The Chicago White Sox seem to be turning a page when it comes to their big league roster in 2025.
Young talent has made the Sox exponentially more entertaining to watch than they were at the start of the season and more help is on the way .
Tim Elko, Chase Meidroth, and Edgar Quero are in the big league lineup. Before long, Mike Tauchman, Korey Lee, and Andrew Benintendi will return from injury as well.
With this in mind and so much more, there is absolutely no reason for Jacob Amaya to still be on the White Sox roster .
Jacob Amaya's abysmal 2025
Jacob Amaya made the White Sox as the Opening Day shortstop after a series of unfortunate events.
Josh Rojas broke his toe and started the season on the Injured List. Brandon Drury broke his thumb during Spring Training. Colson Montgomery did not look ready for the big leagues. Bryan Ramos also battled an elbow injury, solidifying Miguel Vargas as a third baseman instead of a middle infielder.
Next thing you knew, Jacob Amaya was the Opening Day starter at short.
Now 41 games into the regular season, Amaya has inexplicably survived round after round of roster cuts, despite being one of the worst hitters in all of baseball. Quite honestly, it's hard to remember a Sox player with worse numbers on offense. In 32 appearances and 59 at-bats, Amaya is hitting .102 with a an OPS of .244.
Looking at his Baseball Savant profile, Amaya actually squares the ball up at an impressive rate. His chase and whiff % is strong. The approach is sound…but the talent isn’t there.
Amaya is at the bottom of baseball in bat speed, launch angle sweet-spot percentage, expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), expected batting average (xBA), and expected slugging percentage (xSLG).
There’s no other way to say it: Jacob Amaya is not a Major League hitter. Yet still, the White Sox roster him.
Amaya has not even been getting much playing time recently. He has just eight at-bats in the month of May. With Chase Meidroth, Lenyn Sosa, Josh Rojas, and Miguel Vargas on the roster, Amaya stepping up to the plate is a total waste.
If he’s being kept on the roster for his speed, Gage Workman has that covered and would be a more valuable hitter to have once he returns from injury.
Brandon Drury and Andre Lipcius would be more valuable bench bats. Lipcius is healthy, the same age as Amaya, has had success in Triple-A, and can play middle infield.
Anyway you slice it, there is no reason for Amaya to still be cashing a major league paycheck. The White Sox need to get him off the roster as quickly as possible.