As we approach the holidays and turn over into a new year, the Chicago White Sox have little-to-no hope of fielding a watchable team in 2025. However, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of moving parts going on around the organization during the offseason.
In fact, the White Sox have already signed Mike Tauchman, Bryse Wilson and Austin Slater, acquired Matt Thaiss in a trade, and traded Garrett Crochet to Boston for a massive package of prospects. There might not be much hope for a winning club next year, but there's a lot going on and they are clearly prioritizing the future of the franchise.
The latest movement coming out of the White Sox camp came on Wednesday, when Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times shared that the club signed infielder Andre Lipcius to a minor-league contract. The 26-year-old will be in big league spring training as a non-roster invite.
White Sox sign former AL Central foe Andre Lipcius to minor league contract
White Sox say they've signed infielder Andre Lipcius to a minor league deal. Will be a non-roster invite to spring training.
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) December 18, 2024
Lipcius is set to return to the AL Central, where his career started back in 2019. Originally a third-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers, he rose through their farm system at a rapid pace, making it up to Triple-A in just his third season as a pro.
To date, his only experience in the big leagues has been a 13-game cameo in 2023 with the Tigers. During that time, he went 10-for-35 (.286) while recording the first double and home run of his big league career. A minor preseason trade sent him from the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he spent the entirety of this past season at the Triple-A level.
Lipcius possesses raw power that is capable of double-digit home run totals while also boasting a sharp eye and sense of pitch recognition at the plate. He leaned into his power in a huge way this past season while suiting up for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, recording 26 doubles and 25 home runs while posting 89 RBI and an .809 OPS across 140 games.
On defense, Lipcius is a third baseman by trade but he has extensive experience at the other infield corner, as well as second base and left field. On the White Sox, he represents an intriguing low-risk, high-reward type of player that could either spend the whole 2025 season as high-minors depth or make his way to the big league roster with a strong showing in spring training.
A number of spots are up for grabs on the White Sox Opening Day roster, so Lipcius is going to have as good of a chance as any to crack that roster and get into a big-league game for the first time in two seasons.