2026 Spring Training Thread

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

3 hours ago, fathom said:

Acuna is 100 pct starting.  Might be leading off as well.

Yeah, he shouldn't be hitting anywhere but 8th or 9th, but saw the Sox say he'd be at the top of the order. 

[WestEddy]

New rule for MLB teams this spring. Due to WBC teams taking players away,clubs do not have to send a certain percentage of starting players to away games in the Cactus or Grapefruit league.Teams fined for those infractions in the past.

— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 1, 2026

[Chick Mercedes]

8 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Yeah, he shouldn't be hitting anywhere but 8th or 9th, but saw the Sox say he'd be at the top of the order. 

There’s a Rock Raines in him somewhere. 

[SoCalChiSox]

17 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

mlb.com projected lineup

Lineup
1. Chase Meidroth, 2B
2. Kyle Teel, C
3. Colson Montgomery, SS
4. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
5. Miguel Vargas, 3B
6. Austin Hays, RF
7. Andrew Benintendi, LF
8. Edgar Quero, DH
9. Brooks Baldwin, CF

Murakami will have his first big league camp interrupted by competition for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, but he arrived with pitchers and catchers to get an early start. Luisangel Acuña could be the center fielder on Opening Day, while manager Will Venable will rotate players through the designated hitter spot.

Rotation
1. Shane Smith, RHP
2. Davis Martin, RHP
3. Anthony Kay, LHP
4. Erick Fedde, RHP
5. Sean Burke, RHP

Three lefties in a row in the heart of the order will be problematic if other teams use a righty opener but then switch to a lefty starter for most of the game. 

 

[caulfield12]

4 hours ago, SoCalChiSox said:

Three lefties in a row in the heart of the order will be problematic if other teams use a righty opener but then switch to a lefty starter for most of the game. 

 

Hays probably gets moved up if he's going well   or Colson moved down

also have Sosa option

[ChiSoxFanMike]

5 hours ago, SoCalChiSox said:

Three lefties in a row in the heart of the order will be problematic if other teams use a righty opener but then switch to a lefty starter for most of the game. 

 

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to trade Robert. They don’t really have a middle of order right handed bat at the moment. Oh well.

[Bob Sacamano]

43 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to trade Robert. They don’t really have a middle of order right handed bat at the moment. Oh well.

Robert didn’t spend a lot of time in the middle of the order last season.

[Bob Sacamano]

6 hours ago, SoCalChiSox said:

Three lefties in a row in the heart of the order will be problematic if other teams use a righty opener but then switch to a lefty starter for most of the game. 

 

I like the idea of Teel leading off (seems weird at first because he’s a catcher and that looks weird haha) and Meidroth hitting 9th. Vargas 2, Colson 3, Murakami 4. Stack your best towards the top.

[soxrwhite]

1 hour ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to trade Robert. They don’t really have a middle of order right handed bat at the moment. Oh well.

Vargas, Quero,Sosa?

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to trade Robert. They don’t really have a middle of order right handed bat at the moment. Oh well.

Robert hit 14 HRs each of the last 2 seasons and put up a wRC+ of 84. Austin Hays just hit 15 HRs last season and had a wRC+ of 105. 

[vilehoopster]

2 hours ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to trade Robert. They don’t really have a middle of order right handed bat at the moment. Oh well.

They have Sosa. He led the team in home runs last year, but so many people here seem to ignore him or forget about him. 

I don’t think he’ll lead the Sox in HRs this year, but if he gets enough at bats, I feel confident he’s good for 25 to 30. 

That’s why I think he should be the main person at 2nd over Meidroth. That power goes a long way. With Quero and Benitendi, there are not enough DH at bats to take advantage of Sosa’s power.

A example of my point about people forgetting about Sosa is that I was listening to a podcast saying that Sam A, with his EVs, should replace Meidroth because he is good for 12 to 15 homers a years, clearly more than Chase can hit. I listened to that realizing that Sosa could double that amount.