It took Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable nearly two months to rectify his lineup mistake and start consistently playing Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel together.
Quero and Teel have obviously been two of Chicago’s most consistent bats ever since they made their debuts on April 6 and June 6, respectively. Despite their production and the team's offensive woes in the first half, Venable and the Sox remained hesitant to get Quero and Teel in the lineup at the same time.
The White Sox have played 50 games with Kyle Teel on the active roster. He has only been in the starting lineup at the same time as Quero in nine (9) of those 50 games.
Teel was supposed to get playing time at first base and in the outfield in the minor leagues. His versatility was a big reason the White Sox traded for him in the first place. The organization failed to execute on that plan, though.
Recently, the White Sox have been putting Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel in the same starting lineup (4 of the last 6 games), and they have reaped the rewards of that decision. In the nine games they've started together this year, Kyle Teel has a .406 slugging percentage and Edgar Quero is batting .333. Better late than never, I suppose.
You'd think that rectifying the catching situation would mean the White Sox are putting their best lineup on the field every day. But just as one mistake by Will Venable has been fixed, another one has emerged.
Josh Rojas is taking away at-bats from better players
The White Sox need to stop playing Josh Rojas. Chicago's infield is loaded. Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth (when healthy) are the regulars in the middle infield while Miguel Vargas (when healthy) and Lenyn Sosa are also deserving of consistent at-bats.
The White Sox also have Brooks Baldwin, who has the versatility to take on an infield role and has hit the cover off the ball since the start of July, as well as the recently acquired Curtis Mead.
Mead is a 24-year-old infielder oozing with offensive upside. His bat-to-ball skills and projectable power made him the No. 33 prospect in baseball back in 2023. Mead had a lot of success with the Tampa Bay Rays after recovering from an 8-for-53 start at the plate, but needs more at-bats to carry over his momentum against big league pitching.
Instead of giving Mead regular playing time after calling him up, the White Sox have had him sitting on the bench. Rojas, on the other hand, has made five starts and 18 plate appearances over the last week despite his OPS threatening to dip below .500.
White Sox fans should have little patience
Mead has only been on Chicago's 26-man roster for two games, but still, White Sox fans should have little patience for these shenanigans.
If Mead weren't on the Major League roster, the argument would still be sound. There's no reason for Rojas to be on the team, let alone be taking away at-bats from players like Mead, Baldwin, or Sosa.
With the Sox playing much better baseball since the All-Star break, the expectations for the team are higher than they used to be. Rojas is detrimental to an otherwise well-rounded and fun ball club.
Take Tuesday night's game against the Seattle Mariners as a prime example. Rojas did not record a hit and made a critical error at second base, which lead to a go-ahead two-run home run from Eugenio Suarez.
Rojas has been atrocious offensively, and his defensive versatility is rendered irrelevant by his inability to actually play quality defense. Nobody cares if Rojas "can play multiple positions" if he plays all of them poorly.
Every night that Josh Rojas is in the starting lineup, it's an indictment on Will Venable, who has otherwise done a really nice job with the White Sox this season.