Let Mickey Moniak be a lesson to those who want the Chicago White Sox to tank this season to have the best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.
For every Bryce Harper, there is a guy like Moniak taken at the top of the draft who struggles to make a big-league impact.
Now he is looking for a new team to join, and it actually should be the White Sox.
The Los Angeles Angels are releasing outfielder Mickey Moniak, sources tell ESPN. They owe him $333,333 — one-sixth of the $2 million salary he won in an arbitration hearing over the winter. Similar situation to J.D. Davis’ last spring. Arb settlements are guaranteed. Not cases.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 25, 2025
Even though he has been given up on by the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft out of high school, and now the Los Angeles Angels, the Sox should be in the mode of trying to see if they can revive former failed prospects.
Now, debating if the Sox can actually do that is a whole different story. Right now, the front office should be combing through the waiver wire to see if they can find their Brent Rooker.
Plus, he can provide a little bit of pop from the left side of the plate, and the Sox are still lacking there. He hit just 14 home runs last season, but that is four more than what Gavin Sheets produced there.
He is still 26, and he is a career three defensive runs saved and outs above average in centerfield.
Right now, the Sox are looking at catcher Matt Thaiss and Travis Jankowski as the left-handed bats off the bench. Jankowski can provide the defense much like Moniak, but he has no power.
Before you scoff at the Sox going after failures, this team is in the early stages of a massive rebuild.
The team should be kicking tires on any youngish player who is looking for a second chance.
The one major problem with Moniak is that he strikes out a lot. He has a career 32.3 strikeout percentage. However, the Sox gave Michael A. Taylor a major-league deal this offseason and he strikes out a ton too.
Moniak did show some signs that he might be able to live up to his potential in 2023 with a 280/.307/.495 slash line with 14 home runs, a 1.8 fWAR, a wRC+ of 114 in 83 games.
He regressed in 2024 with a .219/.266/.380 slash line. What got him cut was .173/.224/.346 spring training slash line.
If the goal is to reduce Luis Robert Jr's workload in center, Moniak can provide solid defense and a little bit of better production at the plate than Taylor and Jankowski.
The idea of bringing in Moniak is more as a depth player, especially since Mike Tauchman is likely starting the season on the 10-day IL, while also just getting a glimpse into whether Moniak can still be a serviceable player.
It is not like the White Sox have a wave of young outfielders on the way. Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas are nothing more than organizational depth. Braden Montgomery and George Wolkow are ranked among the Sox's top 10 prospects, but they are years away from making it to the big leagues.
Therefore, it makes sense for the front office to keep going through the figurative scrap heap to see if they can find a player accidentally tossed away.