As rosters expand into September, the White Sox have some decisions to make about who they want to carry down the stretch in September as they prepare for the playoffs. According to Robert Murray, as of this morning, the White Sox are expected to make at least one surprising move: calling up Romy Gonzalez, an infielder, to the major league roster.
Gonzalez is a former 18th round draft pick for the White Sox back in 2018. He really wasn’t on too many people’s radar before his breakout 2021 campaign.
Baseball America projected Gonzalez as a utility infielder back in 2018 with the following report:
“Gonzalez led Miami in runs (35), RBIs (30) and stolen bases (22) this spring, spending time in right field, at third base and at DH. Last summer in the Cape Cod League, Gonzalez played all four infield positions for the Orleans Firebirds, and hit .318/.342/.509 with 10 stolen bases. Gonzalez projects as a utility type player, though he probably profiles best at second base. He’s aggressive in the batter’s box and has poor strike zone awareness, with a career strikeout rate with Miami of 24 percent. The strikeout issues were even more apparent in the Cape, where Gonzalez whiffed 36 times and walked five times in 110 at-bats. There is some power in the tank as well–Gonzalez hit 11 home runs during his sophomore season in 2017 and four in the Cape, but managed just four this spring. Gonzalez does a number of things well and is an efficient base runner, but the bat might not be good enough to profile as an everyday player just yet.“
– Baseball America Scouting Report on Romy Gonzalez (2018)
As Robert Murray mentioned in his tweet above, Gonzalez has really tapped into his power potential this season. He was a 20 HR/20 SB player in AA before his call-up to AAA Charlotte. On the season, he hit .267/.355/.502 with a 132 wRC+ in AA Birmingham and .344/.382/.750 with a 192 wRC+ in nine games with AAA Charlotte. He has shown the propensity to strike out a bit (28.2% strikeout rate in AA) but also the ability to take walks as well (11% walk rate in AA). Anyone with a .502 SLG in Birmingham – a notoriously difficult park for hitters – is worth giving a second look at.
It’s not clear what role Gonzalez would have in September, but the end goal in mind is clear: continued rest for stars. Tim Anderson is currently nursing some sore legs, while guys like Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada could certainly use some days off down the stretch to maintain their health. Gonzalez has only played SS and 3B this season but has played 1B, 2B, and OF as recently as 2019 – he truly is your typical “utility” player.
The White Sox have not made this move official yet, but in order to do so, it will require someone to be designated for assignment and removed from the 40-man roster. Look for guys like Mike Wright, Jake Lamb, Jace Fry, Blake Rutherford, or Matt Foster to potentially be the corresponding move – though, given the above names, Wright stands out as the most likely to be designated for assignment.
As the White Sox make this and other moves official, we will continue to update you!
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Featured Photo: Laura Wolff (@laurawolffphoto) / Twitter
