The Chicago White Sox announced before SoxFest the 24 players they invited to spring training who will join the players already on the 40-man roster to vie for spots on the 26-man Opening Day roster.
A minor signing after the announcement bumped the number up to 25.
Now, 16 of those invites are players among the Sox prospect pool who are just not on the 40-man roster.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 24, 2025
The highlight of that list is all six of the prospects the club has ranked in MLB Pipeline's top 100 got an invite. However, only shortstop Colson Montgomery and catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero have a legit shot of making the initial 26-man roster.
Otherwise, top pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith along with outfielder Braden Montgomery are just being given a taste of what big-league camp is like.
The other prospect on the list with a legitimate shot to make the initial 26-man roster is infielder Chase Meidroth, who came over in the Garrett Crochet trade. Otherwise, the rest will likely fill innings and at-bats when the veterans have gotten their work in during exhibition games.
There are five veteran non-roster invites that could make a case to make the Opening Day roster...
Bobby Dalbec
The former Boston Red Sox fan favorite is hoping to revive his once promising big-league career with the White Sox. There is a chance for him to earn a roster spot as a power bat off the bench.
That is if he can regain his home run stroke.
Dalbec hit 25 home runs with a .494 slugging percentage in 2021. His power stroke completely disappeared after the 2022 season.
He hit just one home run, off White Sox rookie pitcher Nick Nastrini, in 83 at-bats last season and was outrighted off the roster after posting a .133/.217/.193 slash line in that brief stint.
He also will strikeout a ton. The team lacks pop so if he can have a strong camp and produce power for the lineup during the season, you can live with his strikeouts.
Plus, he can be a backup option to Andrew Vaughn at first base. In a pinch, he can play some third and did try right field last season.
Nick Maton
The only reason he makes this list is FanGraphs' RosterResource lists him as getting a job.
It is not too absurd to project that since he has some crossover with the Sox director of hitting, Ryan Fuller when Maton briefly played in Baltimore last season.
Not saying Fuller will be the final authority on who makes the roster, but if his opinion is going to be respected much like Brian Bannister's is for pitching, it cannot hurt for Maton to have some familiarity with Fuller even if it is brief.
Plus, Maton played 93 games for the Tigers in 2023, so he has some familiarity with the pitching in the AL Central.
The 28-year-old's other major trait is he can pretty much play anywhere on the field besides catcher.
In case Colson Montgomery is not ready to be the Opening Day shortstop, the Sox are going to need some cover there while Colson continues to develop at Triple-A.
The Sox do have Brooks Baldwin, Lenyn Sosa, Josh Rojas, and possibly Meidroth to fill in at shortstop. Only Baldwin has proven he can field the position in a capable manner and even then, it came in a brief showcase.
Maton also fits the description of trying to see if a failed prospect can still be something that a rebuilding club like the White Sox should take a look at.
Maton is still 28, so while time is running out on him to become something, there is still just enough on his career clock for him to possibly be something.
Andre Lipcius
He also deserves some notice this spring training as he does have a path to make the roster since no infielder outside of Andrew Vaughn should be guaranteed spot.
Lipcius also has the potential to provide some pop since he hit 25 home runs at Triple-A last season. What he will have to show is he actually developed a power swing because those 25 dingers came in the homer-happy Pacific Coast League.
He does fit the description of a player teams have given up on but still is young enough that is worth seeing if something is still there. He will still be 26 on Opening Day.
Lipcius did get a cup of coffee with the Tigers in 2023, so maybe there is still a chance he can be a player considering he has never gotten a real shot to see what he can do in the big leagues.
However, he might be nothing more than a 4A player--good enough to play at Triple-A, but bad enough to be a big-leaguer.
James Karinchak
Karinchak is not a fan favorite after nailing Jose Abreu in the face with a pitch causing the Tony La Russa famous GIF scene in 2021.
If the shoulder problem that limited him to just a few Triple-A innings last season is behind him, then he has the stuff to be the team's closer.
He gets a lot of strikeouts, but he also walks a lot of hitters.
Plus, maybe he was doing well with the Guardians early in his career when umpires were not checking for spider tack as he was speculated to be a potential user of the banned substance known to help generate more spin on the ball.
Dan Altavilla
This was another minor signing where the Sox are seeing if Altavilla's injuries are behind him and he can reclaim a MLB career that was once looking promising with the Seattle Mariners in 2017-2018.
He also had a solid showing in a few games with the San Diego Padres during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2021 season and all of 2022 for him. He was unable to latch on with the Red Sox in 2023. Altavilla did make his way back to the majors last season pitching for the Kansas City Royals. He was ineffective and then got hurt.
Considering the Sox bullpen was so awful last season, and he has 119.2 career innings pitched in the majors, it cannot hurt to see if he can stay healthy and get some outs as he did during his career season in 2017. It's a stretch, but worth paying attention to during spring training.