Well, this season could not have gone any worse for Yonder Alonso. Like, historically bad. However, the White Sox need to make a decision soon on what to do with Alonso.
Alonso was picked up in the offseason for multiple reasons. In their quest to sign Manny Machado as a free agent, the Sox traded for Alonso from the Cleveland Indians for a minor league outfielder named Alex Call (actually a pretty decent prospect) as Alonso is Machado's brother-in-law and great friend, which would be a really enticing reason for Machado to sign with the Pale Hose. Alonso also provides a left-handed bat, who has some power and gets on base, plus he gives flexibility defensively as Sox manager Rick Renteria can alternate Jose Abreu and Alonso at first base (though Alonso is the better fielder). It seemed like a win-win for the team and when Machado signed with San Diego, it still looked as if it was a decent acquisition.
However, since 2019 started, things could not have gone more wrong for him. Just to use some basic statistics, Alonso is hitting .180 with a .288 on base percentage and a pedestrian .328 slugging percentage. That's brutal. And while I'm not the biggest fan of sabermetrics, even the advanced statistics suggests he is not even close to being a quality player with a .616 OPS, -0.3 WAR, .200 BABIP, and 66 wRC+. The only bright spot to say about him is that his 25 RBIs ranks fourth on the team and he is leading the team with 27 walks.
*These stats are as of May 31, 2019
So, what to do with him? One theory to why he is struggling so much is that he is a primary designated hitter for the first time in his career. Coming into Friday's game, as per an article written by Chicago Sun Times writer Tom Musick, Alonso was batting .159 with 10 extra base hits (four doubles and six home runs) and 17 RBIs when he was plugged into the lineup as the DH. However, while the numbers aren't exactly stellar either, when he plays at first base, they are significantly better. He was slashing .232 and three extra base hits (one home run and two doubles) and eight RBIs when he got the start at first base.
So with just those basic numbers, it would suggest the best course Renteria goes with his lineup is to start Alonso at first base and Abreu at DH. Abreu has mentioned that he wants to become a much better fielding first baseman and getting those reps at the position will do that. However, with what the team has now at the moment, it might make more sense having Abreu DH, especially with Alonso being a better player in the field. That might be the cure to his slump, but that's in theory. Alonso could also turn things around and suddenly get hot in June making this entire article become moot, which would be great for the team, but just hoping he does that is not exactly a smart idea. He was an All-Star in 2017 and when he gets hot, his bat is very productive, but hoping that it comes around is a major risk.
The team should give him one more month to turn things around, but if he cannot do that, they should think about cutting him from the roster. In his contract that he signed with Cleveland, he is on the books for $8 million and has a player option for 2020 (which he is unlikely to get). It might be worth just eating up the $8 million. Designating him for assignment should be in the cards if he is not productive by the end of June. While he could come useful to a contender who is looking for a left handed power bat off the bench, the likelihood of him being traded for is small. So, with not being able to trade him, the team should place him on waivers to see if anyone will take him for virtually nothing, but if no one does then the Sox would have to give him his outright release.
The problem with releasing him is what is down in the farm system to replace him. Two players that have been mentioned by fans are Matt Skole and Daniel Palka. Palka is a good AAA player at best and when he was with the team early in the season, he had one hit in 35 at bats. While he has serious power, he's unlikely to be a candidate to be brought up. It doesn't get much better than that with Skole, who is 29 and has 11 at bats in the majors (all last season with the Sox), who is just like Palka, a AAA player at best. With the team suddenly in playoff contention, those two don't make much sense. Of the two, Palka would be the likely candidate to be promoted, but the problem would be that you would hope he can actually connect and when he does, that it actually goes out of the park, but he was overmatched by pitchers when he was with the team earlier in the year so that is way too big of a risk to take.
One other option is to purchase the contract of D.J. Peterson, however, just like Palka and Skole, that is too big of a risk to take. While he was a first round draft choice by the Seattle Mariners in 2013 suggesting that there might be some upside with him, he is 27 and has never made it to the majors. There's a reason why he has never made it to the big show and that would be even more riskier than even calling up Palka and Skole to the majors.
Another option is signing a free agent like Logan Morrison or Danny Valencia and hope that they show some productivity. However, that's asking for a lot. A free agent that hasn't played at all during the season is not a smart idea because they aren't in baseball shape and having them get into that in as quickly of a fashion as they can is unfair to them.
Another option is promoting Nicky Delmonico. Delmonico has upside with his bat and has shown flashes of what he could do in a 43 game audition in 2017 (played 88 games, but dealt with injuries in 2018). However, there is one problem, Delmonico is a defensive downgrade and in his 21 game stint with the team earlier, he struggled. While he hasn't really gotten a chance this year, was the last two seasons indicative of what he can produce? If that's the case, then the productivity from him is not much better. What the team could do is give Delmonico the everyday DH duties and Abreu first base like he wants, but that is risking a lot defensively. Delmonico can play first base and give Abreu a day off from the field, but the defense at first would be less than stellar than what Abreu already provides.
Finally, the team could promote prospect Zack Collins. Collins has a big bat and would be a significant upgrade offensively, however, the problem is the team is trying to develop him into a catcher and have been pleased with his progress defensively. Bringing him up would mean he would either catch or DH and not being able to give Abreu a break from the field. And if that is the case, the team might need to trade for another first baseman.
So, would really cutting ties with Alonso be a smart idea at this point? It's a little early to make that decision, but if he is not producing once June ends, the Sox would have to cut him from the team. The best option the Sox have if they do decide to cut him is by promoting Delmonico. However, that's still a risk as outlined. The team is hamstrung at the moment as hoping Alonso breaks out of his slump is just the risk they are going to have to take at this moment. Not an ideal situation. If the team is still contending come July, an upgrade will have to be made some how. If not, then some of these moves will be easier to make. As of right now though, Alonso has just made things a little complicated.
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