The White Sox and the other 29 teams will be able to expand their roster when September arrives on Wednesday, but the 28-man roster takes some of the open-ended, wild-eyed excitement out of it.
Teams were limited to 28 players last September, but then again, teams carried 28 players the entire season due to the heightened risk of having to isolate members of the active roster due to COVID-19. Between that and the lack of a minor league baseball season, there wasn't the typical giant pool of players jockeying for consideration in organized, recorded baseball games.
This is the first year where the limits of the roster's barely bigger belt can actually be felt. In a world where the White Sox could add any and all remaining players on the 40-man roster, you'd have at least five deserving candidates from the Charlotte Knights raring to go. Instead, the White Sox will have to be strategic in their selectivity.
That'd be worse news in previous seasons. In 2021, the White Sox's 26-man roster is pretty much rock solid, with a number of key hitters needing at-bats in the final month due to missed time earlier in the year. Also, thanks to the delayed start to the 2021 minor-league season and 10 additional "Final Stretch" games added to the schedules of Triple-A teams, those who don't get the call to Chicago will be able to get reps with Charlotte through Oct. 3.
As Orson Welles once supposedly said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." Let's explore those limitations that could inspire some creativity from the front office.
THE CONSTRAINTS
The injured members of the 40-man: There's theoretically less drama this year because the White Sox have a pretty entrenched 26-man roster, and the Sox have three players who should be able to come off the injured list in September (Adam Engel, Billy Hamilton, Evan Marshall).
That said, there's a little time to experiment. Hamilton's rehab stint can extend to Sept. 9, and Marshall's can be maxed out into the following week (Sept. 14). Engel is the one guy whom the White Sox would have immediate use for, but he hasn't even begun his rehab stint, which is concerning since this is his third time on the injured list, and his initial timetable has extended from "the minimum 10 days" to "welp, it's more than 10 days." The White Sox placed him on the IL back on Aug. 16, so he's probably at the point where a rehab stint is necessary.
The other 10-day minimum: Most teams call up a third catcher, and Zack Collins would and may forever be the obvious candidate for a third catcher on an expanded roster. But because the White Sox optioned him to Charlotte on Aug. 27 due to the return of Yasmani Grandal, Collins won't be able to return to the fold until Sept. 6 unless injury occurs. Injury could occur, but there are few natural candidates for a phantom stint. With the White Sox only playing four games over the first six days of September, the Sox might feel like two catchers is enough to start the final month.
THE CANDIDATES
*Yermín Mercedes: If the White Sox wanted somebody who could squat in behind the plate due to an emergency before Collins becomes available, Mercedes is the only other qualified candidate on the 40-man. He's hitting .276/.320/.534 in Charlotte, but only .155/.228/.204 over the last 30 days. He seems to be biding his time for an opportunity elsewhere.
*Gavin Sheets: He picked up where he left off after returning to Triple-A, hitting .306/.392/.613 with four homers, seven doubles and 10 walks over 18 games while dividing his time between first, right field and DH. He'd be their best bet for left-handed bench power, but he's redundant with Jake Lamb, whose ability to back up Yoán Moncada at third could be a difference-maker.
*Jake Burger: Burger had a rockier return to action due to a bone bruise in his thumb, hitting .209/.255/.488 in 12 games since coming off the injured list. He hit four homers over three games to suggest the hand injury isn't an active concern, but there's a real chance the White Sox have already seen his best ball this season.
*Micker Adolfo: He'll be out of options next spring, so in past seasons, he'd be one of the best uses of a roster spot in September. But with a 36-percent strikeout rate over an otherwise productive first 22 games in Charlotte (.270/.333/.527), he's probably better off getting as many reps as possible in Triple-A than a handful of plate appearances in Chicago. Engel would be the better use of those opportunities in order to get up to speed for October, at least assuming he gets healthy enough to take them.
*Danny Mendick: He did what he could with his opportunity at shortstop while Tim Anderson rested his legs and Leury García was concussed, hitting safely in six of his last seven games with the White Sox before they optioned him to Charlotte. He wouldn't be able to return to the roster until Sept. 5 unless an injury necessitates an extra infielder, and if an outfielder returns before that, García, Lamb and Andrew Vaughn provide enough depth.
*Matt Foster/Ryan Burr: Foster has been nails in Triple-A, with 18 strikeouts to one walk over 11⅔ innings. Kyle Crick is the only one pitching better in the Knights bullpen, but Crick isn't on the 40-man roster, and would have to be added by today in order to be eligible for a postseason roster. Otherwise, Foster and Burr would be the righties rotated in and out of the bullpen for fresh, low-leverage arms.
*Jace Fry: If the White Sox want a lefty, Fry is the only candidate on the 40-man, and fortunately he's looking like a guy who previously enjoyed long stretches of MLB success. He's gotten his walks under control in August, issuing only three of them against 17 strikeouts over 11⅔ innings this month.
BEST GUESSES
Fresh off a day off and with two more to come on Thursday and Monday, the usual, immediate demands for a third catcher and extra arms aren't there, so the White Sox could strike a balance between the inevitable and the exciting by reinstating Hamilton and recalling Sheets. Hamilton's rehab stint thus far looks like a stretch from his MLB game log -- 3-for-19 with a double, two walks and eight strikeouts -- but he'd be making any roster for his defense and speed, and the White Sox could use a better option behind Luis Robert in center field. Sheets might not see a whole lot of action, but the Sox could use him to see how many times his specific bench bat might be necessary down the line.
Starting a week from now, the White Sox open a stretch of 20 games over 20 days, and that's when there's less room for imagination, whether it's because Collins comes back to afford Grandal risk-free reps at DH, or because Hamilton, Engel and Marshall all need to be part of the roster. Marshall looks like the most awkward fit, because he was a mess before the injury, and he's out of options. I'm not sure what kind of innings he can expect to receive if the White Sox are required to carry him over the second half of the month.
The good news is that ninth bullpen spot currently occupied by Mike Wright can be used as a rotating door for the other fresh arms mentioned. The other reality is that players could be shelved between now and then, whether due to an actual injury or as a precautionary measure, so the guys currently on the outside looking in could eventually find themselves within the 28-man roster's wall.
(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)
