Finally, the White Sox are on the verge of having too many bats

Over the course of the winter, I wanted the White Sox to block Andrew Vaughn in Triple-A for Opening Day. Not thoroughly. Not for years and years and years. Not in a way that made trade speculation more likely than a path to the majors. Vaughn just hadn’t faced a standard competitive environment higher than Winston-Salem, and the various players occupying his possible positions had a history of occasional injuries.

The most formidable version of the White Sox’s Plan A lineup had Vaughn making the high minors look like a waste of time, during which he’d be in a glass case marked “BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.” In other words, I wanted the White Sox to carry more bats than they had spots.

That didn’t happen. In fact, Vaughn slid up the defensive spectrum during the last week of spring training, winning the job as primary DH, then becoming necessary in left field after injuries to Eloy Jiménez and Adam Engel. The White Sox had no such depth on hand, forcing them to scramble.

And scramble they did. Yermín Mercedes enjoyed a meteoric rise, followed by a meteoric fall, landing in small fragments in Charlotte. Fortunately, Jake Lamb figured out a way to make himself useful off the bench at that time, and then Brian Goodwin looked better in Chicago than Charlotte. Incumbents soon supplemented the outsiders, with Leury García plugging gaps with positive regression, especially with runners in scoring position, and Engel returning twice off the injured list.

Every time it becomes clear that the White Sox are asking a little too much of a particular bench player, somebody shows up to invigorate the roster with impact novelty.

The latest version is Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets, who are offering way more expected as they approach their first 100 plate appearances between them.

And when it looked like Sheets was on the verge of being solved by an array of José Berríos changeups during the nightcap of Monday’s doubleheader, he worked Berríos into a fastball count and hammered his first career walk-off homer at any level.

The only catch is that one or both of these players could be on their way back down as rehab stints reach completion. It could be as soon as today if the Sox don’t want to bother Lamb and Jiménez having them travel with the Knights to Durham. It seems like Jiménez could use another week to get past a clump of strikeouts, but as Goodwin shows, sometimes lackluster performances can be the result of knowing a level is beneath them. Luis Robert is starting his rehab stint with Winston-Salem on Wednesday, which further crowds the picture if he avoids a setback.

When all hands are on deck, a pretty stable lineup emerges, and it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for Sheets and Burger.

1. Tim Anderson, SS
2. Yoán Moncada, 3B
3. José Abreu, 1B
4. Eloy Jiménez, DH
5. Luis Robert, CF
6. Brian Goodwin/Adam Engel, CF
7. Andrew Vaughn, LF
8. Zack Collins, C
9. Leury García, 2B

Behind them on the bench is a backup catcher, a backup infielder and a backup outfielder. If you’re putting defense first, it’s Seby Zavala, Danny Mendick, Billy Hamilton, with Lamb on the periphery if Tony La Russa is fine with seven relievers (and as long as his top five starters keep going five innings, he probably should be).

None of those players is more worthy of at-bats than Sheets or Burger at this time, but Sheets and Burger can still use time in Charlotte to shore up other parts of their game. Burger’s glovework has been the only thing showing any indication of a three-year professional layoff, and he made a significant rookie mistake in the eighth inning of Monday’s Game 1.

Burger had sub-.900 fielding percentages at both third and second base with Charlotte, which is why I’m not a fan of the idea of throwing him into the mix at second base right now. It took Nick Madrigal well into his second season at his natural position to get past rushing his actions on a regular basis, and Yoán Moncada never quite smoothed out the complicated movements at second, so it’s easy to envision Burger’s glove creating too many extra outs for his bat to compensate. He still has errors to iron out, and some of those can be extracted from him at Triple-A.

Sheets’ only error from right field came on a throw, but his cautious footsteps show his uncertainty with the position.

Considering Sheets has played just 24 games in the outfield, and Burger four at second base, they still stand to benefit from sheer reps at any level. While Mendick, Hamilton and Lamb would love to play as much as possible, they’re at the juncture in their careers where they understand why they don’t. They’ve adapted by learning to keep their carrying tools sharp while playing sparingly. Guys like Hamilton, Goodwin and Lamb lack minor-league options, while Sheets and Burger can be freely bumped up and down for the next few seasons, and you probably don’t want to risk losing their particular seasoned skills for rookies who could be in line for sizable adjustments just as the stages are growing larger, especially since previous injuries are the most prominent predictor for future injuries.

So my guess is that Burger and Sheets head back to Charlotte whenever the reinforcements arrive, prompting disappointment on a personal level, and a feeling of security with the big picture, even/especially if they’re traded for somebody who adds to the everyday lineup. This is what More Bats Than Spots feels like, 4½ months later than envisioned, but better late than never. In fact, with the White Sox’s playoff probabilities rounding up to 100 percent and October meriting serious consideration now, it’s possible that More Bats Than Spots is better late than early.

(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski / USA TODAY Sports)

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