White Sox Spring Training Roster Battles Heat Up as Opening Day Approaches

Braden Shewmake started at shortstop for the Chicago White Sox in Monday's Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies. After coming over in the Aaron Bummer trade, Shewmake holds a spot on the White Sox 40-man roster. And despite limited big-league experience over four seasons with Atlanta, the 26-year-old has a good shot at making the White Sox Opening Day roster.

The White Sox made their second wave of Spring Training roster cuts on Monday, which included sending four members of the 40-man roster to start the season in the minor leagues. Bryan Ramos, a third baseman by trade, was among those sent to the minor leagues.

Yoan Moncada, Paul DeJong, Andrew Vaughn, and Nicky Lopez will be the White Sox starting infielders. Shewmake and Sosa remain as the two other infielders on the 40-man roster.

The White Sox must decide on their backup infielder to round out the bench for Opening Day in the coming weeks.

Old Friend

Danny Mendick, previously a member of the White Sox from 2019 to 2022, is in camp as a non-roster invite and has seen many at-bats. Mendick offers a lot of versatility with adequate speed and the ability to play second base, shortstop, and third base.

He's also had some time in the outfield. However, Mendick has performed dreadfully at the plate thus far, slashing a paltry .182/.217/.273 in 22 at-bats.

While Mendick's hustle and hard-nosed style of play is admirable, he's limited and has likely reached his upside. Nevertheless, he's getting an extended look early in Spring Training.

We've Seen This Before

Lenyn Sosa, a former international signing by the White Sox, had made limited appearances in the majors for Chicago over the last two seasons. Sosa performed well at every minor-league level, leaving nothing more for him to prove.

However, Sosa's performance with the White Sox has been abysmal. In 164 at-bats, he slashed only .201/.224/.348 with six homers. The 24-year-old doesn't possess enough speed to pose a threat on the bases, and despite above-average fielding, his arm strength is just average.

Additionally, Sosa has fallen out of the infield rotation in Spring Training contests. As of this writing, Sosa last saw an at-bat on March 2. These circumstances lead one to believe the White Sox coaching staff is considering other options for their bench. So, where do the White Sox go from here?

The New Guy

Enter Braden Shewmake. The former Braves infielder spent most of his time in Triple-A with the Gwinnett Stripers over the past two seasons. Shewmake is a contact hitter with limited power after slugging 16 homers, 11 from the left side, in 2023, a career-high.

However, Shewmake provides two things his competitors don't do: left-handed hitting and speed. In 2023, Shewmake swiped 27 bases in 28 attempts at the Triple-A level. While his slash line must improve, he still managed a decent .726 OPS against right-handed pitchers for the Stripers.

He's primarily played shortstop but has the athletic ability and arm strength to move around the infield.