Bryan Ramos returns to the White Sox active roster for the first time since ending last year in the big leagues, as he and Fraser Ellard will be the initial players to make use of the two extra roster spots in September when the Sox open their series in Minnesota today.
The landscape looks quite a bit different now. Since Ramos last appeared in a regular-season White Sox game, the organization acquired Chase Meidroth over the winter and Curtis Mead at the trade deadline. In between, Miguel Vargas rediscovered his joie de vivre, Lenyn Sosa tapped into new levels of power, and Colson Montgomery decided to start homering in nearly every MLB game his plays.
While the depth chart conspired against Ramos, his right elbow provided another obstacle. Soreness restricted his throwing and limited him to DH in the spring, and while that limited his ability to get reps and make an impact at the plate, it also temporarily tabled the efforts to expand his defensive skill set into left field, cutting off another avenue toward making the 26-man roster.
And then when Ramos came off the injured list in mid-April without restrictions, able to play third base nearly every day, he just didn't hit. He opened the season scuffling, and any upticks were followed by downturns that erased any and all signs of meaningful progress.
Ramos didn't want to cede power to frustration, but his 2025 didn't start the way he planned, especially after an encouraging finish to his 2024.
"I finished the season in the big leagues, and my mentality going into spring training was 'break with the team,'" Ramos said at the start of Charlotte's series against the Nashville Sounds at First Horizon Park on Tuesday.
"My mind was right to break out with the team and be in the big leagues, but things don't happen like you want always, so you have to adjust, adapt."
Ramos has adjusted, and things are starting to happen. After slumping his way into the All-Star break, he came out of it hitting the ball harder, and offering the kind of production that made him one of the White Sox's top position-player prospects in previous seasons.
"I don't know the numbers, but I know I'm doing better." Ramos said. "I just feel great."
Here are those numbers:
| Half | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | EV | HH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 239 | .194 | .305 | .358 | 88.5 | 36.3 |
| Second | 153 | .254 | .336 | .440 | 89.7 | 47.4 |
"I think they just tried to quiet his hands a little bit more," said Charlotte manager Sergio Santos when asked about the changes Ramos made. "He's an explosive guy with some really, really quick hands. So, just trying to get that rhythm and timing right, and I think they've found a sweet spot."
"He's always had the ability to hit, and he's a big strong kid, he's got bad speed, he's got a really good eye, and it was just a matter of getting his body synced up and get into a position where he can get his real swing off in games," said Charlotte hitting coach Jim Rickon.
"So yeah, we made a little adjustment, minimize the movement pretty much with his hands, and got him synced up."
While the shape of Ramos' production makes it look like he flipped a switch during the time off, Rickon described it as more of a season-long search.
"He was always trying to get himself on time," Rickon said. "He was a little bit late with his move, so he'd start a little bit earlier, but he'd still make a big move, so he wasn't really making up for any time with the pitcher and the pitch...
"It was just a matter of getting a feel for where to be, when. There's some trial and error, and that's what the minor leagues is built for."
As Ramos solved his timing, the tumblers on the infield depth chart unlocked a pathway to the majors, at least temporarily. The big picture remains unfavorable because nearly everybody who could be considered on the bubble is out of options, Ramos included, but injuries have provided him an opening for the time being. Colson Montgomery has been managing a side issue, while Miguel Vargas landed on the injured list after bending his hand back in a gnarly collision at first base with Aaron Judge on Thursday. That gives Ramos at least a temporary opening for some reps at third, and it's probably not coincidence that he made his first start of the season at first base on Sunday as well.
A further diversification of his defensive portfolio will be needed. After playing one game and five innings in left field last year, he's bumped that up to two games and 17 innings this year. Santos said that Ramos gets reps when the Knights work out at home, and expressed confidence in his athleticism translating from dirt to grass.
Ramos remains willing to learn the ropes.
"I don't want to say I feel comfortable," said Ramos, who has four outfield putouts in his professional career. "I think if I can keep practicing the position, I can play decent."
On a roster that's carried five outfielders even before rosters expanded, that nascent skill set doesn't figure to be tested. That also means that he could be subject to a demotion if Vargas returns from the injured list in an expedient fashion. But while Ramos' status is tenuous, he can also consider himself fortunate in the sense that there weren't any other position players on the 40-man roster who weren't already in Chicago, nor players off the roster who warrant the audition. The task remains the same either way, whether in Chicago or Charlotte: finishing better than he started.
