Baseball season is fast approaching. White Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 15th, while the rest of the team reports on February 20th. Spring Training is always exciting as rosters take shape before the impending season, but this year there will be some added intrigue in Glendale.

Second base, right field, and the back end of the rotation are up for grabs, resulting in significant roster battles that will determine multiple Opening Day starters. Let’s dive into each battle and who has the edge entering Spring Training.

Right Field

The White Sox let Jose Abreu walk in free agency because they couldn’t afford to have any more first baseman playing the corner outfield spots. Statistically, Andrew Vaughn was the worst defensive outfielder in baseball. However, they couldn’t move him to designated hitter because they also didn’t want to risk further injury by letting Eloy Jimenez run around in left field. To remedy the situation, they moved Andrew Vaughn to his natural position at first base and had Eloy Jimenez slated as the full-time designated hitter. That means franchise icon Jose Abreu was the odd man out. Adding Andrew Benintendi filled the hole in left field, but right field is still up for grabs.

The White Sox are banking on Oscar Colas to win the job. If he doesn’t, then the White Sox could be in trouble. Here are the power rankings heading into camp.

Oscar Colas
Gavin Sheets
Eloy Jimenez
Leury Garcia

Colas is the White Sox No.2 overall prospect and the 85th in baseball, according to MLB.com. The 24-year-old slashed .314/.371/.524 with a .895 OPS between High-A Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham, and Triple-A Charlotte in 2022, tallying 23 home runs, 24 doubles, four triples, 79 RBIs, and 81 runs scored.

Asking Colas to log the bulk of the innings and contribute on a contending team with limited Triple-A experience and only one professional season in America is not the best recipe for success. It could be beneficial for Colas to spend the first month of the year in Charlotte. The problem is there aren’t any other true right-fielders on the roster giving Colas the edge in any Spring Training competition.

Gavin Sheets appears to be Colas’ biggest competition for the Opening Day job. Sheets has hit 26 homer runs in just 178 games during his first two seasons. He has also posted an OPS over 700 in each of his first two seasons, including a .830 mark in his rookie year.

But Sheets is not an outfielder by trade. He came up in the White Sox system as a first baseman, and it shows. In 2022 Sheets 13th percentile in Outs Above Average and the second percentile in Outfield Jump. He also posted a -5 OAA in right field last season. Colas moves well for his size, has a big arm, and has more experience playing the outfield. He’s played in the Cuban and Japanese leagues since 2016-17 when he was 17 years old.

Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez has talked about not wanting to DH. He has been putting in work in the outfield this season, and Pedro Grifol alluded to the fact that Jimenez could see some action in right field. However, if Jimenez gets the Opening Day start, something went terribly wrong. He may get some spot starts, but he will be the team’s primary DH.

Garica is a long shot to be the Opening Day right fielder. It seems like the White Sox will finally use him correctly as a bench player. Garcia is a fine depth piece to have on a championship-caliber roster. Switch hitters that can play six different positions don’t grow on trees. He just can’t be used as an everyday player, and with Tony La Russa gone, that shouldn’t be an issue assuming everyone stays healthy.

The White Sox added Victor Reyes, Billy Hamilton, and Jake Marisnick this offseason, but none of them appear to be starting-caliber MLB players at this point. Marisnick provides the best defense between the three, but his lackluster offense numbers make him seem like more of a fourth outfielder coming off the bench. Marisnick owns a career slash line of .228/.281/.384, Hamilton is a career .239 hitter, while Reyes owns a slightly better .264 mark but has played far fewer games. They will battle for the fourth outfield job off the bench.

Bottom line. It’s Colas’s job to lose.