It’s a shame that the most memorable moment of Willy Garcia’s season (aside from being part of the All-Garcia outfield) was his terrifying collision with Yoan Moncada during a July 31 game against the Blue Jays, because while the 25-year-old outfielder played in only four more games after suffering a broken jaw on the play, his abbreviated debut season featured enough enticing skills to dream on.

There’s a reason, of course, that Garcia was available to the White Sox in the first place. Seven years after the Pirates signed him as a 17 year old out of the Dominican Republic, Garcia had stalled out at Triple-A in an organization that wasn’t exactly lacking in outfielder depth. The book appeared to be out on him, as noted in the 2017 BP Annual:

Garcia is a 24-year-old who’s yet to reach the majors, yet in many ways the book is already out on him: great arm, good raw pop and no semblance of plate discipline. Not every prospect needs to project as a future superstar to be worth our time, and there’s a potential role player in here somewhere. Still, Garcia needs to sock more dingers or strike out less (or both) if he wants to hold our attention.

A year after putting up a miserable .245/.293/.366 line at Triple-A Indianapolis, Garcia competed for a roster spot with the White Sox out of Spring Training, tore up Triple-A Charlotte for a month, and found himself with the major league team for about a quarter of the season in total.

What we saw during that small sample size was an incomplete player with signs of competence. As mentioned above, Garcia’s track to regular major league playing time is tapping into his power and improving his plate discipline. His strikeout rate was about normal for him at 26 percent, but he walked in 9 percent of his plate appearances, up 3 percent from his prior season. The power numbers weren’t overly impressive, but 10 of Garcia’s 25 hits at the major league level went for extra bases.

The small sample gives up little to draw conclusions from, but incremental improvement from a player who didn’t turn 25 until September gives hope that Garcia can turn into the type of player worth rostering when the White Sox are closer to contending. If nothing else, he’s become a player worth tracking.

As far as major league debuts go, things couldn’t have been much worse for Brad Goldberg. The former 10th round pick was once expected to be a low ceiling but quickly ascending bullpen arm, but didn’t reach Triple-A until he was 26 and at the age of 27, tossed 12 major league innings, walking 14 and striking out just two.

Goldberg has excellent velocity with a fastball that easily touches 97, but it simply doesn’t miss bats. He’ll be 28 at the start of the 2018 season, and the chances of him being a viable major league reliever are all but gone.

TL;DR version of Goldberg’s 2017 season:

Alen Hanson was teammates with Garcia at a few different minor league stops during their time together in the Pirates organization, but was always more highly regarded for a number of reasons. After fizzling out as a top prospect, he became yet another post-hype former prospect the White Sox took a flier on after he was designated for assignment by the Pirates.

Hanson has essentially been the same player for a number of years now, a light hitting utility player capable of handling a number of positions and filling in as an injury replacement. That versatility is valuable, but Hanson has become, more or less, the “R” in WARP.

The problem for Hanson’s ability to stick around, particularly with the White Sox, is that there are a few guys like him who’ve shown more signs of competence. Still, there’s a non-zero chance of him figuring it out as he’s still just 24 with 267 major league plate appearances under his belt. And if nothing else, he’s the type of player worth keeping around as minor league depth.

Lead Photo Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Jace Fry on Tuesday became the eighth member of the 2017 White Sox to make his major league debut. That number doesn’t even include the more heralded young players on the roster, as Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez all saw time in the majors late in 2017. But nonetheless, I thought I’d take a look at those eight newcomers to the league, ranked in order of who I believe has the best chance of having a prolonged big league career.

1. Nicky Delmonico

Major league debut: Aug. 1
First plate appearance: Swinging strikeout against Toronto’s Marcus Stroman
First hit: Same day, single to center field against Toronto’s Ryan Tepera

Delmonico has simultaneously been the most surprising and most successful player to make his major league debut for the White Sox in 2017, hitting .307/.429/.573 with more walks than strikeouts in 91 plate appearances before going on the DL with a wrist injury (he’s expected back soon). Delmonico has been written about on a number of occasions in this space already this season, but it’s worth remembering he wasn’t among the White Sox Top 30 prospects even before the influx of talent, nor was he among the hundreds of players who received comment in last season’s BP Annual. However, he’s proven he can handle the bat at the major league level thus far, albeit in a very small sample size. While he’s limited defensively, whether it’s at an outfield or infield corner, he’s at least earned himself a further look going forward.

