Chicago White Sox fans may not realize this but the imminent return of catcher Yasmani Grandal is upon us. It sounds exciting having his bat back in the lineup but there is a problem brewing because of his return.
His replacement, Seby Zavala, and backup Reese McGuire have been playing pretty well behind the plate and at the plate so now the question is, who does the White Sox move when Grandal comes back?
Grandal looks to be due back with the team on Friday and there is no way that the White Sox are going to keep three catchers on their active roster. Someone, other than Grandal, is going to go away but who will that be?
In looking at slash lines, Zavala currently has a line of .286/.337/.440. He has 15 RBIs in 84 at-bats and two home runs. McGuire has a slash line of .228/.265/.290 with 10 RBIs in 145 at-bats with no home runs.
The answer to whom the White Sox should keep (statistically) is pretty obvious. Zavala would be the guy if they went by batting statistics.
If you go by fielding statistics, or errors, McGuire currently has two errors whereas Zavala has one. Behind the plate, McGuire has been pretty rock solid especially when it comes to throwing runners out that are trying to steal second base. He also has more experience than Zavala so that might give him an edge.
The Chicago White Sox have a major decision to make with their catchers.
This is going to be a tough decision. You have Zavala’s batting productivity. Then you have McGuire’s productivity behind the plate and his experience. Which do you choose? Which do you need more of?
Knowing how things were going with Grandal just prior to him going on injured reserve, with his struggles at the plate (he did get hot right before he was hurt but it’s likely that hot streak has been broken by weeks of sitting and rehabbing his injury), it would be wise to have a catcher that could hit the ball effectively. Zavala is that guy.
While McGuire’s defense is nice, Zavala’s offense is much nicer and more of what the White Sox need right now.
They could get rid of McGuire and keep Zavala as their backup catcher. He’s proven himself a valuable asset at the plate and behind it and should be the guy they stay with, as a backup, from here on out.