The NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight will feature at least three seeds ranked lower than 8, with the 11-seed Loyola Ramblers storming their way in from the furthest off the radar.
When it comes to the White Sox' roster, the position-player side of the equation has gone chalk.
The reassignment of Ryan Cordell seems to set that half of the roster. The Sox sent him to Charlotte on Thursday, so it looks like all 12 players likely to head to Chicago are incumbents. The forecast calls for Omar Narvaez backing up Welington Castillo, Tyler Saladino backing up the infield, and Leury Garcia serving as the supersub and Adam Engel insurance in center field.
I say "seem" because it's not yet official. The Sox still have Kevan Smith in camp, although he hasn't played since spraining his ankle and didn't look like a good bet to best Narvaez before that. Matt Skole is the spring story closest to a Cinderella, in that he's outlasted all the non-catchers. There's good good reason: He's hitting .333/.413/.641 over 46 plate appearances, and he should be slugging .718 since umpires called another homer a single.
Skole may be hanging around until Jose Abreu proves his hamstring is healthy. If it takes a few days to answer that question, Rick Renteria could be to blame.
A smiling Abreu said he'll be ready to play Friday at the latest. Manager Rick Renteria gave a more conservative timeline, estimating Abreu will rest for "three or four days," as a precaution.
When he relayed that message to Abreu, the first baseman said, according to Renteria, "Not at all. I won't be doing that."
Renteria sounded reluctant to act like a millennial and cut the Cord, but he offered consolation by suggesting any trip to the minors may not last that long:
“He really did a very nice job and impressed every single person in camp, all the way through the top,” Renteria said of Cordell, who hit .317/.417/.512 with eight walks and seven strikeouts. “There's no denying he has a skill set and an ability to play. We think he's a major league baseball player. We want to make sure he gets some at-bats in Triple-A on a consistent basis.”
This line of reasoning can ring hollow when it concerns somebody like Ronald Acuna, and carrying 13 pitchers is as exciting as drafting college seniors, but the White Sox are likely to learn faster about their fringe players with a short bench.
Adam Engel: He's shown what he can show this spring, hitting .364/.429/.682. More importantly, he's struck out just 10 times over 49 plate appearances. He's gone three games without a strikeout, and has fanned just once over his last 16 plate appearances.
That's a vast improvement for a guy who finished the season hitless in his last 27 plate appearances, and with 10 strikeouts over his final 12 at-bats. Engel may revert to that form when the temperature drops and breaking balls sharpen, but given that he's already been hung out to dry and lived to tell the tale, there's no harm in finding out where he now stands as a potential major leaguer and adjusting accordingly if it doesn't work. At least he can play defense while it unfolds.
Ryan Cordell: He spent the second half of the 2017 season on the disabled list with a fractured spine. He spent the first half of the 2017 season at Colorado Springs, by far the best park for hitters in Triple-A. With two favorable hitting environments sandwiching a prolonged absence, it's hard to have any great idea of how well Cordell could fare against advanced pitching at normal altitude and humidity.
A little bit of regular playing time at Charlotte should help flesh him out as a potential contributor. If he looks the part there, the White Sox should make room for him in fairly short order. He turns 26 next week, and he'll only two or three weeks to reach 2,000 minor-league plate appearances for his career, so the Sox will probably want to stress-test him while he still can cover center field.
Tyler Saladino: He's coming off a season in which he was the least impressive offensive presence in the American League. He was the only player in the American League to get 250 plate appearances without homering, and he only hit .178, sooooooooo...
Obviously back issues hampered him, and he's showing some life this spring by hitting .303/.343/.424 with just four strikeouts over 35 plate appearances. He's a major-league bench player if he's healthy. The problem is that he's now had a back injury in consecutive seasons, so at some point sympathy gives way to pragmatism, and the roster will have to pass him by if he has another month or two with an empty average.
Leury Garcia: While Garcia should be the unchallenged everyday center fielder based on 2017 performances, Renteria spent more time this spring honing Garcia's infield skills. Look at how he doled out the playing time:
- Shortstop: 53 innings
- Second base: 21 innings
- Center field: 13 innings
- Left field: 11 innings
- Third base: Five innings
The Sox might win more games with Garcia starting in center in 2018, but at the cost of big-picture roster flexibility. As long as Garcia is more than a theoretical middle infielder, the White Sox are protected from a Saladino relapse. If Garcia can be counted upon to handle multiple infield positions, there's room for Cordell, even on a three-man bench. And if the Sox can whittle a bullpen down to seven pitchers, then there are ways to work in a surprise like Skole, should he look more than a desert mirage.
