Prior to Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox activated infielder Miguel Vargas from the 10-day Injured List.
Vargas had last played on August 1 before going down with an oblique strain. As nice as it was to see Vargas back on the field and in the starting lineup, the corresponding move made by the White Sox was a little bit irritating.
The White Sox made the wrong decision, choosing to DFA outfielder Corey Julks to make space for Vargas on the roster.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 12, 2025
Corey Julks played well, but is owed nothing
Believe me when I say that I'm not upset about Corey Julks being off the team. Frankly, I could care less about Julks and what the White Sox decide to do with him.
His first 20 games with the team in 2024 were lightning in a bottle. He hit .282 with three (3) home runs, and an .847 OPS. However, Julks proved over the next few months why he had been a career minor leaguer before 2023.
Julks finished the 2024 season with a .214 batting average and .581 OPS. He received a non-roster invite to spring training in January and has played 87 games in Triple-A.
While Julks has been good for Triple-A Charlotte, the White Sox were in no rush to give the 29-year-old outfielder another big league opportunity.
After being called up following the trade deadline, Julks entered four games for the White Sox, going 3-for-8 at the plate with two doubles and an OPS of 1.000.
It's only eight (8) at-bats, but I certainly believe Julks did enough to warrant more time on the 26-man roster. After all, Miguel Vargas is an infielder. The corresponding move should have been an infielder being let go instead.
The real mistake is keeping Jacob Amaya and Josh Rojas around
It's less about Julks being let go, and more about who the White Sox chose to keep. Jacob Amaya and Josh Rojas are still on the White Sox 26-man roster, and neither player deserves to have a big league roster spot.
Julks went 3-for-8 with two doubles in his four games with the Sox. Jacob Amaya has seven (7) hits all season in 36 games and has two doubles in his entire MLB career.
Rojas had a three-hit game against the Tigers back in early June, but that's the only time this season that he has matched Julks' offensive production over any stretch.
Ever since Vargas and Chase Meidroth went on the IL, Chicago has been deploying Brooks Baldwin on the infield. Baldwin has played eight games at third base in August.
With Vargas now back in the mix, the White Sox infield consists of Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Curtis Mead, Lenyn Sosa, Brooks Baldwin, Josh Rojas, and Jacob Amaya.
That's seven (7) guys all capable of playing somewhere on the infield, compared to just four outfielders with Baldwin taking more infielder reps lately. Still, the White Sox decided to let Julks go.
It's a minor move at the end of the day. It's not super consequential, but I still believe this was the wrong call from the Sox. Josh Rojas and Jacob Amaya can't get off the team fast enough.