As if this year hasn’t been tough enough for the White Sox, digging deeper into the stats makes it a whole lot worse. One of the White Sox most glaring deficiencies have come at second base this season. But, that should not surprise anyone as Rick Hahn has refused to address that position for the long term for whatever reason.
Stats Don’t Lie
Since the White Sox traded away Nick Madrigal for Craig Kimbrel, the Sox have had a revolving door at second base. They have had patchwork players that have consisted of Ceasar Hernandez, Leury Garcia, Elvis Andrus, and Romy Gonzalez.
In hindsight, the Kimbrel trade was bad for the White Sox, but Nick Madrigal has not panned out to be anything more than anyone ever expected him to be. He still can’t field and he doesn’t know how to run the bases.
But, this year might be the worst year for all of the second basemen. They are currently one of the worst, if not the worst in the league at second.
When you look at the stats, somehow it is much worse than the eye test. I know Elvis Andrus was not playing great, but man this is just a horrendous statline. The combination of Romy Gonzalez, Andrus, Hanser Alberto, and Lenyn Sosa has not cut it.
The White Sox haven’t had stability at the position for a long time. Gordon Beckham was supposed to become a star, but he only was average at best in most seasons. For whatever reason, the White Sox have not been able to develop anything near an MLB-starting second baseman.
Sosa Might As Well Play
I know that Lenyn Sosa was not playing well at the major league level, but he has always needed time to fully adjust when he was promoted. Looking at his first 100 at-bats at every level, they are all pretty bad. He may just need time to develop here, and the White Sox should give him that opportunity.
Sosa has been on a tear lately at AAA, as he is hitting .378 with six homers and 12 RBIS in only 19 games. You might as well bring him up while he is hot to give him a better shot at performing better.
Sosa could very well be a true AAAA player and never be that good at the major league level. But, with the White Sox most likely not making the playoffs this year, you might as well give him as close to a full season as possible to really evaluate him for the future. Better to find out now and move on from him if he does not have it.
Is Jake Burger An Option?
Many fans have thrown around the idea of Jake Burger getting some time at second base to make sure his bat gets in the lineup, but that has yet to happen. Last year and this spring, he was caught taking ground balls at second in practice, so many thought it was a real possibility.
I am not sure if that is a possibility, but apparently Pedro Grifol has been considering it.
If this were to happen, I cannot say that I would be mad. It would allow for Moncada, Eloy, and Burger to all be in the lineup at the same time. If he could just provide a bit of average defense, I would call that a success. While defense is very important, if Burger can hit for power, he may be able to make up for it.
Burger’s bat at second base would immediately be one of the best in the league and would be a perrenial all-star if he could show that he can field second at a good enough level. Time will tell whether this will actually happen, but if it does, I would be pretty excited to see all the bats in the lineup at the same time.
the bats in the lineup at the same time