3 possible Chicago White Sox roles for Leury Garcia in 2022

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.