Ventura: Saladino Has Inside Track At SS, But White Sox Excited To See Anderson's Progress
(CBS) After letting veteran Alexei Ramirez walk in the offseason, the White Sox have uncertainty at the shortstop position.
And it's going to take spring training -- and perhaps beyond -- for the answer to present itself.
It's an open competition at shortstop as the White Sox prepare to start spring training on Feb. 19, Chicago manager Robin Ventura reiterated Wednesday in an interview on MLB Network. Second-year pro Tyler Saladino will have the first crack at securing the job, but the White Sox have an open mind.
On Tuesday, the team announced top prospect Tim Anderson, a shortstop, received a non-roster invitation to spring training.
"As we go in, Saladino's probably the front-runner right now going into spring training, to be able to win that position," Ventura told Chris Russo on MLB Network. "It is open. Tim Anderson's another kid that's up and coming. You don't know how fast he's progressed until you get to spring training. You got to see how he plays and see how he handles it. A lot of people in our organization are real high on Timmy too."
Saladino struggled at the plate for much of his rookie season, hitting .225 with four homers, 20 RBIs and a.602 in 68 games in 2015. That's led to some questions about how well he can handle the bat for a full season on an everyday basis.
Anderson, 22, hit .312 with five homers, 46 RBIs and a .779 OPS in 125 games at Triple-A Charlotte last season.
Adding to the infield intrigue is that Ventura believes he can move Brett Lawrie around. As it sits, Lawrie figures to be the primary second baseman after the White Sox acquired All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier from the Reds, but Ventura lauded his versatility. Lawrie can spell Frazier the demands of playing third base every day, potentially allowing Frazier to spend some days as the designated hitter.
"He has the flexibility to move around the infield, so that also gives us some flexibility to move him around, and I just have always liked the way Brett's played," Ventura said on MLB Network.
