The White Sox announced their signing of John Brebbia to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with a club option for 2025 this afternoon, which came as no surprise since word of the signing leaked last Saturday.
The corresponding move provided a novel element, as Brebbia took the 40-man roster spot of Romy Gonzalez, who was designated for assignment.
It'd be premature to call it the end of Gonzalez's White Sox career, because Carlos Pérez, Zach Remillard, Edgar Navarro and Nicholas Padilla all passed through waivers and remained in the organization over the past few months. Gonzalez could follow suit and be seen in spring training and Charlotte box scores this coming season.
Still, removing Gonzalez from the 40-man roster when the infield is barely set and right field is wide open can be taken as a vote of no confidence, which is such a stark reversal from how the White Sox felt about him at this time last year.
Gonzalez's third cup of coffee was the weakest one yet, as he hit .194/.208/.376 over 97 plate appearances in 2023. He started slow, and then a shoulder injury compounded his problems until he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in July. He'd experienced a similar mix of poor production and bad health luck in 2022 thanks to multiple leg issues and a sustained bout of tonsillitis.
It'd all be an unremarkable sort of misfortune if the White Sox hadn't inexplicably placed him aboard the hype train in the intervening winter. He was prominently featured in offseason material about Mike Tosar's Miami hitting clinic and a late-winter video intended to get fans pumped:
And while Gonzalez might've just been a convenient subject because he lived near all the White Sox's hitting coaches, the raves continued into spring training. Rick Hahn likened Gonzalez's potential role to that of Ben Zobrist and said a teammate told him, "Don't you dare trade that guy."
Perhaps the White Sox were trying to telegraph Leury García's release by elevating his replacement in advance, but such a minor move shouldn't have required such a ridiculous and counterproductive amount of stagecraft. Instead of keeping expectations low and creating an opportunity for Gonzalez to take a job by surprise, they set the bar way out of his reach and called their ability to evaluate talent into question. Hahn is out, the White Sox's two Miami-based hitting coaches were let go, and Tosar was reassigned, so maybe those questions were answered.
Before the White Sox officially added Brebbia to the roster this afternoon, they issued another press release announcing the return of SoxFest in 2025. It's a welcome reversal from their isolationist tendencies, although the timing helps.
2025 marks both the 20th anniversary of the World Series champions and the 125th season in franchise history, which gives the Sox plenty of programming that avoids the state of the current team should the immediate forecast remain just as gloomy. It's also a little easier to plan now that the White Sox have a new play-by-play broadcaster in John Schriffen who can serve as a master of ceremonies. (It'd also be the platform to properly introduce a new manager, in the event that Pedro Grifol continues proving he's not the guy.)
The White Sox confirmed when SoxFest will occur (Jan 24-25, 2025), but other important details like the location will be announced at a later date.
