Chicago White Sox: Three players hurt by shortened season
Nobody knows exactly when the Chicago White Sox and MLB as a whole will return, but it definitely will have ramifications for everyone.
The Chicago White Sox are going to have a delayed start to their season that will almost certainly see a reduction in games.
As detailed by Jeff Passan of ESPN, MLB’s tentative plan right now is to have a neutral site of Arizona for all 30 MLB teams that will include scheduled seven-inning doubleheaders.
While the return of baseball is certainly something we all want to see, that plan could prove dangerous for many reasons, with safety being one of them if done improperly.
It also could significantly hinder the ability of some players to succeed in the South Side this season, as this will be a completely unfound environment for America’s pastime for many across the game.
I highlighted recently how this decision could possibly lead to Nick Madrigal not receiving a call up this season and so he won’t be included on this list.
The Chicago White Sox, unfortunately, have a few key players that could be hindered this season by the rules put in place.
Here are three players most likely to be hurt by a delayed and condensed season in 2020.
1. Nomar Mazara
Nomar Mazara very well could end up being the player hurt the most by this because of the fact he was in a groove during spring training.
Over nine games, the left-handed hitter had a .364/.462/.545 slash line with one home run and five RBI. In addition, he had as many walks (four) as strikeouts.
While his impressive spring doesn’t necessarily mean he was destined to have a strong season, it was certainly a good sign for a player just starting his career with a new organization.
The 24-year-old has failed to prove he deserved the top prospect status that he once had which eventually led to the Texas Rangers dealing him this offseason.
Mazara is certainly hoping to become the change-of-scenery player that there always seems to be at least one of every single season.
He’s as good of a candidate as anyone out there, but a delayed start to the 2020 season can make that difficult.
After having such a strong start to his spring training, it was probably a major letdown to stop playing baseball for over a month, at least, and restarting that engine again could prove difficult for him.
It’s certainly not impossible, but it also isn’t going to be easy for him, or any player across the game.
Mazara still could find some success in a platoon role this season and possibly even develop into the star some thought he could be if he’s able to carry over his spring success.
2. Alex Colome
Alex Colome‘s issue has less to do with the delayed start to the season and more so with the way the league is talking about possibly constructing the schedule.
As previously mentioned, the league has talked about doing seven-inning scheduled doubleheaders.
That could hinder a closer like Colome because of the danger of the Chicago White Sox overusing him.
Colome, Aaron Bummer, and Steve Cishek honestly are the only bullpen arms that give the organization comfort right now, with the potential of Evan Marshall joining that group.
With that being the case, it is likely that the team is going to demand a lot of innings from that trio and, with Colome leading the way, he could find himself being used twice in one day even.
Even if they don’t do that, the likelihood of him pitching three or four days in a row has increased dramatically.
On the bright side, this decision by the league could also come along with expanded rosters possibly which could give the team more bullpen arms to work with so that they can avoid overusing them.
However, the team is likely not going to want to use their eight or ninth-best reliever to get key outs later in games, which still leaves Colome in line to get overused, at least slightly.
Truthfully speaking, any of the key three pieces of their bullpen could have been put in this spot as they all might find themselves in this situation throughout the 2020 season.
The Chicago White Sox could certainly use a rebound season from Kelvin Herrera this year to help mitigate this concern.
3. Yasmani Grandal
Yasmani Grandal finds himself on this list for a similar reason.
The backstop is likely going to be asked to catch many games in 2020 and doubleheaders being added into the schedule could pose an issue.
His issue with doubleheaders is, in a way, the inverse of Colome’s though as the goal is to get Grandal in as many games as possible this season.
However, having doubleheaders could make that quite complicated as there is almost no scenario where Grandal could reasonably be expected to catch in both games.
As an American League team, the Chicago White Sox certainly do have some flexibility with this as the team can simply put James McCann behind the plate and move Grandal to DH or first base on a given day.
Jose Abreu and Edwin Encarnacion also are going to need their at-bats, though, which could mean fewer games with Grandal in the lineup.
That could create some complicated decisions for manager Rick Renteria to make in what is almost guaranteed to be a crucial season for him.
The Chicago White Sox almost certainly can find Grandal at-bats on days in which he isn’t an option behind the plate if they so choose, but a condensed schedule could force them to make some difficult choices, especially on days with two games being played.
Chicago White Sox Home Run Leaders. dark. Next
The Chicago White Sox are in good shape to compete when the 2020 season starts, but these three players could have or pose some issues this season.