When the rosters expand Sunday, the White Sox will be adding two players. Neither of them are named Colson Montgomery.
Triple-A outfielder Zach DeLoach and Double-A pitcher Jairo Iriarte were with the Sox as taxi-squad players Saturday and will be activated Sunday. DeLoach has appeared in nine games for the Sox this season while Iriarte has never thrown a pitch in either Triple-A or the big leagues.
After struggling this season, Montgomery, 22, will have to wait a little longer for his Sox debut.
Through Friday, Montgomery was hitting just .206 at Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox’ No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Montgomery had struck out 139 times in 109 games.
Interim manager Grady Sizemore said he liked what he saw of Montgomery in spring training, though it wasn’t a lot.
“I know it probably hasn’t been the best year for him and there’s been some struggles there, and that’s to be expected for a young player,” Sizemore said. “This was more, DeLoach has done a good job coming up with us and has been swinging the bat good lately. They wanted to reward him and bring him up now.”
Not everything about Montgomery’s season has been a washout. He’s still walked 57 times, hit 14 home runs and mustered a respectable .323 on-base percentage in Charlotte during his first spin through Triple-A.
“Colson is a big part of the future, we’re going to see him a lot,” Sizemore said. “Right now, we’re going to stick with what we have here and use DeLoach instead.”
DeLoach was hitting .285 with a .372 on-base percentage in Charlotte.
Iriarte’s role
Iriarte, 22, started in 22 of 23 appearances at Double-A Birmingham. In 126 innings, Iriarte collected a 3.71 ERA and struck out 122 batters, holding opponents to a .228 average.
Though he’s stretched out, don’t look for Iriarte to be a starter or bulk reliever. Sizemore expects him to work just single innings in his appearances and will try to avoid having the young pitcher deal with warming up and sitting down and repeating the process. There will also be days of rest between outings.
“It’s going to be a very slow transition,” Sizemore said. “Maybe at the end [he will throw more], but I envision it being one inning at a time with some days off in between.”
Still here
Nicky Lopez was reportedly placed in waivers Thursday but was in the locker room before Saturday’s game. He didn’t start against former Sox left-hander Jose Quintana but was available off the bench.
Sizemore didn’t indicate much will change with Lopez’s role the final month of the season. He’ll still lead off, play shortstop and second base and get some breaks against left-handed pitchers but could still face some southpaws.
“The goal moving forward is to get everyone as much time as I can,” Sizemore said. “I envision it being just like it was before. He’s going to play, play a lot.”
Remember when?
Through 2019, teams were allowed to carry 40 players in September. The rule now is 28.
The bigger numbers had their advantages, but Sizemore isn’t exactly pining for the old days.
“I’m still new to this so I’m still adjusting, so just two players is nice for me right now,” he said.