How The Starting Right Fielder Position Battle Is Going So Far During Spring Training

Sheets, Ortega, Phillips, Payton, and Pillar are not great options.

Then again, that seems to be the theme of the players Getz brought in this season.

Sheets is trying to finally get regular at-bats.

He finished as a -1.4 fWAR player with 10 home runs and a wRC+ of 61 in 118 games in 2023. He is a career -24.1 fWAR defensive player. Maybe that is because he came up as first baseman and then was asked to play outfield to get his left-handed bat into the lineup.

Sheets has pop in his bat, so giving him some at-bats to see if he can smash 20 or more home runs is not the worst idea. The problem is he does not fit into Getz' desire for better defense.

He is having the best Spring Training so far among his competitors with a .263/.391/.632 slash line.

Phillips has always been all glove and no bat.

He is a career .186 hitter who played just 33 games in the majors last season with the Los Angeles Angels. Covering the outfield is his calling card as he is a career 29.5 defensive fWAR player.

He is one of the many former Kansas City Royals on the Spring Training roster. That at least gives him a running chance to make the roster as a late-inning defensive replacement.

At this point, he should be nothing more than an organizational depth piece mining his time at Triple-A Charlotte where he only gets a call-up if there is an injury.

His .182 spring batting average along with a .348 OPS is evidence of that.

If he does make the big-league roster, he should only see the field during the rare times Grifol elects to start Eloy Jimenez in right to get a different bat in the lineup at DH.

Ortega is a reliable veteran backup.

Cubs fans are familiar with his work during his two seasons on the Northside. He hit a career-high .291 in 103 games for the Cubs during the 2021 season. He played in just 44 games last season for the New York Mets.

He will be 33 in May and is another veteran who would probably be suited to being the fifth outfielder if the Sox choose to carry that many.

However, he is not making a case to make the team with a .067/.118/.200 slash line in the early portion of Spring Training.

Kevin Pillar could be a reliable veteran leader.

He is past his prime but is still capable of playing a professional right field. He might provide the veteran leadership presence this club lacked last season.

If anything, he probably has the most honest assessment of how this franchise allowed what should have been a long reign at the top of the AL Central to end so quickly.

He is having a productive spring so far with a .250 average in seven games.

Payton is an organizational depth player.

Born in Orland Park, IL. Payton came to the Sox after spending time with the Cincinnati Reds. He played in eight games in 2022 where he had three hits in 21 at-bats. He was non-tendered after the season and went over to Japan.

Payton is a long shot to make the big-league club. He is 3-for-6 with a home run in Spring Training. Getting just six at-bats shows he is probably not winning a job but should help out Charlotte this year. Plus, it must be an organizational rule or something that he is invited to Spring Training.

Fletcher and DeLoach have promise.

Since this team is going to be awful, the job should really come down to these two.

Fletcher has some potential to be a solid everyday ball player. He had a .301/.350/.441 slash line during a 25-game stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He produced solid numbers at the plate for Arizona's Triple-A team. He has a solid glove too.

DeLoach possesses a power left-handed bat. He hit 23 home runs for Seattle's Triple-A affiliate in 2023. The problem for both Fletcher and DeLoach is they are on the older side for prospects. Fletcher is 26 and DeLoach is 25. Then again, that is considered young in the White Sox organization.

Still, it looks like there is more upside to their games than Sheets. Fletcher is hitting .211 this spring but he just raised that average after going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.

Fletcher also showed off his speed with a bunt single.

DeLoach is off to a slow start with a .133 average, but he raised it from .077 as he went 1-for-2 as a late-game replacement yesterday. His hit drove in Ortega for a run in the ninth.

Hopefully, Fletcher or DeLoach win the job. Nothing against Sheets or Pillar, but we have seen what they can do, and it will not be anything that screams long-term starter. Fletcher and DeLoach could finally be the answer to this decade-plus problem in right.