2. Aaron Bummer

Major league debut: July 27
First hitter faced: Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo, who struck out swinging
First strikeout: Rizzo

Bummer is one of the more fascinating players to debut this season. As a 19th round pick just three years ago, the odds of him making the majors, let alone this quickly, were incredibly slim. But he’s shown throughout his minor league career the ability to get left-handed hitters and as a potential LOOGY with three pitches and mid-90s heat, is obviously someone the White Sox see as a part of their future bullpen. He’s struggled through 18 appearances and 13 2/3 innings, with 10 strikeouts, nine walks, and a 6.59 ERA, but that’s to be expected given his inexperience. Like everyone else on this list, Bummer’s debut might not have happened if it weren’t for the state of the White Sox roster. Unlike most, however, his chances of sticking around are a little better than slim.

3. Willy Garcia

Major league debut: April 14
First plate appearance and hit: Same day, double to left-center against Minnesota’s Adalberto Mejia

The White Sox claimed Garcia off waivers from Pittsburgh in the offseason, and narrowly missed out on making the team out of spring training before making his debut just two weeks later when Melky Cabrera went on the paternity list. Garcia performed adequately in just 105 plate appearances, hitting .258/.317/.441 while playing passable if unspectacular defense in the corners. He’d undoubtedly still be getting run if it weren’t for the concussion he suffered in a nasty collision with Moncada, and the odds of him finding a role with a contending tim remain slim (sensing a theme here?) but for a player trying to prove himself for a non-contender, you could do a lot worse than Garcia has shown in 2017.

4. Adam Engel

Major league debut: May 27
First plate appearance: Swinging strikeout against Detroit’s Buck Farmer
First hit: Same day, a single to left field against Detroit’s Shane Greene

Engel actually scored his first career run before ever stepping foot in the batter’s box, appearing as a pinch runner and crossing home plate on a Leury Garcia triple in the first game of that day’s doubleheader. His first start, first plate appearance, and first hit came a few hours later in game two. Engel has gotten a lot of playing time for the rebuilding White Sox, something that might not have been the case on a team trying to compete. This is mostly because of his inability to handle the bat, and he’s proving that point through 246 plate appearances with a .170/.249/.284 line. Engel’s speed and defense plays, and he could very well find a spot on a major league roster beyond 2017 if his bat improves any. But right now, that seems like a long shot.

5. Dylan Covey

Major league debut: April 14
First hitter faced: Minnesota’s Brian Dozier, who singled to right field
First strikeout: Same day, Byron Buxton swinging

Cover was virtually guaranteed to be given every opportunity to stick around given his status as a Rule V pick in the offseason as well as the White Sox lack of pitching depth. A two month stint on the disabled list made it easy for them to avoid sending him back to Oakland despite his struggles. In 46 innings, Covey has a 8.41 ERA with 20 walks, 27 strikeouts, and an even-more-absurd-than-those-numbers 17 home runs allowed. Once the season ends, the White Sox will be able to send Covey to the minors with no repercussions, and he’ll likely continue his development and represent additional pitching depth going forward as a member of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights.

6. Jacob May

Major league debut: April 4
First plate appearance: Strikeout looking against Detroit’s Justin Verlander
First hit: April 22, single to right field against Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco

Remember when I said you could do a lot worse than Garcia if you’re a player trying to prove himself for a non-contender? You should. It was like five lines ago. Anyway, that’s May. The surprising Opening Day addition to the roster started his professional career 0-for-26 in 30 plate appearances before finally getting a hit as a pinch-hitter nearly three weeks later. He was back in Triple-A Charlotte just two weeks later and spent the rest of 2017 there. We spent a lot of ink wondering what the White Sox had in May in the days leading up to the start of the season, and he’s not unlike Engel in that both are outfielders with good speed and the potential to play solid defense. But May’s April (or is it April’s May?) was downright disastrous. If he never sees a major league field for the rest of his career, he’ll still have those two professional hits to remember for the rest of his life. For his sake, I’m hoping he gets another shot somewhere down the road.

