The Chicago White Sox have yet to announce the final 26-man roster they plan on bringing to Houston for Opening Day, but the leaks have begun.
It's been talked about much this past week, but Chicago Sun-Times White Sox beat reporter Daryl Van Schouwen tweeted that 10-year veteran Leury Garcia will not make the Opening Day roster. Garcia signed a three-year contract after the 2021 season and is owed $5.5 million in 2023 and an additional $5.5 million for 2024.
Garcia played 676 games over ten seasons after being acquired in the Alex Rios trade to Texas Rangers in 2013. In 2021, Garcia had his best season posting a 2.1 WAR according to Baseball-Reference, hitting .267/.335/.376 while playing 126 games. His super-utility role was needed due to the number of injuries White Sox players suffered during that campaign.
In the American League Division Series, Garcia provided one of the most memorable home runs hit at US Cellular Field / Guaranteed Rate Field. His three-run shot in the third inning sparked a comeback for the White Sox and unleashed an energy within the stadium not felt since 2008.
After the contract, there was much speculation about how Tony La Russa would Garcia as there was a roster hole at second base. La Russa thought Garcia was not a starting second baseman but a super utility player in the lineup daily. That faith from La Russa was not rewarded. Garcia posted his career-worst season in 2022, hitting a dismal .210/.233/.267, which equaled a 42 OPS+, or 58% worse than the league average, and his WAR was -1.0.
In the offseason, Romy Gonzalez's hype train left the station thanks to new manager Pedro Grifol. That self-generated excitement should have put Garcia's status with the ballclub on notice. Then the signing of Hanser Alberto, who played with the Kansas Royals in 2021 and was known as one of Grifol's guys, put Garcia's roster spot in jeporady.
Alberto had a monster Spring Training at the plate, Gonzalez showed some life late, and Garcia hit .222/.263/.417 in 36 at-bats. No matter how much was owed on the contract, Garcia did not impress Grifol enough to merit a roster spot.
As of this writing, we still need to find out who won that super-utility role on the bench, but Garica being DFA, will open a 40-man spot to add Alberto, who signed a minor league contract.
Earlier this afternoon, The Athletic's James Fegan tweeted that Rule 5 Draft Pick Nick Avila would not make the White Sox Opening Day bullpen. The White Sox now must offer Avila back to the San Francisco Giants for half the cost (approx. $25,000). If the Giants don't accept Avila, then he will enter waivers. That would allow the White Sox to negotiate a deal with Avila to join their AAA roster in Charlotte.
In that same tweet, Fegan also mentioned that former Cleveland Guardians reliever Bryan Shaw would not be making the Opening Day roster. Better known for his rubber arm, Shaw has ten seasons of 60+ game appearances but had a 5.40 ERA in 2022 for Cleveland.
Even though Avila and Shaw won't be part of the White Sox bullpen, Grifol plans to carry 13 pitchers.
In a bit of good roster news, and it shouldn't come as that big of a surprise, but Oscar Colas has made the team. Colas had a hot start to Spring Training but has cooled off recently, where his slash line settled at .267/.279/.450. Nevertheless, Colas will be in Houston for Opening Day, which opens up the possibility of the White Sox gaining an additional draft pick in 2024. As Colas has below 60 days of service, if he wins Rookie of the Year, the White Sox could gain a first-round compensation pick. With Julio Rodriguez winning Rookie of the Year in 2022, the Seattle Mariners were awarded the 29th overall pick in this upcoming MLB Draft.
