White Sox Minor Keys: Sept. 23, 2022
Jonathan Stiever isn’t the only White Sox farmhand who can use the lengthened Triple-A season for a late lift, as Jake Burger made his first appearance since Aug. 20 in Charlotte’s 7-5 victory over Jacksonville on Friday.
Burger’s had a rough few months since the Sox optioned him from Chicago to Charlotte after Independence Day. First, his return to the Knights was delayed by illness, and while he recovered well enough to hit .301/.386/.411 over 20 games, a non-displaced left wrist fracture put him back on the shelf.
While there are only a handful of games left, Burger probably won’t be able to do much in the way of damage, but clarifying his health by the end of the year might help him find his next big-league opportunity should he end up getting crowded out of the White Sox’s plans due to redundancies.
Charlotte 7, Jacksonville 5
- Mark Payton went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, a sac fly and four RBIs.
- Jake Burger was 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Yolbert Sánchez, 2-for-5.
- Lenyn Sosa hit his ninth homer for Charlotte and 24th on the season during a 3-for-5 night.
Highlights:
*Sosa’s blast:
Author
It seems like Burger would be a good candidate to play in the AFL. The Sox need to showcase him to see if he has any trade value. Is there any downside to him not playing this Fall?
I would expect other orgs have had a good look by now, including at all the major league at bats
With the shit show the Sox have had in the OF this season is there a reason that Payton, though not a prospect, wasn’t brought up earlier to see what he could do?
A little veteran stability perhaps?
I’ve seen enough. Trade TA in the off-season, re-sign Elvis, and bring up Sosa. Between Sosa and Rodriguez right behind him, they should be able to hold down the fort until Montgomery is ready in 2 years, maybe less.
Time to make real change on this roster and turn the page on TA and Abreu. Sends a message and really forces new faces to the forefront. They are both great players and great Sox, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and it will never happen with those two on the roster.
Take that money and sign two corner outfielders, real guys who have played that position before. Hopefully we get a GM who understands how to fill out a roster and can spend money effectively.
Why on earth do you want to replace the 29 year old star shortstop, whose main fault this year was being hurt, with a 34 year old SS who’s having a career 6 weeks out of nowhere?
The point is to cannibalize the roster to find value to pay for corner outfield spots. The team played no worse without TA for the most significant part of the year. His $12 mil next year is better spent on a LF or RF. Same with Abreu’s $18 mil. If the Sox are fortunate to hire a competent GM, they’ll see this. Winning this division isn’t that difficult.
Sign Elvis to start at SS, Sosa or Rodriguez should be playable by the AS break.
Please don’t let recency bias make you enamored with Andrus; he was terrible in 2020 and not particularly good last season. Investing in his age-34 season to be the starting shortstop is a fool’s errand, and while Sosa and Rodriguez (and Sanchez) provide depth, expecting them to be ready if/when Andrus fails is not a good plan.