7. Jace Fry

Major league debut: Sept. 5
First hitter faced: Cleveland’s Carlos Santana, who singled to left-center field
First strikeout: N/A

Fry, of course, is the most recent of the newcomers, facing three batters in Tuesday’s loss to the Indians. He allowed the single to Santana, got Giovanny Urshela to line out, and walked Lonnie Chisenhall before giving way to Chris Beck, who promptly allowed a three run homer to Yan Gomes. Fry spent the entirety of 2017 before Tuesday with Double-A Birmingham, and has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in the last five years. That fact alone gives him long odds of having any type of lengthy major league career, so his story is the kind that I’m talking about when I say I find joy in any major league debut.

8. Brad Goldberg

Major league debut: June 3
First hitter faced: Detroit’s Justin Upton, who hit a home run
First strikeout: June 22 against Kansas City’s Alex Gordon

The White Sox have seen a lot of bad pitching performances in 2017 but Goldberg’s 11 appearances put together were about as disastrous as they come. In 12 innings of work, Goldberg walked 14 hitters and struck out just three, and allowed 11 earned runs. He exited a game unscored upon in just four of those 11 appearances. 2017 wasn’t all bad for Goldberg, however, as he helped a really fun Team Israel qualify for the World Baseball Classic and tossed two scoreless innings during their run in pool play. There isn’t much positive to say about Goldberg’s major league career thus far, and it’s tough to say whether he’ll get another shot (the White Sox are sure to be bad again in 2018, and he is a reliever, so you never know), but he’ll always have that.

Lead Photo Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

1. The White Sox won 7-6 in walk-off fashion, fully erasing a 6-0 deficit when Matt Davidson — fresh off a walk-off home run on Sunday — lined a two out single off Roberto Osuna in the ninth inning. But the focus both during and after the game was on the status of Yoan Moncada and Willy Garcia after the pair collided while attempting to catch a pop-up in the top of the sixth inning.

Here is the play Yoan Moncada injured himself on pic.twitter.com/gIhg9yGX1t

— Jesse Foster (@Jesse__Foster) August 1, 2017

As bad as it looked, the White Sox announced during the game that Moncada was day-to-day with a knee contusion, while Garcia was diagnosed with a head contusion and will be re-evaluated Tuesday. Both players, as well as the White Sox, hopefully caught a break that it’s nothing serious, but one would expect the team to be extremely cautious with both Garcia because of the nature of his injury and Moncada given his status with the organization.

2. Up until the injury and the thrilling comeback, Monday’s game seemed like another in a long line of uneventful White Sox losses. James Shields continues to get hammered — he allowed six earned runs, including three home runs — but did at least manage to last six innings to aid a constantly overworked and overmatched bullpen. Shields’ struggles have been apparent since his return from the disabled list, as his HR/9 was already at an absurd 2.13 before Monday’s outing (it was 1.98 in 2016, for context) and his ERA has ballooned to 6.19.

As we wait with bated breathe for the promotion of Reynaldo Lopez (currently scheduled to start Tuesday for Triple-A Charlotte), a not-all-that-important conversation that’s come up is which rotation spot Lopez would take if any when he’s promoted to Chicago. Even when considering the struggles of Derek Holland and Miguel Gonzalez, as well as the overall meh-ness of Mike Pelfrey, AND the fact that Shields makes way more money than any of them, one would have to imagine Shields would be the No. 1 choice to vacate his spot.

The caveat, of course, is that the Sox could still unload Holland or Gonzalez, for whatever they’re worth, in an August waiver deal. And with rosters expanding in a month, the strict limitations of a five-man rotation become much less important as September nears. But the fact remains the while there was a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the season that Shields could rebound from his no good, very bad 2016 season, 2017 is turning out even worse. Oh, and the White Sox still owe him $13 million after this season.

3. As mentioned, Monday’s win was the White Sox second straight in walk-off fashion. This is notable not for anything related to their place in the standings, nor is the fact that they’re now 3-16 since the All-Star Break relevant toward the long-term success of the team.

But what seems apparent is that despite the struggles, as well as the fact that more than a quarter of the 25-man roster has been traded away in the last month, there’s a sense that the team still, to put it simply, gives a crap.

Just check out what Jose Abreu told reporters after the game, courtest of editor emeritus James Fegan:

“We had a meeting a few weeks ago in KC and we talked about how we can do things better on the field. I think that he’s been taking advantage of that situation, using the whole field and that’s something that lets you know that the kids are trying to do better and trying to take any piece of advice that you could give them. That’s good. That makes you feel proud, because you see that they are trying harder. They’re trying to find ways for them to have success and that’s good. I’m just happy, not just because of the win today but because of how they’re playing, how we’re fighting.”

