Gold Glove utilityman Joey Gallo has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox which includes an invite to spring training, the team announced Thursday. Gallo appeared in 76 games for the Washington Nationals last season, batting .161/.277/.336 with 10 homers over that span.
The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms with OF/1B Joey Gallo on a minor-league contract which includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) February 14, 2025
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Gallo, a former first-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers, made his name as one of the league’s premier power threats, with two career 40-homer seasons. He debuted in 2015, homering and driving in four runs in his first career game, becoming the first Ranger to achieve four RBI in their MLB debut. In 2019, Gallo hit his 100th career home run and became the fastest player in American League history to reach that mark, doing so in his 377th career game. That same season, he made his first career All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder for the AL squad.
Joey Gallo Finds a New Home: Veteran Slugger Signs with White Sox
Gallo won his first Gold Glove after posting a perfect fielding percentage in right field during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was named to the 2021 All-Star Game and participated in the 2021 Home Run Derby before being traded to the New York Yankees at the deadline. After batting .211/.336 /.497 with 145 homers in seven years in Arlington, his performance declined dramatically in the Bronx. Gallo batted a career-low .159/.282/.339 for the Yankees in 2022 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The veteran utilityman split the last two seasons between the Minnesota Twins and the Nationals.
What Gallo lacks in contact he makes up for with his patience at the plate and his power. The 31-year-old owns a 14.6% career walk rate, nearly double the league average of 8.4%. He has finished in the top ten in the AL for walks twice and ranks 38th among active players with 497. Despite his 38% career strikeout rate, Gallo has averaged 13.8 at-bats between home runs, ranking him second among active players and sixth all-time.
He won two Gold Gloves as an outfielder but has played both first and third base over his decade-long career. Gallo has long been one of the best defensive outfielders in the majors and posted a perfect fielding percentage at first base in back-to-back seasons. While Joey Gallo looks to rediscover his All-Star form, he could prove to be a low-risk, high-reward signing for the White Sox.
Photo Credit: © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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