And then there were 54.
This afternoon, the White Sox made another set of roster cuts with quite a few familiar names
- Optioned RHP Nick Nastrini, RHP Owen White, and SS Colson Montgomery to Triple-A Charlotte
- Reassigned 1B Tim Elko to minor-league camp
This shrinks the White Sox Spring Training roster to 54 players—still a long way to go, but with plenty of veterans among the remaining roster candidates.
https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1899503223528215037
Though not entirely surprising, for some, it was certainly a surprise to see Montgomery among those optioned to Charlotte. Chris Getz spoke about the decision today to reporters:
“…Most importantly, we want the front end of the year to be one that [he] goes out there, is very productive, and locks in what he’s working on. He had a hiccup in camp with health that made Spring Training a little less smooth than he would’ve like, but he’s working very hard…
https://twitter.com/ChuckGarfien/status/1899511169020534838
As Getz mentioned, Montgomery dealt with back spasms throughout the spring as well, so he wasn’t able to get very many at-bats. In his four games played, he had just one hit – a home run – in nine at-bats while striking out five times. He posted just a .710 OPS with the Knights last season, so the organization is likely looking for him to “force the issue” when it comes to bringing him to the majors. In the meantime, Brooks Baldwin, Jacob Amaya, and Lenyn Sosa look to be the leaders to start Opening Day at shortstop for the White Sox.
As for the other cuts: Owen White only made one appearance in the spring for the White Sox, throwing a scoreless inning and striking out one. Nick Nastrini has had a strong spring after a rough 2024 campaign, posting a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings. He struck out six hitters while walking just two – notable because Nastrini struggled with the free pass throughout his 2024 campaign. Nastrini will be able to make consistent starts in Charlotte to build on this recent progress. Finally, Elko also struggled at the plate this spring, also hitting just one home run as his only hit in 10 at-bats; however, he did walk four times, which was encouraging from the big first baseman from Ole Miss.
As the White Sox continue to get their roster down to 26, we will continue to provide updates.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more throughout Spring Training!
Featured Image: MLB’s Arizona Fall League/X
