(Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox entered the season as the favorites to win the AL Central, but they are off to a rough start so far in the regular season.
The Chicago White Sox are as scary a team on paper as they come. Their offense is crazy good and their pitching has come around and has been vastly improved via free agency in the form of Kendall Graveman.
Unfortunately for fans, front office execs, and players alike, the injury bug has bitten the White Sox more than any other team in the major leagues.
As things currently stand, several key contributors for the Sox find themselves on the injured list including Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, and Garrett Crochet.
The White Sox are off to a 6-9 record to begin the season behind the mediocre Cleveland Guardians and the up-and-coming Minnesota Twins.
Let’s take a look at three glaring roster holes that are keeping the Chicago White Sox from World Series contention.
1. Second base
The White Sox’s depth chart at second base at this point reads
- Josh Harrison .107/.138/.214
- Leury Garcia .108/.154/.135
- Danny Mendick .200/.333/.400
That says a lot about how much this team has valued the position so far this season. Harrison, 34, is well past his prime and has struggled mightily on offense with the White Sox, recording just three hits in his first 29 plate appearances with the club.
Garcia, 31, is a light-hitting super-utilityman who has never done much with the bat. He doesn’t jump off the page as a quality glove at any defensive position, either. To this point, the White Sox’s (mainly Tony La Russa’s) infatuation with Garcia seems to lie in the fact that he’s capable of filling in at any spot on defense.
Mendick, 28, is generally viewed as a better defender than both Harrison and Garcia but has also been struggling on offense so far this year. Used as a bench bat capable of playing all over the infield and outfield, Mendick has registered just 10 plate appearances so far this year, recording two base hits and striking out five times.
With no obvious choices in the team’s minor league system, the Sox will probably have to look outside of the organization to fill this hole at second.
While there are no star-caliber players on the free-agent market; Joe Panik, Asdrubal Cabrera or even Starlin Castro could be low-cost signings Chicago could look to make to bring some offensive production to the second base position.