Who will make the White Sox Opening Day roster? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Major League Baseball is a week away from Opening Day and teams will have to narrow down their ballclubs to the conventional 26-man roster.
The White Sox bench brings unique skillsets Pedro Grifol will have to favor depending on how he wants to run the South Side. He mentioned his affinity for players who have an "elite" aspect about them. Whether that's baserunning, hustle, leadership, fielding, left-handed batting, etc.
We've already broken down who the White Sox will likely roll out on the field on Opening Day. Let's take a look at who will get to suit up in the dugout.
RELATED: Predicting the Cubs’ Opening Day roster
Catchers
Chicago Baseball
Yasmani Grandal, Seby Zavala
The big storyline here is Seby Zavala. While Grandal spent time on the sidelines last season, Zavala stepped in nicely. He hit the ball in play on a .270 average and got on base .382 percent of the time. He also served as a reputable defender behind the plate.
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This spring, he's slashing .308/.407/.731 from the plate. Zavala earned his spot.
Infielders
Andrew Vaughn, Elvis Andrus, Tim Anderson, Yoán Moncada, Hanser Alberto, Gavin Sheets
All implications from Grifol's speech about what he wants to see from the bench point to LLeury Garcia being on the hot seat. His calling card is versatility; Grifol wants elite traits. He's also having a terrible spring training, slashing .200/.259/.185 from the plate on 25 plate attempts.
Garcia is owed $5.5 million this season after signing a three-year $16 million deal before last season. Alberto, on the other hand, is on a minor-league deal and has had a monster spring training. He's slashing .452/.469/.839 from the plate and is a versatile infielder on defense. His ability to hit off left-handed pitching is important diversity to the roster, too.
Gavin Sheets' left-handed hitting power can't be left off the roster. He slugged .411 last season and .506 the year before that. I placed him as an infielder (typically first base) but he can play the outfield too.
Outfielders
Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert, Oscar Colas, Billy Hamilton, Eloy Jiménez
The White Sox have seen enough from Oscar Colas, who Grifol said earlier in the offseason will have "every opportunity" to become the team's everyday right fielder. And that, he should.
He's slashing .260/.275/.460 at the plate from 49 at-bats. He has four home runs and nine RBIs to add to his spring résumé. Had he struggled, he still probably would have made the roster regardless. Sox fans should see him on the field often.
The White Sox brought back Billy Hamilton on a minor-league deal this season. Back to Grifol's point, Hamilton adds elite speed on the bases. Grifol said the White Sox will be an "opportunistic" baserunning team, stealing bases where suitable. They will not waste outs, as all 27 mean a lot, as he conveyed to the media. Expect Hamilton to start the season in the dugout for his veteran experience, leadership, baserunning and defense.
Don't sleep on Adam Haseley coming up from the minors after a spectacular spring, however.
Starting Pitchers
Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Mike Clevinger, Michael Kopech
Easy peasy. The White Sox bring one of the best casts in the AL. Everyone is playing with a chip on their shoulders as they prepare for a highly-anticipated season. The White Sox solidified this group Thursday, when they sent Davis Martin down to Triple-A. He'll be the sixth man off the bench should one of the starters go down.
Relief Pitchers
Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez, Joe Kelly, Jimmy Lambert, José Ruiz, Jake Diekman, Aaron Bummer, Nick Avila
*Liam Hendriks, Garrett Crochet
This list is tougher to make. Liam Hendriks is indefinitely out. Garrett Crochet is aiming for a return in May. I have them starting on the injured list for this exercise.
The White Sox are targeting for Aaron Bummer to be available on Opening Day, but a lat injury is hindering the team from confirming him. For the sake of this facet, we'll keep Bummer on the roster, not the injured list.
The front office selected Nick Avila in the Rule 5 draft. And while he didn't have an ideal spring training, sporting a 7.2 ERA over 10 innings, the White Sox will probably retain him, in my opinion. He stayed below a 1.33 ERA in High-A and Double-A last season. If he doesn't make the team, he can be offered by his previous ball club.
