Back at 2017 SoxFest, then-White Sox scouting director Nick Hostetler declared that he would have taken 10th overall selection Zack Collins even if he had the first pick. A good scout believes in his guys until the bitter the end, but imagine how confident he would have been had he known that the second overall pick from that draft would ... eventually also be in the fold.
Jon Heyman reported that the White Sox are signing free-agent infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel, and a source confirmed to Sox Machine that it is a major league deal, which will necessitate both a 26-man and 40-man roster move to enable. The team has not yet confirmed the deal.
Senzel, 29, hit .209/.303/.359 in 64 games this season with the Nationals after starting the year on the injured list with a fractured right thumb. While that performance precipitated Senzel's release last week, the 89 wRC+ is the highest of his career, and would be seventh among members of the White Sox current active roster.
One of the players out-ranking Senzel for offensive output among current Sox hitters is infielder Paul DeJong, who figures to be a trade target for teams seeking infield depth over the next couple of weeks, and his departure would open up more at-bats. However, Yoán Moncada hit .282/.364/.410 in 11 games this season before going down with an adductor strain, and is expected back later this month. Still, if Senzel finds himself lacking for opportunities on this roster, logic dictates it will be because his performance merited it.
Originally drafted as a third baseman, the right-handed Senzel has only played the hot corner (and DH'd) this season for the Nationals, but has played second base and all three outfield positions across a big league career that has been marred by injuries. With Tommy Pham likely on the move as well, the outfield could also have openings.
Sox1955 pointed out Senzel's platoon splits and that feels right on the mark. Senzel is a career .273/.330/.453 hitter against left-handers, and that figures to have some utility for a team that has had Danny Mendick pinch-hit for Nicky Lopez in some big spots, or could be looking for a platoon partner for Gavin Sheets down the stretch.
If the general premise is that the White Sox position player group is light on viable hitters -- and such a premise is generally bulletproof -- Senzel has slightly but clearly outperformed the bottom level of a crop that figures to be thinned over the coming weeks. If the premise is that the White Sox now employing seven members of the 2017 Baseball America top-100 prospect list will eventually result in everyone reaching their long-anticipated ceiling simultaneously -- well, then, maybe not.
