3 surprises on the Chicago White Sox Opening Day roster
We are officially done with Chicago White Sox spring training. Now, it is time to start focusing on the regular season as it fast approaches. The good news is that the White Sox have released their Opening Day roster.
Of course, there are mostly players on there that you would expect to see. Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech lead the pitchers that are set to start the first three games of the season.
There are some outstanding relievers on the squad as well. Guys like Liam Hendriks, Kendall Graveman, and Aaron Bummer are the most notable but this is a group that is going to be just awesome in 2022. The White Sox will win a lot of games that they lead in late.
The offense is going to come in bunches this year. Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, Jose Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, Eloy Jimenez, and Yoan Moncada are the “big six” of the group. When you add in studs like Andrew Vaughn, Adam Engel, Gavin Sheets, Leury Garcia, and AJ Pollock, you could have a very nice lineup every day no matter what.
The Chicago White Sox has a very good roster going into the 2022 MLB season.
There are some new names in the mix and there are some old friends that we have come to know over the years. This is a team that projects to be one of the best in the American League. If everything goes right, they could be championship contenders.
There are also a few players on the roster here that nobody expected to make it before we started spring training. These are the three most surprising players that made the 2022 Chicago White Sox Opening Day roster:
Tanner Banks – RP
Tanner Banks is going to be a part of the Chicago White Sox to start the year.
This is one of the best stories coming from any team breaking camp in Major League Baseball. Everybody likes a really good underdog story and that is exactly what the Chicago White Sox have on their hands with Tanner Banks making the team for Opening Day.
Banks is 30 years old and has spent the last eight seasons in the Minor Leagues. Now, he will break camp with the club as he looks to play Major League Baseball in 2022. We don’t know how long this magical story will last but it is really cool to see. He needs to take it all in.
Banks is behind Aaron Bummer as a lefty to use out of the bullpen. That means that he probably won’t be used in the first game of the season or in many high leverage spots but he will certainly see some time on the mound now that he made the team.
The reason that he made the team is because of his outstanding spring training. He faced some good hitters over the course of the exhibition season and didn’t really look out of place at all. He finished the spring with five appearances, a 4.70 ERA, and a 1.3 WHIP. Don’t expect him to be a star reliever but he might be able to come in and eat some innings at the right time.
Bennett Sousa – RP
Bennett Sousa hopes to be a part of the Chicago White Sox bullpen long-term.
The Chicago White Sox have a few really great stories about their roster. Tanner Banks is a fun one for sure and so is Bennett Sousa. He wasn’t on anybody’s radar going into spring training and now he is going to be on the Chicago White Sox roster for Opening Day.
This is a great opportunity for him to try and make a mark on Major League Baseball. He is a 27-year-old lefty that will sit behind Banks and Bummer as the lefties on the depth chart. These two coming after Bummer hopes to give Tony La Russa good innings in matchup situations.
Sousa played well in spring training which is why he is going to get this opportunity. You would think that he is on a short leash but it is early in the season now. With their need for a lefty in the bullpen besides Bummer, Sousa played well in the right place at the right time.
With Garrett Crochet out for the season due to Tommy John surgery, room was made for a few southpaws to try and break camp with the team. Luckily for Sousa, he was one of those guys. It will be interesting to see how Tony La Russa utilizes him early on.
Danny Mendick – INF
Danny Mendick is good but it is odd to see him on the Chicago White Sox roster.
Danny Mendick is a really good defensive infielder. He has been noted for that in his career but he is not a very good hitter at all. It is a little surprising that he is on the Chicago White Sox roster for Opening Day.
Sure, they could see him as a backup infielder but they have Leury Garcia for that. Garcia can probably solely focus on the infield while everyone is healthy as Adam Engel is there as the fourth outfielder behind Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and AJ Pollock.
Mendick will probably play shortstop and second base which is fine but seeing him make the roster over Micker Adolfo is weird. Adolfo was one of the better White Sox players during spring training when it comes to the offense so this is a strange decision.
Yes, Adolfo is an outfielder but that is why the Engel/Garcia conversation is important. He is out of Minor League options so there is a chance that they lose him for nothing. It is going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.
The good news is that regardless of these surprises, the White Sox are in good shape with their roster. They have lots of elite players that are going to carry them to another playoff berth. This is the best White Sox core ever so we need to hope that they take advantage.
Meet the entire 2022 Chicago White Sox roster. light. Related Story