“Going back into free agency, I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have the opportunity to do that, play every day, be able to play both sides of the ball again, play defense every day as well,” Hays told reporters (link via Jay Cohen of Associated Press). Hays played a semi-regular role at Cincinnati a year ago. He started just over half of the team’s games, but saw a fair amount of action as a design hitter, playing just over 500 innings in left field.
That wasn’t entirely a usage decision. Hays had a trio of injured stints early in the season, all related to different parts of his left leg. He suffered from a kidney infection in 2024. His most recent full season was in 2023, when he hit .275/.325/.444 in 566 plate appearances with the Orioles. Hays was an above-average everyday player in Baltimore for a few seasons. His recent production has been much more platoon independent. The right-handed hitter has mixed left-handed pitching to a .335/.402/.543 clip over the past two years. His .233/.273/.387 line against righties is much less impressive.
The White Sox had perhaps the worst right field situation in the MLB before Hays’ signing. He will line up against both-handed pitchers and said he aims to reach 140 games played. If he’s producing, he’s likely a midseason trade chip and might fit more in a complementary role on a contender, but the immediate focus is on reestablishing himself as a viable everyday player.
Andreas Benintendi will be in the opposite corner. The left fielder is entering the fourth season of a five-year contract that is not expiring as planned. He is a .245/.309/.391 hitter in over 1,600 plate appearances for the club. With $31 million in debt over the next two years, Benintendi won’t have any appeal on the trade market. General manager Chris Getz unsurprisingly said today that an offseason trade is not on the table.
“We haven’t had too many conversations about Andrew, so we expect him to be at this club on opening day,” the General Manager told reporters (link via James Fegan of Sox Machine). Benintendi has also struggled with lower half injuries over the last two seasons, missing time with Achilles tendonitis and calf/groin problems.
That could lead to more work as a designated hitter in an ideal world, but the Sox will likely rely heavily on their young catching duo of Kyle Teel And Edgar Quero at that place. Their outfield is so thin that they don’t have many options to replace Benintendi in the left (or right, if Hays shifts to the left) on days when he is in the DH spot. Luisangel Acuna is expected to get the first run in center field. Everson Pereira And Derek Hill would be in that mix if they break camp while not on the roster Jarred Kelenic And Dustin Harris have clear paths to jobs.
All of these players no longer have minor league options. The Sox have put out flyers on some former prospects pushed out by other clubs, but there are only a limited number of bench spots available. Third catcher Korey Lee and backup infielder Sosa Island There are also no options left, so there is limited roster flexibility coming out of camp.
The 26-year-old Sosa finds himself in a difficult position. He is coming off a team-leading 22 home run season. It was accompanied by an aggressive approach that earned him a paltry .293 on-base rating. Sosa also struggled defensively at second base, true Chase MeiiThoth enters the spring as the projected starter. Getz said Sosa is unlikely to play a role in the outfield mix and has been largely limited to the right side of the infield. Munetaka Murakami will regularly play first base. Meidroth and Miguel Vargas his right-handed bats in front of him at second and third base respectively.
It’s unlikely Sosa is at risk of losing his roster spot out of camp, but Getz admitted that “there’s a little bit of redundancy with the right-handed corner bats” on the roster. The Sox would presumably be willing to consider trade offers if another team looking for a right infield bat came calling. He won’t get a huge return, but there’s enough offensive promise that he should get some attention if Chicago makes him available. Speculatively, teams like the Pirates, Padres and Rays could benefit from adding a role player with that profile.
Turning to the opposite side of the ball, right-handed Mike Vasil tells Baseball’s Rob Bradford and Courtney Finnicum aren’t boring podcast he is building as a starter in Spring Training. Vasil worked largely out of the bullpen last year as a Rule 5 pick, starting just three of 47 appearances. He routinely worked more than three innings and totaled 101 frames, so a swing role wouldn’t be much different than the one he played as a rookie.
Vasil achieved an excellent grade point average of 2.50 in his debut campaign. His strikeout and walk profiles weren’t particularly impressive, although he kept the ball on the ground at a strong 51.4% clip. The Rule 5 roster restrictions will be lifted in year two, so the Sox could move Vasil to Triple-A if they want him to establish a starting routine in the minors. However, it would be difficult to move him out of the major league bullpen if he pitches at the same level he did last season.
The Sox will likely open the season with a lead of four Shane Smith, David Martin, Antonius Kaij And Sean Burke when everyone is healthy. Free pick-up by an agent Sean Newcomb can work as a starter or as a multi-inning reliever. They gave the upper minors a pitching prospect David Sandlin in the Jordan Hicks salary dump at the Red Sox, while Jonathan Cannon remains on the 40-man roster.
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