Winter League Breakout Could Mean Big Things For White Sox
This is a very interesting offseason for the White Sox, as their main objective should be to acquire talent to help them compete for a division title in the next few years. The Garrett Crochet trade was a step in the right direction, as they acquired some very promising prospects.
One of the main pieces in the Crochet trade is Chase Meidroth, a second basemen who walks more than he strikes out and has elite contact skills. Since he spent the 2024 season in AAA, it is likely that he will compete for a roster spot on Opening Day.
The job won’t be given to Meidroth, as there is plenty of competition for the spot. Currently, the White Sox have more than a few guys that could be the opening day second basemen. They signed Nick Maton and Andre Lipcius to minor league deals, while Brooks Baldwin, Lenyn Sosa, and Jacob Amaya are the incumbents on the roster.
However, Lenyn Sosa may have figured something out, as he is on an absolute heater in the winter league in Venezuela. While the competition isn’t as strong as the major leagues, there are plenty of major league players in the league, as Sosa shares a team with Eugenio Suarez, among others.
So far in 25 games, Sosa has hit .392 with a .451 OBP to go along with an outstanding 1.216 OPS. He has added nine homers and 26 RBIs. These numbers are among the best on the team and better than Eugenio Suarez’s, who is a very good major leaguer.
Since it is a winter league, these stats should be taken with a grain of salt, but they are significantly better than the last time Sosa played in the same league in two years ago. That year he only hit .272 with two homeruns and 15 RBIs. While he is older, it is good to see that there are significant advancements.
Sosa is a very streaky player, as he has moments where he looks like the best hitter on the team, but then will go on a cold streak. Last year, he ended up hitting .254 with eight homeruns and 35 RBIs over 100 games. These are solid numbers but he needs to be more consistent.
Lenyn Sosa in June:
15-45, 5 XBH, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB????????
That line is good for a .921 OPS and he’s only struck out 8 times in that stretch. Still way too small of a sample size but he has definitely found some degree of success at MLB level lately!
— Elijah Evans (@ElijahEv8) June 16, 2024
If Sosa figured something out this winter and it translates into Spring Training, there is a good chance that he wins the job at 2B, SS, or as a utility player. He is only 24, so he is still a young hitter that can continue to improve.
Sosa was acquired under Rick Hahn so Chris Getz may not have as much loyalty to him compared to others he has acquired. However, if he plays well and beats out the competition, they will have no choice but to play him. On the other side, if he is mediocre in the spring, Getz or Will Venable may defer to someone who was recently acquired.
Sosa clearly has a lot of talent and I would love to see him rise to the occasion and beat out the competition. However, he will also need to clean up his fielding, as that was a big issue last year. If he can, his bat would be above average for a second basemen, which could really help the White Sox.