White Sox finalize their Opening Day roster

Opening Day is upon us and the White Sox have set their roster.

According to a press release, the team made the below transactions:

• Selected the contracts of INF Hanser Alberto and OF Oscar Colas;
• Optioned LHP Tanner Banks and INF Jake Burger to Triple-A Charlotte;
• Requested unconditional release waivers on INF Leury Garica;
• Placed LHP Garrett Crochet (recovery from left elbow surgery) and RHPs Matt Foster (right flexor strain) and Liam Hendriks (cancer treatment) on the 15-day injured list, all retroactive to March 27.

After the moves, their 26-man roster looks like the following:

• Starting Pitchers (5)
  • Dylan Cease
  • Mike Clevinger
  • Lucas Giolito
  • Michael Kopech
  • Lance Lynn

• Relief Pitchers (8)
  • Aaron Bummer
  • Jake Diekman
  • Kendall Graveman
  • Joe Kelly
  • Jimmy Lambert
  • Reynaldo Lopez
  • Jose Ruiz
  • Gregory Santos

• Catchers (2)
  • Yasmani Grandal
  • Seby Zavala

• Infielders (7)
  • Hanser Alberto
  • Tim Anderson
  • Elvis Andrus
  • Romy Gonzalez
  • Yoan Moncada
  • Gavin Sheets
  • Andrew Vaughn

• Outfielders (4)
  • Andrew Benintendi
  • Oscar Colas
  • Eloy Jimenez
  • Luis Robert Jr.

Colas, 24, entered camp as the right-field favorite after an incredible 2022 debut season. The team’s second-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline certainly earned his rating after hitting .309/.367/.516 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI between High-A Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham, and Triple-A Charlotte last season.

Incredibly enough, Colas found a way to perform better in Double-A than High-A, despite Birmingham’s home ballpark being notoriously known as one of the more difficult places to hit. Though some thought Colas might have proven himself enough for a September call-up last year, he was ultimately promoted to Triple-A Charlotte and hit .387/.424/.645 over the final seven games.

Colas has only continued to impress this spring even if his slash has cooled off a bit as of late. He’s currently hitting .267/.279/.435 with three homers, six RBI, and a .717 OPS. Now that he’s made the team, the continued expectation is for Colas to serve as the team’s starting right fielder more often than not. Whether he faces Houston lefty Framber Valdez in the team’s opener, however, remains to be seen.

Elsewhere, the infield depth seems to be set with players like Alberto and Gonzalez, thus making veteran utilityman Leury Garcia expendable. He has officially been granted his release from the teams.

Alberto, 30, was originally brought in on a minor league deal by the club in January. He is a career .272/.294/.380 hitter who has shown the ability to play all over the field throughout his career and was with Pedro Grifol in Kansas City during 2021. He grades out average to below-average defensively, though he did post +2 Outs Above Average (OAA) with the Orioles at second base in 2019. Following a strong spring where he hit .450/.476/.800, Alberto figures to be a key bench piece moving forward.

Gonzalez, 26, is similar in that he possesses plenty of versatility to play across the infield and outfield. In 18 games this spring, Gonzalez hit just .200/.283/.525 (8-for-40) with four homers and seven RBI. Many are hopeful this is the year where he takes that next step forward, and cutting down his 35.2% career strikeout rate will be a big part of that.

Alberto, Gonzalez, and Sheets making the roster also signals a plane ticket to Charlotte for third baseman Jake Burger. Though not quite as versatile, Burger could provide the team with some much-needed power later in the season should he need to fill in at a corner infield position or designated hitter.

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