Tough Decisions Ahead for White Sox As They Try To Turn Season Around
The IL stints of Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Hanser Alberto opened up an opportunity for Jake Burger, who has made a name for himself in just 11 games. The problem is once everyone is healthy, keeping Burger on the roster will be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Jimenez is already back in the lineup but looks lost at the plate since his return. Meanwhile, Yoan Moncada is being sent on a rehab assignment. When he returns, somebody has to go.
Make no mistake, Burger has earned a roster spot. Sending him back to Triple-A Charlotte would be criminal at this point. But because of the poor roster construction, keeping him in the MLB means sacrificing defense somewhere else in the lineup. The team faced a similar problem as last year, with too many designated hitters on the roster and not enough defense.
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The White Sox reverted back to their old tricks by placing Gavin Sheets, a first baseman by trade, in right field. Sheets has a career mark of -8 Defensive Runs Saved and -7 Outs Above Average in the Outfield. This was the same issue the team faced last year with Andrew Vaughn in right field.
However, Sheets often gets the nod in right field because the team needs his left-handed power in the lineup, especially at Guaranteed Rate Field. Sheets is one of the few hitters on the roster built to take advantage of the short porch in right field. This season he has posted a solid .310/.429/.414 slash line for a 149 WRC+.
You can’t play Sheets at first base, considering Andrew Vaughn is leading the team in RBIs, OBP, walks, and doubles. He is also contributing solid defense at first base.
So that means choosing between Sheets or Eloy Jimenez in right field if you want to keep both their bats in the lineup. Neither is a good alternative to have in the corner outfield.
Balancing offense and defense in the lineup is complicated because the White Sox have been deficient in both categories so far this season.
Through three weeks of the season, the White Sox have the fifth-worst run differential in the MLB at -26 entering Friday’s game. Being lumped in with teams such as the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers is a pretty telling stat. All four of those teams were not expected to contend this year and are considered to be in a “rebuilding phase.”
The White Sox are 20th in the MLB in runs scored. If not for Jake Burger, the team could be even lower on that list. Burger has been one of the lone bright spots for Pedro Grifol’s squad early in the season. On Wednesday, he homered for the fourth time in five games, squaring up a three-run shot that left his bat at 118.2 mph. That clocked in as the second-hardest-hit ball in the MLB this season.
After failing to make the Opening Day roster, he was called upon to fill in for the injured Yoan Moncada and Hanser Alberto and immediately made his presence felt. In his first 34 plate appearances, he is slashing .276/.353/.862 with five home runs, ten RBIs, and a 219 wRC+.
Those are some gaudy offensive numbers for a guy the White Sox left off the Opening Day roster. His 1.215 OPS and team-leading five home runs make it hard to justify sending him back down to Triple-A, especially considering how much the offense has struggled in recent weeks.
But once Yoan Moncada returns, putting Burger at third base is not an option. Moncada was the White Sox’s most effective hitter before landing on the IL, slashing .308/.325/.564, and plays Gold-Glove caliber defense.
Burger is a liability in the field. His size and injury history raises questions about his range and mobility. Last year he had a -7 OAA and -5 RAA at third base. He also made six errors at third base in just 91 chances.
His error in the Orioles series that kept an inning alive and led to scoring two additional runs was a painful reminder.
That means the only other spots the team can use him is designated hitter, at first base, or as a pinch hitter. Burger is hitting too well to relegate him to pinch-hitting duties at the moment.
Teams that win the World Series field the ball well more often than not.
The simple reality is that with Sheets, Jimenez, and Burger on the same roster, it will be hard to make a lineup featuring their bats without sacrificing some defense.
But the organization has invested too much in Jimenez, Sheets provides a much-needed left-handed power bat, and Burger is tearing the cover off the ball as he has in every MLB opportunity he has gotten.
Because of this, Hanser Alberto should be the man jettisoned from the roster once everyone is healthy unless the White Sox plan on trading one of those three hitters.
Alberto is redundant, considering Romy Gonzalez already provides the roster with a utility infielder. Alberto has also been bad defensively when he has played for the White Sox and offers little to no power.
This is the position that Rick Hahn has put the team in. There were already questions about the team’s depth heading into the season. Early injuries are exposing the patchwork roster construction.
Through 19 games, they are 7-12 and have yet to win a series. This is the longest any White Sox team has gone without a series win to open the season since 1977. Tough decisions need to be made if they want to climb out of the 7-12 hole.
