It is as if Jacob Amaya never left the Chicago White Sox.
He was designated for assignment last month to make room for Josh Rojas on the 40-man roster. The Baltimore Orioles picked him up, but his stay on their roster was very brief as he was recently designated for assignment.
Now, he is back on the White Sox. Outfielder Zach DeLoach was DFA'd to make room for Amaya's return to the 40-man roster.
Amaya's addition is a clear signal the front office is not interested in signing a veteran to compete for the starting shortstop job.
idk why people are confused.
— Sean Anderson (@Sean_W_Anderson) February 3, 2025
meidroth seems like a 2B less like a SS
colson could easily start the year in AAA
who is left to play SS?
seems like there is no more interesting FA SSs and they have a ton of OF depth in Colás/Fletcher/Julks. https://t.co/iPKWareK3v
The front office would love for top-five prospect Colson Montgomery to win the job out of spring training. The issue is he might not be ready for the full-time job since he had a rough 2024 season at Triple-A.
Instead of bringing in a veteran to compete with Montgomery, this move seems pretty clear the club does not want Montgomery's path to the starting job significantly blocked.
However, the veteran options on the free-agent market are not great.
Jose Iglesias had a solid season last year for the New York Mets, but his defensive skills at shortstop have eroded. A reunion with Paul DeJong does not make sense given that he was terrible in the field despite mashing enough home runs to get traded out of town.
Instead, it looks like the Sox with go with youngster Brooks Baldwin and Amaya to compete with Montgomery for the starting job.
Amaya hit .179 with a .419 OPS in 23 games for the White Sox. He did provide a decent glove for the Sox at shortstop.
Baldwin raked in the minors last year but hit .211 with a .566 OPS in 33 games after getting promoted to the big leagues. Maybe he figures out hitting at the big-league level, but he might also be another Danny Mendick.
Chase Meidroth was acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade and could theoretically play shortstop. The prospect is still not on the 40-man roster and the scouting report on him projects he is better suited to play second base.
Therefore, the hope is Montgomery can prove he is ready for the job, or otherwise, it is looking like shortstop is going to be a hole in the lineup until Colson is ready.