This is simplistic and speculative, and it’s unfair to draw conclusions like that coming off two of the more exciting wins of the season, but this year’s bad White Sox team is different than previous bad White Sox iterations in so much as that, maybe, instead of being filled with veterans just going through the motions during a lost season, you’re instead seeing players fighting to prove they belong on a major league roster, or they’re young and trying to further their development, or — in the case of the few veterans who remain — trying to ensure their professional careers will continue beyond this season.

It’s hard to quantify how much stuff like this matters in the long run, but it’s sure as hell good to see.

4. Before leaving Monday’s game with the aforementioned injury, Moncada was 0-for-2 and is now 4-for-46 in his White Sox career.

As great as it would be if Moncada’s long-awaited arrival had been followed by a scorching hot start, we’re a long way from being a long way from worrying about him in any way. James has a great piece up at The Athletic Chicago on why that is, including quotes from Rick Renteria and Todd Steverson, but it’s worth re-stating that while the strikeouts we always knew would be there are, in fact, ever-present, his patience has been on display (six walks), and small sample size alert he’s hitting the ball hard when he makes contact but running into poor luck (.143 BABIP).

5. While Lopez is still expected to start for Charlotte on Tuesday, fellow prized pitching prospects Dane Dunning and Michael Kopech took the hill Monday. A quick perusal of the box score finds good things — Dunning allowed one run and struck out 11 in seven innings for Winston-Salem, while Kopech allowed two runs, struck out eight, and walked zero in seven innings. What’s worth watching for both guys as the minor league season winds down is how they continue to hold up. Every inning thrown by either guy creates a new career high and both are at more than 100 innings on the season now.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

“But it’s just the Royals” you say tauntingly, as you’ve astutely observed that each of Quintana’s last two outings have come against the Royals, who have scored just 69 runs in their 25 games this season (2.76 runs per game). This is true and the Royals are bad, but what ailed Quintana during his first few starts of the season was a lack of fastball command, and in each of the last two starts, as well as the start before that against Cleveland, he once again demonstrated his ability to place his fastball all over the zone, keeping hitters guessing with heat that sat firmly in the 92-93 mph range.

Quintana’s ability to adapt and find success in different circumstances is impressive. In last last start against the Royals, he struck out 10, generating 16 swings and misses, using his curveball as an out pitch. On Tuesday, that number shrunk to eight as he pitched to contact, but the Royals were never able to barrel anything up.

2. The White Sox went with the all-Garcia outfield once again on Monday after, as expected, they called up Willy Garcia to replace the demoted Jacob May. Garcia (the one who was just promoted) was tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A through the first month of the season, sporting a .923 OPS with four home runs in 81 plate appearances. For someone who has been in an MLB organization since 2010 (when he was 17), this is a well-earned opportunity, although one he might not be getting if he were with a franchise with bigger aspirations in 2017. Whether he can truly handle center field in a pinch is yet to be determined, but given Rick Renteria’s propensity to shuffle around the lineup on a pretty regular basis, even if he can’t he should be afforded plenty of opportunities at the plate in both Avisail Garcia’s and Melky Cabrera’s stead on days off or when they’re playing DH.

3. James Shields isn’t progressing in the way he nor the White Sox had hoped and is being slowed down, Renteria said before Tuesday’s game.

“His lat that might be a little bit of a — it’s not a green so we’re going to kind of slow him down,” Renteria said. “He’s been throwing every other day, and we’re going to kind of shut that down a little bit and let that calm down and then we’ll proceed after that.”

Shields has been out with a lat strain since April 21 and there doesn’t seem to be a timetable for his return. Given how his 2016 struggles, the fact that he showed signs of life early on this year, and the fact that we’re stuck watching Mike Pelfrey (making his third start on Wednesday), the setback is unfortunate.

4. Anthony Swarzak hadn’t pitched since Saturday so was given the ninth inning on Tuesday with Quintana at 102 pitches and the game out of reach. He struck out one and didn’t allow a baserunner, and is now un-scored upon in 10 outings this season, striking out 15 and walking just one in 13.1 innings.

