PHOENIX -- White Sox manager Will Venable wishes the roster picture was clearer, but more for the sake of his players than the prying eyes of the public.
"There are some question marks with some of these guys with their health, so we’re going to run it right up to the deadline here," said manager Will Venable. "Talked to some guys today apologizing for the lack of information and just confirmation on where they’re going. It puts a stress on everybody, but this is part of it."
The final Sunday of camp is when teams are often drilling down the last details of their Opening Day roster, but the White Sox are in rebuilding and asset acclimation mode all year round. So about an hour after they released injured veteran non-roster invitee Brandon Drury -- arguably their best hitter in Cactus League -- for complicated 40-man roster reasons, they used their top spot in the waiver order to claim right-hander Mike Vasil off waivers from the Rays, exhausting the extra roster space that moving Prelander Berroa to the 60-day injured list afforded them.
As the Sox directing Vasil straight to Chicago to be part of the Opening Day roster would indicate, there's immediate use for the 25-year-old Rule 5 pick alongside some long-term starting potential. While Vasil will begin the season in the bullpen, Drew Thorpe, Ky Bush and Juan Carela all undergoing Tommy John surgery this spring with Mason Adams likely to follow, has dwindled their rotation depth.
"Someone that you feel can make some starts for you and give you bulk innings, just made this more attractive," said general manager Chris Getz. "We actually did a fair amount of work on [Vasil] this offseason, prior to the Rule 5 draft in which we decided to take Shane Smith. And so, you track situations and the players throughout spring training and when he became available on waivers, looking at the upside that he can bring long-term based on his his ability to be a starter in the future, but also has stuff that kind of aligns with our kind of pitching process that we feel like we can help maximize. So, to have two Rule 5 picks on a roster is a bit unique, but considering our situation right now where we are as an organization, we felt like this is worth the effort."
Perhaps a top line takeaway from the Drury situation is the White Sox are hopeful for a reunion even after officially parting ways with the 32-year-old on Sunday. While a two-week shutdown from baseball activities and a accompanying ramp-up period is the baseline expectation for Drury's recovery timeline from a fractured left thumb, there will be no clear word on when he's expected back until his follow-up appointment with a specialist on Monday.
In the meantime, Drury is an Article XX(B) free agent whose contract status allows him to opt out at the end of camp, forcing the team to either place him on the active roster or grant his release. Because this move effectively forces the team to provide a player clarity on his status, triggering the opt-out has become a formality and indications are that the process was already in motion at the time Drury was injured during infield drills. Without clarity on Drury's timeline, with a host of other 40-man moves to make in the next four days, and with undoing the opt-out not an option (it was inquired about), the Sox elected to grant the release.
Drury had a great camp, and his offense is sorely needed from this team. He's a former Silver Slugger who looks restored to his old ways, and it sounds like there's mutual interest in working out a new agreement when the smoke clears. But he is now a free agent, and so he's free to find a better opportunity than the White Sox can offer as well.
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At one point in spring, Andrew Benintendi, Austin Slater and Michael A. Taylor had all picked up maladies that made them question marks for Opening Day, but that very trio all started in Sunday's Cactus League game and are now seen as having a clear pathway to avoiding the IL. Meanwhile, Mike Tauchman tweaked his right hamstring on Monday while running first-to-third and few were the wiser before Getz said the Sox are leaning toward beginning the year with him on the injured list. Such a move would open things up for glove-first lefty outfielder Travis Jankowski, whose addition initially seemed in response to other outfield injuries.
Adding Jankowski would require opening up a 40-man spot, and the Sox just used up the exemption they had for adding Prelander Berroa on the 60-day IL, though now Drew Thorpe will be used for another. Other NRIs that will require a 40-man spot if they make the team are Mike Clevinger in the bullpen, and Chase Meidroth if he indeed wins the starting shortstop gig. Despite a spring batting line that's empty other than his trademark plate discipline, Meidroth has been playing at short regularly throughout camp with seemingly little competition beyond veteran utilitymen Jacob Amaya and Nick Maton.
"I think it’s fairly clear that he can handle the position," Getz said. "He has shown very well. I’ve been impressed. He’s got good feet. He gets off the ball really well. Clean exchange. He’s been making all the plays he should with a little bit more."
With left-handed infielder Josh Rojas likely to start the season on the IL with a hairline fracture in his right big toe, Getz emphasized lineup balance and the ability to cover shortstop as crucial for figuring out the infield mix, and with Lenyn Sosa viewed as pretty much a lock for the roster, switch-hitting Brooks Baldwin could fill out the picture as a do-everything reserve.
"I take a lot of pride in it, being able to play everywhere," Baldwin said. "I think it's more or less being a team ballplayer and not expecting to be anywhere on a certain day, but just showing up and figuring out where you're at that day and being your best at that."
Non-roster invite Omar Narváez would also require a 40-man spot for a second tour with the White Sox, but a source indicates he is expected to opt out of his minor league deal while Korey Lee breaks camp with the team.
"You've got one that's right-handed," Getz said. "You've got another two that are left-handed, so you want to have a duo that complement each other just for offensive matchups. There's a level of experience that they all have and bring to the table. We know what Korey's capable of doing from a throwing standpoint."
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To summarize the exact question I asked Chris Getz, no one in the industry has been able to curb the rate of Tommy John surgeries in pitching despite a lot of trying, but even within that framing, six TJ's in one spring feels like a lot.
"There’s no clear answer solution to why this is happening," Getz said. "They are all theories. And we have those conversations in the offseason. That’s more of an industry conversation. It’s frustrating. You hate to just accept it. But on the front end of the year -- and that will never change -- is when you are at a higher risk for injury, coming off an offseason and a ramp-up and all of a sudden you have intense competition going on. So, that’s why you create as much depth as you can because you know there will be injuries along the way.
"In terms of solving the elbow injuries and shoulder injuries, I can’t say we have a clear answer here with the White Sox. I am confident to say most organizations would respond the same way."
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Getz initially responded to a question about the timeline of Adams' recovery from a flexor strain by saying that he's going to have Tommy John surgery, putting him on a similar timeline to Thorpe. The White Sox subsequently clarified that Adams has a follow-up scheduled with Dr. Keith Meister this week, and that "all options are on the table."
Meister has performed TJ on a number of White Sox arms this spring, and the miscommunication certainly provides a hint on what direction Adams' situation is expected to go in. Score one for the crowd of commenters who see flexor strains as an inevitable precursor to TJ.
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As camp closes, Bryan Ramos has yet to play defense and is still without a firm timeline on when his sore elbow will allow him to man a position in a game. Getz said he is still progressing on a throwing program.
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Sosa has played in 163 career major league games. He has been optioned down to Triple-A on eight separate occasions in his career. He has never made an Opening Day roster.
"That would be something very special," Sosa said via interpreter. "If that happened, it would mean I am going to have the chance to establish myself in the major leagues for the year. That's the goal."
