Jordan Danks is here, and he’s going to do…what?

Wednesday was all set up to be Christmas morning for Sox fans… 

Oooooh, what’s in the box? What’s in the box? What did Momma Rick and Papa Kenny put in the box from Charlotte underneath the treeeee– 

We put a bow on the bike you already own, that’s it, that’s what Christmas is…ok, goodnight

Jordan Danks is more than a repackaged bike, but there was a reason he was sent off to Charlotte for storage. We probably mentioned it the last time Danks was discussed on this site. Word search….

"“…The White Sox felt the need to be proactive in securing Dewayne Wise‘s services with a guaranteed contract, which left Jordan Danks and Blake Tekotte pressing for a role that didn’t exist…”"

Right. Jordan Danks didn’t make it on the roster as a left-handed, speedy spare outfielder because the White Sox already had a left-handed spare outfielder, whom they were committed to paying.. Dewayne Wise, while lightly-used so far perhaps, is still around, still left-handed and still relatively fleet of foot. Jordan Danks is faster, but that’s the limit of where we can figure Jordan fits in through straight-forward thinking.

After going 0-4 with two strikeouts Tuesday, Danks’ early-season line in Triple-A Charlotte is .333/.433/.510 in 60 plate appearances, with two home runs and a 21.7% strikeout rate. That rate is lower than he’s been at it in previous seasons, but a lot higher since he’s struck out five times in his last three games–it’s hard to say he’s established a new level of performance. These are for all intents and purposes the same numbers he put up in Triple-A last season so far.

Throughout this past week, while we were all in the deepest throes of Dayan Viciedo-related horror, Nick Schaefer wondered aloud in our staff email threads about Jordan Danks. Well, it wasn’t so much about Jordan as it was about wondering how many PA’s does Dayan pile up before he becomes a known quantity in need of a platoon partner? A partner like Jordan.

But even in the most frenzied moment of rage after Dayan pops up a meatball, none of us think that moment is now, or even particularly soon. Nor is Danks particularly close to proving any of his gains in contact ability are real. It’s been two and a half weeks.

Yet Danks is here now, and since the timing doesn’t align with a great purpose, an enticing assumption is that there is not much purpose at all. Jordan is another left-handed bat off the bench (they were down to just Tyler Flowers on the pine during the ninth inning Tuesday) and just has a spot until the next situation that necessitates a roster move comes along. If that’s the case, delving into what his spot on the major league club is long-term might be as useful as doing the same for Tyler Greene, who in the hubbub of all the actual games, we never got around to writing up at all.

Follow James Fegan on Twitter @JRFegan