It’s starting to feel more like baseball season. Perhaps.
At least Monday morning brought a bit of excitement when the White Sox announced an initial group of 44 players for the modified “Summer Camp” that will officially kick off on Friday at the Guaranteed Fee Field. An additional sixteen players can be added to the pool of 60 players available to the White Sox this season, but only 30 will make it to the Major League Baseball roster that will be used to play regular-season games starting July 23-24.
There will be plenty to sort through in the coming weeks, but here are some initial conclusions from the 44-man group announced Monday.
If Carlos Rodon and Michael Kopech can pitch without limitations, then the initial rotation of the White Sox will accumulate. If the season had started on time, the expectation was that Kopech would already be in Chicago, with Rodon potentially in the mix for July or August.
When we last came out of the White Sox in March, Kopech had just come out of a dazzling spring debut in which he played 100 miles per hour with ease. I was ready to start the season at Triple-A Charlotte for some condiments, but with no minor league games available, would you think there’s a realistic chance of it being on the White Sox Opening Day list?
“We talked about where Michael was at spring training and how impressed we were how he got out the door despite the layoff,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said last week. “Hopefully he’s still in that place when we all get together in Chicago. He certainly is someone who could make a real impact for us over the course of 60 games.”
As for Rodon, he was in Arizona continuing rehabilitation during the hiatus, and it sure looks like he’s about to return. Your progress in the coming weeks will determine a lot.
So theoretically, by July 23, the White Sox could have Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo López, Gio González, Carlos Rodón and Michael Kopech ready to start the games. A six-man rotation could make sense to help reduce concerns about injuries outside the hiatus, but even then it could mean moving another starter to the bullpen. Would López be more consistent as a reliever? Would Kopech return slowly like a high-leverage bullpen arm? These are all things to consider.
Notable on the initial 44-man roster is second baseman Nick Madrigal, first baseman Andrew Vaughn and pitchers Dane Dunning and Jimmy Lambert.
Madrigal did not appear to be up for the MLB roster in March, and without any formal games or training since then, that probably hasn’t changed. His situation is also complicated by the lack of a minor league season now. Will games within the squad between the taxi squad help polish the talented second baseman, or is Madrigal better off with the major league team?
“Nicky, we only saw him for a handful of games in Glendale, but it has been, for the part of the major league camp we’ve had so far, as advertised and certainly a consideration for breaking up with us and if not immediately So it certainly helped us sometime during the summer, “said Hahn.
Madrigal looks like one of the players with the most gains or losses in the coming weeks. As for Vaughn, there are plenty of bats in front of him, but it makes sense for him to be among the 60 players who train and are available the rest of the summer. Dunning and Lambert could certainly be in the mix to pitch in Chicago if necessary this season.
