White Sox Add An Interesting Name To The Outfield Competition

At this point in Spring Training, most figured the White Sox were done adding players to the Spring Training roster, unless a major injury occurred. But today, the White Sox have announced that they have added veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman to their Spring Training roster on a minor league deal.

This is a very interesting signing, as the White Sox already seemed to have a very interesting battle brewing for the fourth outfielder spot. They still have a decent amount of guys competing for the fourth outfielder spot, but they might not like what they see so far, as they clearly felt like they needed to add another player to compete.

Regardless, Grossman is a very solid addition to the competition. Grossman, 34, hit .238 with 10 homeruns and 49 RBIs in 2023. He has one of the best eyes in all of baseball, as according to Baseball Savant, he is in the 100th percentile in chase%, and in the 92nd percentile in BB% This is something the White Sox desperately needed, as they have a problem with taking walks.

The best part about Grossman is how he hits lefties. He hits lefties much better than righties, as last year he hit .309 against them, adding a fantastic .416 OBP. This has been pretty consistent for his whole career, as he is a fantastic platoon outfielder.

This is an interesting addition, as the presumed Opening Day right fielder, Dominic Fletcher, is a left-handed hitter. He has not had the best Spring Training to this point, so maybe the front office felt they needed to officially have a platoon for Fletcher, at least to start the season. Grossman could compliment Fletcher well at the plate, while Fletcher gets his legs underneath him at the plate in the major leagues.

The other likely option for the fourth outfielder spot, Kevin Pillar, has had a decent Spring Training thus far at the plate, as he is hitting .250 with five RBIs and one stolen base in 44 at-bats. He, like Grossman, is better against lefties, so it seems that the competition could come down to those two. Grossman has been a more accomplished hitter in his career against lefties, but Pillar is the better fielder. Pillar will likely have the advantage, as he has been in camp much longer and Grossman will only have a week or so to impress.

This is a very solid signing by the White Sox, as at the least, it provides good camp competition for the last stretch of Spring Training as they head into the regular season. Hopefully this is all it is, and it doesn’t signal that Eloy Jimenez’s foot injury is worse than initially reported and they are signing Grossman for depth in that regard. There is no indication that is the case, but you can never be too sure with Eloy and his injury history.

I wonder if Grossman is willing to accept a minor league assignment at the beginning of the season, as he may be promised first crack at the fourth outfielder spot if whoever wins it is not performing well. This would allow Grossman to get up to game speed, while putting pressure on Pillar or whoever wins the 4th outfielder spot. These are just a few ideas, but it is likely that he is in camp to compete for the 4th outfielder/platoon spot and nothing more.

Regardless, this will be an interesting battle to watch as Spring Training wraps up.