Danny Mendick was assigned the unenviable task of replacing Tim Anderson at shortstop for the Chicago White Sox.
Losing Tim Anderson was a huge blow for the White Sox offense. He ranked amongst the top ten in hits, batting average, and stolen bases before suffering a strained groin. Anderson won the American League batting title in 2019 and was named to his first All-Star team in 2021. He also serves as one of the vocal leaders in the clubhouse.
Meanwhile, Mendick is a utility player who has bounced up and down between Chicago and Triple-A Charlottle a total of seven times since May 3rd, 2021. But with Anderson out of the lineup, the White Sox needed some other guys to step up and aid their struggling offense.
Since then Mendick has quietly been one of the most effective players in the White Sox lineup. In his last seven games, he is slashing .375/.400/.417. He has hits in five of his last six games and has driven in three RBIs since Anderson has gone down. For the season Mendick is batting .315 with a .817 OPS, both are career highs.
There is a reason that Mendick is constantly getting recalled from Charlotte. The White Sox like him. He isn’t the most talented player on the roster but he is a scrappy player that does all the little things asked of him.
Shortly after his major league debut in 2019, Mendick said that he would be willing to stick his face in front of a pitch if it meant getting a bunt down. That is the type of player a manager loves to have at his disposal.
His defense has also been stellar. Tony La Russa has played him in four different positions this season. The majority of those have come at shortstop. He has played six games at second base, one game at third base, one in left field, and nine at shortstop.
He has yet to make an error at shortstop in his MLB career. In fact, he boasts a .991 fielding percentage with only two errors in four seasons. One of those came in left field, and the other at second base. Mendick knows he does not get many opportunities as an everyday starter. He has made sure to take advantage of the opportunity.
Tony La Russa has rewarded his hot streak by batting him leadoff on Sunday afternoon. Mendick returned the favor with a single to open the game and then came around to score.
His success this season has been overlooked due to an over-aggressive baserunning blunder against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 31st.
With the White Sox trailing by a run, Yasmani Grandal hit a deep fly ball to left field. Reese McGuire tagged up from third base and trotted home. He would have scored easily if Mendick didn’t take off from first base. Mendick was thrown out before McGuire could cross the plate and just like that the inning was over. The White Sox would go on to lose 6-5 and Mendick took the brunt of the criticism.
It was an unfortunate mistake that cast a shadow over an otherwise solid performance. Mendick had two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored in the game. Afterward, Tony La Russa said that Mendick apologized for the gaffe.
If you take away that one play, Mendick has done everything the White Sox could have asked for and more. It begs the question could Mendick take over at second base once Tim Anderson returns?
Second base has been an issue ever since the start of the season and the White Sox do not have many options. Josh Harrison is simply not getting the job done. He is batting .181 with just three RBIs and a .541 OPS. Harrison hasn’t done anything all that well and is veering into Adam Eaton territory with a DFA on the horizon if he does not turn things around.
While Jake Burger has been excellent this season for the White Sox he is simply not athletic enough to play second base at the moment. Yoan Moncada is already struggling this season offensively, so moving him back to second base does not seem like a recipe for success either.
On the trade market, there are little to no options that the White Sox could trade for. If the White Sox doesn’t call up Yolbert Sanchez, that leaves Mendick as the next best option.
