Austin Hays' imminent return to White Sox gives Will Venable a great problem to solve

Having too many players performing well and not enough spots in the lineup is not a problem the White Sox have had to face in recent years. On the heels of three-straight 100 loss seasons, the issue for the White Sox has been quite the opposite: they just haven’t found enough talented players to fill out a lineup. But with the team sitting around .500 and in the mix in the American League, player performance has been better, and it’s created a completely different problem for the White Sox front office. With Austin Hays several days into a rehab assignment in Charlotte and likely to return soon, a whole new problem has been created for the White Sox.

Hays, who signed a one-year deal with the White Sox in free agency this winter, has been limited to just 12 games this season and has already had multiple stints on the IL with soft tissue injuries. When healthy, Hays represents a steady veteran presence in the White Sox lineup, and his track record should be enough to earn him regular playing time despite a sluggish start. But his return to the lineup could complicate things for other players. 

The White Sox have a long list of outfielders deserving regular at bats

Rookie Sam Antonacci, who has been an effective sparkplug at the top of the White Sox lineup, has been primarily taking at bats in left field. Playing a young core piece like Antonacci every day should be a priority for the White Sox, and putting him and Hays in the corners could be a regular lineup. That leaves center field, where rookie Tristan Peters has posted excellent numbers defensively and done enough on offense to make him a strong candidate for playing time against right-handers. Veteran Derek Hill has produced productive at bats against left-handers, so the combination of Hill and Peters should make a solid platoon group in center. This, of course, assuming that offseason trade acquisiton Luisangel Acuna is the corresponding move for Hays' return. If not, he'll factor in here as well.

That brings us to veteran Randal Grichuk, who the White Sox signed to a one-year deal for extra outfield depth. In 15 games, primarily against lefties, Grichuk has a .320 average and 1.170 OPS for the White Sox with four home runs. He seems limited to a platoon role at this point in his career, but Grichuk should still see regular at bats against lefties. Also in the mix is recent call-up Rikuu Nishida, who has played plenty of second base in the minor leagues in addition to outfield, but doesn’t seem to have a clear path to at bats in either position. The White Sox also have veteran Andrew Benintendi, who has the ability to play outfield but doesn’t have many innings out there this season. 

Overall, the White Sox will soon have seven players on their roster with the ability to play outfield and only four spots in the lineup each day. Everson Pereira could still be a few weeks away from a return, but his addition to the roster would give them eight players for four spots. Will Venable has played righty-lefty matchups heavily this season and I expect that to continue now. Perhaps a group of Hays, Grichuk, Hill, and Antonacci starting against lefties with Antonacci, Hays, Peters, and Benintendi playing against righties would work for now. 

Regardless, having too many players who need playing time and not enough spots is not a problem the White Sox are used to having. It can be taken as a major indicator that things are beginning to change on the south side. The White Sox have already begun the transition from bottom-feeder into a team that needs to be taken seriously, and I expect them to head that direction even further as the season goes on.

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