Chicago White Sox: 3 players who may lose their roster spot in August
The Chicago White Sox are in a good spot. Their offense has been hot and cold since the All-Star break but the pitching is so good. They are also in first place by 9.5 games which is as good of a lead as any team in the sport.
They are cruising to the playoffs but there are things that still need to improve in order to get there. If they start to get hot again, things will be really fun once we reach late September and get into October.
One story that has been a big deal in 2021 has been the injuries. Big hits to the lineup have hindered their ability to reach their true potential so far. That is saying something when you remember that previously mentioned 9.5 game lead. It is scary to think about what they might be able to do at full strength.
Eloy Jimenez, Nick Madrigal, Yasmani Grandal, and Luis Robert have all been out for a significant amount of time. Madrigal was the only one that is out for the season as a result of his injury. However, he is never coming back to the White Sox because they traded him to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Craig Kimbrel.
The Chicago White Sox have some help coming but some depth players will be out.
Being at full strength might be coming sooner than later now. Madrigal is gone and Jimenez is already back in the lineup. Luis Robert and Yasmani Grandal are soon to follow. Billy Hamilton’s return from his small injury might even cause a roster casualty. When they all come back, some players are going to be removed from the group to either be sent back to AAA or even DFA’d. These are the three players that might lose those roster spots at some point in August:
OF. Chicago White Sox. Brian Goodwin. 18. player. 128.
Brian Goodwin has had some really nice moments for the Chicago White Sox this year.
Brian Goodwin has had some really nice moments for the Chicago White Sox this season. They have all mostly come with his bat as he has the ability to hit some big-time home runs. He seems to be coming up clutch with a semi amount of regularity. The latest example of that came last Sunday when he hit a walk-off home run to give the Sox a game and series-winning home run against the Cleveland Indians.
Goodwin’s departure would come as a result of Luis Robert coming back. It is unlikely that Billy Hamilton’s return would force Goodwin out but Robert can hit like nobody else. He is also a premier defensive outfielder at the most important position in the outfield. Goodwin is well below average defensively so he would have to go in this situation.
Goodwin isn’t one of those players that we really want to see leave but he is clearly one of the depth players on the roster. He makes mistakes with his glove from time to time and he isn’t a game-breaking hitter like Robert on most days so that is why his name may be called when that day comes. When it does happen, we will remember his good moments fondly.
128. . RP. Chicago White Sox. Matt Foster. 63. player
Matt Foster could be good for the Chicago White Sox but he needs to keep working.
Matt Foster was brilliant for the Chicago White Sox in 2020. He was so good that people factored the second-year player into the White Sox bullpen for 2021 where they are expecting to be World Series contenders. He had a 2.20 ERA and a 0.872 WHIP. He even made a couple of starts to really help the White Sox take a big step. He had a 6-1 record over 28.2 innings. He had a whopping 31 strikeouts to only nine walks in those 28.2 innings.
2021, however, has been a totally different story. Not only has he been bad, but he has also been a detriment to the team. It has earned him limited innings and now he is back and forth between the MLB and AAA. He has a 5.64 ERA and a 1.385 WHIP which are wild climbs from the year prior. He is still very young so nobody is giving up on him yet but he needs to work on his craft in AAA to prove himself again.
The reason he might go in place of a position player when they return is because of the fact that they called him up when Billy Hamilton went on the injured list. That means he is a candidate to go back down when Billy (or Luis Robert) comes back. With the way that Reynaldo Lopez has played in addition to Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel coming to town, Foster is the odd man out.
Zack Collins. 21. player. 128. . C. Chicago White Sox
Zack Collins might end up being the odd man out for Chicago White Sox catchers.
Yasmani Grandal is one of the most important players in the Chicago White Sox organization right now. He plays a good enough defensive catcher to pair with his very good bat in the middle of the lineup. He gets on base at an extremely high clip and has great power in his bat. When he returns, it is going to be as big of a boost as the White Sox can get right now.
When he went down, there were thoughts that they might bring in a catcher to replace him and pair with Zack Collins but they called up Seby Zavala instead and used him. Zavala can’t hit very well but he is a very good defensive catcher. He might have come in and proven more valuable than Collins in a short time.
We talked about how Zavala isn’t very good offensively. Well, it isn’t like Collins is hitting the ball particularly well either. He is only hitting .204 with an OPS of .673. He has a negative WAR too which tells you everything you need to know. Collins will probably be a call-up again at some point but don’t be surprised at all if he is the odd man out later in August when Grandal comes back.
The 2022 White Sox schedule looks very fun. light. Related Story