The White Sox bullpen entered the season as one of the team’s few strengths, and that was before Swarzak and Tommy Kahnle turned out to be flame-throwing dragons. I never expected to be one thinking things like “why is Swarzak being wasted when the game is out of reach?” at any point in my life let along one month after he made the 25-man roster. But … well, here we are.

5. We are about six weeks away from the MLB Draft and the folks at MLB Pipeline came out with their first mock draft of the season. Analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo had the White Sox selecting prep lefty D.L. Hall and Florida right-hander Alex Faedo, respectively, with the No. 11 pick in the first round. Mock drafts are fun to follow and provide at least some insight into where players are expected to go, but it’s likely we’ll hear quite a few more names linked to the White Sox as the draft draws nears. The Ringer’s Michael Baumann discusses some of the college players worth watching in Monday’s episode of The Catbird Speaks.

Lead Photo Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

May’s demotion became necessary as his playing time became more scarce. He had gone from April 23 to Monday without a start, and if he’s not going to get regular playing time in Chicago, and hardly providing much value off the bench, the only logic thing to do is send him back to Charlotte where he can re-gear in hopes of one day earning another opportunity.

For May to find success, he was always going to need prove he could be an above average defensive center fielder. His defense didn’t quite live up to the potential he showed in spring training, but his downfall was just flat out being overmatched at the plate, something Rick Renteria noted:

“He might have been a little overmatched,” said manager Rick Renteria, who gave increased playing time to Leury Garcia in center in the last week. “That’s just the bottom line. You want to make excuses for it. Might have been a little overmatched right now.

“He had a great spring, showed a lot of hard work, tenacity, even here going and working trying to get himself back on track, trying to keep his confidence up.”

The odds were always May becoming a major leaguer, and if nothing else, he’ll always have this month and his two hits. But here’s hoping he gets another shot at some point down the road.

2. What May’s demotion means for the present roster is that the White Sox are lacking a player other than Leury Garcia capable of playing center field. One would assume the impending roster move to replace May will address this, and the most logical choice is Willy Garcia, someone whose natural position isn’t center field, but he has logged 500 innings there during his minor league career, 54 of which have come this season in Charlotte.

The White Sox entered 2017 with a roster of … well, a rebuilding team. And center field was among their most fragile positions. With Charlie Tilson remaining out indefinitely and the May experiment failing, Leury, as well as Willy or whoever else gets called up, now has an opportunity to prove he can stick on a major league roster.

3. On the subject of thin depth, Dylan Covey made his fourth start of the season in Monday’s loss, allowing six earned runs in a career high 6.2 innings. Covey’s stuff isn’t going to generate a lot of swings and misses, but he found success pitching to contact during the first few innings, but left a hanger to Jorge Bonifacio and a changeup down the middle to Eric Hosmer that went out for a two-run homer that pretty much ended his night.

Covey has little margin for error, but for someone with his repertoire who was pitching in Double-A at this time last year, progress is progress.

4. Jose Abreu is good again. Before Monday’s 0-for-4, he registered six straight multi-hit games, including his first two home runs of the season in Saturday’s win over the Tigers. It being May 2 means players can nearly double their OPS in just two weeks time, and that’s exactly what Abreu did, going from a low of .380 on April 18 to .749 as of Tuesday.

This is only Abreu’s fourth season in the majors, but his season-to-season consistency have allowed us to sometimes take his productivity for granted. Considering he’s not on the wrong side of 30, it’s nice to see him get on one of his patented hot streaks. And whether the streak raises his trade stock enough to be dealt in July, or just simply have another above-average offensive season, it will be something worth enjoying.

5. Zack Collins was mentioned in the Monday Morning Ten Pack at Baseball Prospectus, and he’s walked 19 times in 86 plate appearances at Winston-Salem going into Monday. Collins’ advanced approach at the plate is something scouts have never disagreed about, but he’s still striking out a lot, which is why, along with his needing more work behind the plate, he remains in High-A.

