Chicago White Sox rookie Bryan Ramos must stay in the majors after Danny Mendick returns from 10-day injured list

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago White Sox called up Bryan Ramos despite him struggling at Double-A. He is showing why he is the future at third base since his debut.

The White Sox needed an infielder to fill in while Mendick's minor back issue healed up. The Sox wanted to avoid having to make a 40-man roster move so that is why Ramos was called up.

The team wisely called up Ramos intending to play him until Medick healed up. A welcome change from the past two seasons when the Sox called up prospects Lenyn Sosa and Jose Rodriguez to briefly fill a roster spot and then sat them on the bench.

Ramos kicked off his MLB career with seven hits over his first 18 at-bats. Those at-bats have been impressive to the point that now the Sox should consider keeping Ramos up with the big-league club even when Mendick comes off the 10-day IL.

It is a lost season and Ramos provides hope that better days are ahead. Plus, it cannot hurt to see how Ramos bounces back once baseball comes for him.

It looks like the Cleveland Guardians started to figure out Ramos as Friday and Saturday he was held hitless with two K's.

Now is a good time to measure whether Ramos can adjust back to keep hitting at a strong rate. If he struggles, no big deal, he just goes back to the minors. It cannot hurt to take a look to see if Ramos is capable of making the adjustments necessary to be a good big-league hitter.

Ramos should be given a chance next spring training to win the third base job full-time. The Sox are unlikely to keep Yoan Moncada after this season. Moncada cannot avoid staying on the IL and has a $25 million club option for next season. That is too much money for a player who can barely stay on the field.

That is why it is not a bad idea to get a longer look at Ramos. The worst case scenario is Ramos cannot make the necessary adjustments to be a consistently great hitter and he gets to go back to Birmingham or Charlotte with some things to work on before he tries to win the starting job next season. He is 22 so there is still plenty of time for him to develop.

The best-case situation is he continues to rake and the Sox have a known commodity ready to man third base for years to come.

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