During the peak of the pandemic labor shortage, there was a Checkers near me that reflected the desperation of finding minimum-wage help. At a time where where every fast-food restaurant was rolling out unprecedented wages and perks, this Checkers zagged by treating the job like day labor, for its marquee trumpeted:
NOW HIRING
WORK TODAY
GET PAID TOMORRO W
Did the strategy work? It depends on your metric for success.
The restaurant stayed operational for years, so if they were merely attempting to keep the lights on during a crunch, mission accomplished. But the sign stayed that way for months and months, so it probably didn't recruit employees worth keeping, or ones who had any reason to stay. I never had any urge to go there because I wasn't confident that a corporation advertising daily pay could enforce standardized food safety practices. Whatever conclusion you draw, the debate remains unresolved. The Checkers is closed, but because the entire site is being redeveloped.
On a related note, the White Sox have already used 10 outfielders in 22 games, including seven different guys in right field alone, and Bobby Dalbec's arrival means he's available to add to those numbers at any moment.
The White Sox outfield has never been the most stable venture, but even by the standards of the position, they are flat-out burning through options:
| Season | G | #OF | #RF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 162 | 14 | 11 |
| 2022 | 162 | 12 | 8 |
| 2023 | 162 | 13 | 11 |
| 2024 | 162 | 16 | 9 |
| 2025 | 22 | 10 | 7 |
Two elements make it all the more remarkable. For one, Chris Getz tried his budget-conscious damndest to avoid this outcome. He had five outfielders on guaranteed major league contracts -- Luis Robert Jr. in center, Andrew Benintendi in left, the Mike Tauchman/Austin Slater platoon in right, and Michael A. Taylor as a defensive-minded fifth outfielder who could complement the likely starter in either corner.
Moreover, the 10 outfielders they've used thus far in 2025 does not include either of the two outfielders they purposely traded for last year, Dominic Fletcher and Zach DeLoach. Both were buried by the MLB signings, and both remained buried by their own performances in Charlotte as a string of journeymen and utilitymen fill in the gaps. Somehow in all the churn, initial 2023 primary right field option Oscar Colás is moving farther from the majors, not closer.
The White Sox are so far afield from anything resembling a plan, and nothing better signifies their disorientation than the arrival of Joshua Palacios.
Palacios has appeared in nine of the 11 games the White Sox have played since they added him to the 26-man roster on April 10. He's 3-for-19 with no extra-base hits, two walks and six strikeouts, but he's far from the only hitter struggling, so that doesn't distinguish him.
There's a certain unearned omnipresence that I can't quite figure out. Will Venable isn't really attempting to play to his strengths or hide his weaknesses. During the Athletics series, Palacios started against a lefty, and then entered as a pinch-hitter against an incoming lefty, rather than trust Taylor against the righty that was on the mound.
"That's what you're evaluating," Venable said after the game. "For us, that was a better matchup of the two, so that's what we went with."
Palacios then proceeded to put forth a greater variety of missteps during the four-game series at Boston. He opened the series batting cleanup, and it went downhill from there. He committed an error, a misplay that should've been scored an error, popped up two bunt attempts and was picked off.
We're used to seeing this kind of showing from a fringe AAAA type who's in over his head, but it's usually in service of some greater audition or development goal. There was a point in seeing Fletcher against lefties once in a while, if only to weigh his offensive limitations against his plus defensive contributions. There's a point in playing somebody like Brooks Baldwin in right field, even if it seems premature to expand his duties when his stronger positions are equally in flux. Even somebody like Dalbec, whom the White Sox signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, brings with him a level of expressed interest in his talent, whereas Palacios was claimed a week into Charlotte's season.
Aside from the fact that he's played in a full season's worth of major league games over stints with three teams over four seasons, there doesn't seem to be any greater explanation or purpose to Palacios' presence. It either reflects a misevaluation of his talent, or a blithe suspension of standards to fill out a lineup card to get through the day. They'll pay him what he's owed, while being prepared to find somebody else to do the same job next week.
Whatever the reason and whoever is involved, the White Sox are on course to set new standards for instability in right field. Here are the players who have led the White Sox in starts there since Avisaíl García moved on:
- 2019: Ryan Cordell, 49
- 2020: Nomar Mazara, 38
- 2021: Adam Eaton, 45
- 2022: Gavin Sheets, 78
- 2023: Sheets, 61
- 2024: Sheets, 43
- 2025: Palacios, 5
The fact that Sheets led the White Sox in right field starts with a lower and lower total reflects the understanding that he wasn't supposed to be there, and an inability to acquire anybody who was better able to put forth a professional effort. Sheets would probably be the active leader for a fourth straight season if the White Sox tendered him, but he's better off in San Diego, where he's hitting .344/.388/.557 over 21 games, and he's made 13 of 14 starts at DH. He's played just 14 innings of outfield the entire season, and none have been in right.
