the bat. Out of those three options, I definitely would go with Romy. On the infield side of things, a left-handed hitter who could provide coverage at both SS & 2B would be ideal, but we don’t really have anyone like that. As such, you’re kind of stuck with using Romy or Leury there. And whether you believe a return to form is coming for Andrus, he has never been good against RHP and that creates some value for a late inning RHP masher off the bench who can fill in some at 1B like Sheets. As for Yoan’s backup, Burger would be the perfect fit offensively but was pretty horrible with the glove last year. While I think he’s better than he showed last year, I wouldn’t be excited to see him much at 3B without more minor league seasoning. He’d be awesome as a late inning pinch hitting option against LHP though, but that is a fairly limited role. To me, it’s pretty obvious they will go with both Romy & Leury as IF/OF utility types, which probably makes the most sense if you’re unwilling to eat the rest of Garcia’s contract and bring in a player who fits the roster better. That leaves one spot for Marisnick, Sheets, or Burger. To me, I probably go with Sheets over Burger. Obviously RHP has been a challenge for us for a few years now and Gavin gives us a guy who can help some there. I’d probably play him once a week at 1B against tough RHP and then use him as a late game pinch hitter for Andrus. Not a big role, but he’d also be the primary fill-in at 1B or DH if Vaugh or Eloy were to go down. The only way I go with Burger is if they plan to play Eloy in RF more than we think. If that’s the case, then Jake could be part of the DH mix and actually be pretty valuable. Just don’t like the idea of Eloy in the OF, especially not in RF with that noodle arm of his.

He had almost equal splits last year and a 121 wRC+ against RHP before fatigue set in September.

I’m super high on Colas long-term as well, but I think he could struggle quite a bit with the bat to start the season. That being said, his defense should be a massive upgrade over the garbage we played out in RF last year.