White Sox To Select Danny Mendick’s Contract

The White Sox will select the contract of infielder Danny Mendick prior to tomorrow’s game with the Twins, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (X link).  Infielder Lenyn Sosa will be optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man roster, and another transaction will need to be made to make space for Mendick on the 40-man.

Mendick is a familiar face on the South Side, as he made his big league debut with the White Sox in 2019 and hit .251/.309/.366 over 446 plate appearances from 2019-22.  He played mostly second base and shortstop in a utility capacity, while also seeing sporadic action as a third baseman and in both corner outfield spots.  A torn ACL in June 2022 ended not just Mendick’s 2022 season but also his tenure in Chicago, as the Sox non-tendered him that winter.

The Mets inked Mendick to a one-year, $1MM big league deal and he hit .185/.232/.277 in 69 PA and 33 games of part-time action in 2023.  Mendick then reunited with the White Sox on a minor league contract, and he has booked a ticket back to the Show thanks to one of the biggest hot streaks of his professional career.  The 30-year-old has homered in each of his last five games with Triple-A Charlotte, and is hitting an absurd .317/.388/.817 over 67 PA this season.

While nobody expects Mendick to keep up this kind of production against big league pitching, the White Sox can’t be faulted for going with the hot hand given the dire state of their lineup.  Sosa is one of several Chicago players producing next to nothing at the plate, and Mendick might well cut into the playing time of starting second baseman Nicky Lopez (who is batting only .176/.288/.176 in 61 PA).  Shortstop Paul DeJong is also day-to-day after being hit on the elbow by a pitch in Saturday’s game, so Lopez could slide over to shortstop with DeJong out and open up the keystone for Mendick entirely.