The post White Sox sign 1B/OF Joey Gallo to minor-league deal appeared first on Sox On 35th.
The White Sox aren’t done adding.
The team announced on Thursday evening that veteran slugger Joey Gallo has agreed to terms on a minor league deal. The contract also comes with a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
Gallo, 31, has always been a polarizing baseball player, no matter the fan base. Some will point to his career .194 batting average and be prepared to look in another direction. Others will point to his career .775 OPS and 14.6% walk rate and see a player who can cause damage and find ways on base, even if it’s not via a hit. Gallo is a three-true-outcome hitter, with 38% of his plate appearances ending in a strikeout, 14.6% ending in a walk, and 208 career home runs across 939 games. His best seasons came in Texas in 2017 and 2018 when he hit 41 and 40 homers, respectively.
He does one thing incredibly well that the White Sox lack – pull fly balls for home runs. Rate Field can be a lefty’s paradise if they lift the ball to right field. Gallo, however, is coming off a stretch of pretty brutal campaigns. Most recently in Washington, Gallo slashed .161/.277/.336 across 76 games.
One other thing Gallo has historically done well is play strong OF defense. Surprisingly, even though he stands at 6’5″ and 249 pounds, Gallo historically ranked well-above average in Outs Above Average in right field, posting as many as +6 OAA in 2021 with the Rangers. He also posted +3 OAA at first base with the Nationals last season.
It’s not yet apparent whether or not Gallo will even make the roster. Though, outside of Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn, the White Sox really don’t have a player on the roster who can leave the ballpark with regularity. Andrew Benintendi would be the next closest, but his career high in home runs is still just 20.
Should he make the team, Gallo would bring power potential to a lineup that could use it. Time will ultimately tell if he will hit enough to leave the ballpark. In addition, he would bring an answer to the question of Andrew Vaughn’s backup at 1B while also being able to provide strong OF defense as needed.
It’s not necessarily a flashy move, but it certainly is one with some upside for Chris Getz, Will Venable, and Director of Hitting Chris Fuller.
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Featured Photo: © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The post White Sox sign 1B/OF Joey Gallo to minor-league deal appeared first on Sox On 35th.