The White Sox have made it clear time and time again that they believe in Collins as a catcher, but he’s a work in progress both offensively and defensively. Given the White Sox history at developing position players, as well as the scarcity of valuable catchers across the league, the importance of Collins’ development cannot be understated. Turning a good chunk of his plate appearances that don’t end in walks into other offensive production will be an important next step.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

A funny thing happened to the White Sox presumptive starting right fielder Jason Coats on Friday: he was designated for assignment. Coats will turn 27 at the start of Spring Training, his game has never been projected to translate well to the majors, and he does not figure to be anywhere near the next White Sox contender. But with the Sox roster beginning to be excavated, and with more open spaces on the way, there was a real sense that Coats had worked his way to the top of the heap of outfield candidates and earned a shot. He torched Triple-A to the tune of .330/.394/.519 in 2016, and despite debuting last year, barely got any chance to prove himself in 58 plate appearances.

Coats might not be worth an extended look, but such a dearth of opportunity pales in comparison to say, over 1500 plate appearances for Avisail Garcia. If that wasn’t telling enough, he was excised to make room for a waiver claim of Willy Garcia, a fallen 24-year-old Pirates prospect who is Coats’ opposite. He’s got the type of big tools found in waiver clam projects–big raw power, huge throwing arm–with no production to show for it (.245/.290/.388 in 790 Triple-A plate appearances) and little scouting optimism that he can cut down on the swing-and-miss in his game.

Dayan Viciedo already taught us that there are few things as tiresome as a corner outfielder with huge power who can’t barrel anything, and a huge throwing arm but poor foot speed. Coats is a solid bet to outperform Garcia in 2017 big league action, but a perfect world projection of Garcia is superior to Coats, and Coats’ likely advantage is meaningless if 2017 wins and losses don’t matter and he still doesn’t project to be a trade asset either way.

This is a very bloodless line of logic, but so is trading Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and probably Jose Quintana, to try for a massive, and inexpensive, reboot with a top-flight farm system. The Sox have already been courting electric but volatile talents in their major trades–Moncada threatens a 30 percent strikeout rate, Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez have plenty of evaluators who believe they’re relievers–under the logic that risky prospects because less risky when you have dozens of them to try out, so why not apply the same logic to their major league fliers?

By that same logic, clearing out Coats should really be about a spot for the out-of-options Rymer Liriano, himself a formless collection of tools due to two years of development lost to injuries, but possessing far more of an actual plate approach and some actual success in Triple-A (.292/.383/.460 in 549 plate appearances in 2015).

A shade or two too bloodless for my liking is the reclamation projection signing of Everth Cabrera. The 30-year-old former All-Star spent 2016 playing in his native Nicaragua, but also spent some of it in Cuba going through three months of alcohol rehab per the publication El Nuevo Diario. He broke onto the scene in 2012 when he led the National League with 44 stolen bases (while being caught just four times), despite complicating his call-up by being arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence along with his wife. His offensive peak came when he hit .283/.355/.381 in 2013, which was hampered by him serving a 50-game suspension after he admitted taking PEDs after being implicated in the Biogenesis scandal.

If a theme was not already apparent, Cabrera’s exit from San Diego was precipitated by a 2014 arrest for driving under the influence of marijuana, and his rehab stint in Cuba was preceded by an arrest in Nicaragua for getting into a fight at a market. Before that took place, in March, a somewhat paunchy Cabrera gave an embittered interview to El Nuevo Diario where he called out MLB for trying to make an example out of him during the Biogenesis scandal despite his admission of guilt, the Players’ Union for abandoning him, the police for their aggression during his arrest, and even his wife for not being understanding enough of the difficulties of his career.

It’s not hard to find legitimacy in some of his complaints, but as a whole it comes off as a lot of defiance from someone without much of a leg to stand on. The most recent video interview with El Nuevo Diario found Cabrera newly svelte and recommitted, and the Sox are definitely signing that guy, rather than the spiraling and out of shape Cabrera from last March.

Cabrera hit just .227/.267/.285 and stole only 20 in 28 bases in 119 games over 2014 and 2015 in the majors, so uncovering the premium talent buried within probably takes far more than just a new training regimen. Carlos Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and certainly Tyler Saladino are all likely superior to Coats on the major league level, which is to say nothing of how much playing time Moncada will soon consume, but perhaps it’s the same idea. Cabrera, once a basestealing menace with plus on-base skills from the shortstop position, has had higher highs than any of them. If he’s a starter-level talent again, he proves more valuable than giving opportunity to glorified utility guys.

Or it’s just a minor league deal; besides the ones that indicate a lack of emphasis on personal conduct, there are not supposed to be bad ones.

Lead Image Credit: Kim Klement // USA Today Sports Images