White Sox Players In Danger Of Losing Their Jobs

The White Sox have had a very interesting start to the season. Currently sitting at 5-6, the bats and the pitching have been on and off. When the bats have been lively, the pitching has failed us, and vice versa. The only games won have been started by Dylan Cease or by Mike Clevinger. If you had told me that before the season began, I would have called you crazy. 

Regardless, there have been some bright spots, like Cease and Luis Robert Jr., but there have also been some players that have not performed well up to this point. With the Sox being quick to cut ties with Leury Garcia and Jose Ruiz, they’ve sent the message that if you don’t play well, then you are going to be elsewhere. Here are some of the players that could be next…

Jake Diekman

The lone trade deadline acquisition from last year, his White Sox tenure has been nothing short of a disaster. Pitching to a 6+ ERA last year, he has followed that up with a 9.64 ERA this year in 4.2 innings. Most notably, he had a poor performance against the Pirates which cost us the game, giving up four runs in only 1/3rd of an inning. While he has some scoreless outings sandwiched in between some of his outings, he has not proven to be a reliable bullpen arm. 

His inability to throw strikes on a consistent basis has been one of his major weaknesses. He has only 5 strikeouts to 4 walks. That is not the ratio you are looking for as a good ‘pen arm. While 5 strikeouts in 4 innings show that he has the stuff to get consistent outs, he still needs to record outs. He has a long track record of being a successful bullpen arm but he must show that soon, or he could be the next arm out the door. 

It still is early and a lot of pitchers have control issues early in the year, but these are the same issues that plagued him last year. He most likely has time until Liam Hendriks or Garrett Crochet comes back, but if he cannot right the ship, he might be gone well before then.

Elvis Andrus

After being cut by the Oakland A’s, Elvis found a second life filling in for Tim Anderson at the end of last year. He provided a much-needed spark at the top of the lineup hitting .271 with 9 home runs and 11 stolen bases. This performance convinced the White Sox to bring him back late in free agency on a one-year deal. So far, it has not gone at all like last year.

He is off to an abysmal start, as he is hitting .167 with 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This is not the Elvis that we saw last year. He also ranks 9th worst in the league with -.4 WAR, according to Fan Graphs. While Elvis could be a slow starter, there is still a chance for him to become the player that he was last year. 

He may have bought time with the injury to Tim Anderson, but if Lenyn Sosa’s hot bat translates to the major league level, his days could be numbered when TA comes back. He does provide stable veteran leadership in the clubhouse, so he could be kept around because of that, but there are other guys that can provide that type of leadership. If TA is out for a decent period of time, he could right the ship at his natural position of SS, but if not, he could be the next hitter out the door. He is the most likely on this list to stay, but there is always the possibility with the way the Sox have been operating the roster lately.

Romy Gonzalez

A surprising name on this list, Gonzalez has not performed well after winning the job out of Spring Training. Currently three for fifteen on the season, his bat is not off to a great start. While he has provided positional versatility, that might not be enough to keep him on the team. 

He currently sits at -.2 WAR, which is alarming as it is a cumulative stat and he has not played much so far. But, it is still early in the year so he has time to turn it around. With the injury to TA, it will be interesting to see if they slot him or Sosa at everyday second base. If the nod is given to Sosa, his days could be numbered especially if Sosa performs well. 

Another aspect that could hurt him is the emergence of Jake Burger. If Burger’s bat continues to be above average, they might opt to keep him over Gonzalez. While Gonzalez provides much more in terms of defensive ability and versatility, the White Sox have shown with their handling of Garcia, that if you cannot hit then there is no spot for you on the team. The fact that both Sheets and Alberto can play outfield could cover for the loss if they decided to send Romy down. While I believe there is still hope for Romy, he will compete against Sosa and Burger for one of the last roster spots once everyone returns. 

While it seems like this team is too injury-prone to ever get rid of any of these players, there is a chance once a fully healthy roster including Hendriks, Crochet, TA, and Eloy that none of these players are on the team. It is still early, but with more competition coming up because of injury, they are fighting for a spot once everyone returns.