Old Faces Showing Up Big In Spring Training

The White Sox are going to have a bunch of new faces this year. There are likely four new names in the lineup and a bunch in the rotation and the bullpen. There are still a decent amount of players left from last year, but a lot of them might be playing their last year for the White Sox.

Two of the biggest names that could either be moved at some point in the season or at the end of the year are Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez. This is a shame, as both of the players were top-15 prospects who were supposed to be the ones to lead the White Sox to be a perennial World Series candidate. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case and their days on the White Sox could be numbered.

But, it seems that they might not be going without a fight, as both are having tremendous springs this far.

At this point, Eloy is hitting .625 with 4 RBIs and he has added two more hits and two more RBIs today. This is a fantastic start for him, as they need a big year out of him if the White Sox are going to be competitive.

Moncada meanwhile is hitting .429 with a 1.000 OPS. Today he added another double, driving in his first run of the season. This is a big year for Moncada, as according to Spotrac, he has a 25 million dollar club option the White Sox are not likely to pick up at this point in the season.

Eloy was rumored to have no trade suitors over the off season, so he would have to have a great start to the season for someone to want to give up something of note for him. According to Spotrac has a 16 million dollar club option for 2025 and a 18 million dollar club option for 2026, so if he plays like we know he can, that is a reasonable deal for a player of that caliber.

However, Eloy as of late has not played like a 16 million dollar player and the option could be denied. However, talent has not been the issue for him, as he simply cannot stay healthy, as he is either always hurt, or recovering from an injury.

The same can be said for Moncada, as when he is healthy he has shown why he was rated as the best prospect in all of baseball. Maybe I am a fool, but I genuinely believe if he is healthy, we could see the same player we did in 2019, as he looks great thus far in Spring.

Both players look like they are healthy and it is showing in their play. If they play to their potential this year, they will be very valuable to the White Sox, as not only will they help them win games, teams could be interested in trading for them. That would be the smart move if the White Sox are looking to move on from them next year anyways.