3 possible Chicago White Sox roles for Leury Garcia in 2022
On Saturday, Ken Rosenthal broke the news that the Chicago White Sox had inked Josh Harrison to a one-year contract with a club option for 2023.
Harrison is a former All-Star who can play across the diamond. He is a great player that could provide the much-needed stability at the position for at least one full season.
The problem is the White Sox already has a versatile player in Leury Garcia. Harrison and Garcia have lots of striking similarities. Both play multiple positions.
Garcia can play all three outfield positions as well as third base, shortstop, and second base. The only positions he has not played are catcher and first base. Harrison has played at least one game at every position on the diamond except catcher.
Josh Harrison is going to be a very good player for the Chicago White Sox in 2022.
Harrison is a lifetime .274 hitter. During his 11 seasons in the Majors, he has a total of 960 hits and 64 home runs. Garcia is a lifetime .259 hitter with 31 home runs and 497 hits. He has been in the show for nine seasons primarily as a role player. He did not start getting significant playing time until 2017.
Harrison is likely to be the White Sox Opening Day second baseman. He is a slightly more accomplished version of Garcia and has been playing longer. Seeing that the White Sox just re-signed Garcia in the offseason, they will need to find a role for him.
Many assumed he would be the starting second baseman before Harrison arrived. Here are three ways Tony La Russa could use Leury Garcia in 2022:
Traditional Utility Man
There are a lot of things that Leury Garcia can provide for the Chicago White Sox.
Last season, Tony La Russa got upset when a reporter referred to Luery Garcia as a utility man. However, if you look at his overall body of work, that is one of the best ways to describe him.
During his nine years in the MLB, Garica has played 223 games in center field, 118 in left, 107 in right, 90 at second base, 74 at shortstop, and 34 at third base. Anywhere you place him he is a serviceable defender. However, because he has to take reps at so many different positions, he has never mastered any of them. Because of this, having him as your primary starter at any position doesn’t make much sense.
On a championship-caliber team, Garcia is a great option to have off the bench. If somebody gets injured, Garcia can fill in. If somebody needs a rest day, Garcia can fill in. He represents the ultimate insurance policy on the roster. This is why Rick Hahn made it a priority to resign him at the beginning of the offseason.
Because Garcia is a switch hitter he is also a great pinch-hitting option late in games. His speed also allows him to be a serviceable pinch-runner or defensive replacement for Eloy Jimenez late in games.
In 2019, Garcia led the American League in sacrifice bunts. He is the type of player that can do the little things late in games to help a team win. That season, he also led the White Sox in runs scored and stolen bases. He is a guy that can get on base and swipe a bag if he has to.
The ideal spot for Leury Garica in 2022 is coming off the bench.
Right Field
The Chicago White Sox could get a lot out of Leury Garcia in right field.
The White Sox have still yet to address right field which means Garcia is now in the mix to be the opening day starter.
Garica has more range than the typical right fielder. He started the bulk of the White Sox games in center field in 2019. La Russa is also fond of him. Last season, he started 117 games. Assuming the White Sox doesn’t bring in another free agent, then Garica would be competing against Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, and Adam Engel.
Vaughn is likely to spend the bulk of his time at DH. Sheets is a sub-par defender. Engel likely has the inside track position but he struggled to stay healthy last season. He has shown he can hit for a slightly higher average as well. Garcia’s career average is .259 while Engels is .225
Garcia also helped his cause with some clutch hitting down the stretch of last season. In August, he hit a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox. Then in Game 3 of the ALDS, he launched a clutch go-ahead home run that propelled the White Sox to their only postseason win.
Seeing that Garcia is comfortable playing the outfield and has a solid track record for the White Sox, it is not crazy to think that he will be seeing the bulk of games in right field if Rick Hahn opts not to seek out an upgrade.
Second Base
Second base is where Leury Garcia could see a fair amount of Chicago White Sox innings.
While Josh Harrison is the favorite to start at second base, that doesn’t mean he is a lock. As we mentioned earlier, Harrison has a more impressive resume. He has also hit for a high average more consistently than Garcia, which is important because neither draw walks at a high rate nor hit for power.
Harrison has a range factor of 4.00 and a .986 fielding percentage. Garcia has a .975 fielding percentage at second base. He has committed eight errors and owns a range factor of 4.28. As fielders, they are very similar.
If Garcia has a great camp and Harrison gets off to a slow start, it wouldn’t be surprising if Harrison took on the role of utility player while Garcia started at second base.
The White Sox traded for Cesar Hernandez last season and Garcia still managed to steal starts at the position. There was a legit argument to be made that Garcia deserved more time at second base than Hernandez did. In Games 1 and 2 of the ALDS, Tony La Russa opted to bench Hernandez in favor of Garcia.
A similar situation could develop with Harrison if he struggles. However, Harrison got off to a blazing start offensively last season. If history repeats itself, then it will be an uphill climb for Leury.
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