The White Sox’s new center fielder could miss time with an elbow ailment.
After setting the all-time MLB record for losses in a season with 121 last year, the Chicago White Sox have done little to improve the historically terrible team. White Sox GM Chris Getz is certainly not applying much pressure, telling reporters he thinks Chicago will win more games in 2025 than the previous season – a preposterously low bar.
The team has made some additions, including signing 11-year veteran Michael A. Taylor to a one-year, $1.95 million deal. However, Taylor is already banged up. He was forced to miss the White Sox’s spring training game against the Mariners Saturday with a right elbow inflammation.
“We’ll get some more information. I think he goes in this afternoon to get some imaging and just continue to evaluate and hope he progresses,” Chicago’s manager Will Venable said of Taylor’s ailment, via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin on X.
White Sox defensive ace Michael A. Taylor is dealing with elbow inflammation
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While Taylor has been solid in the field throughout his career, winning a Gold Glove in 2021 for his work in center, he brings little in the way of offensive production. Last offseason, several teams including the Mets showed an interest in Taylor, placing an emphasis on defense. However, after a rough season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024, Taylor’s market dried up.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old outfielder played 113 games for the Pirates last year. He slashed .193/.253/.290, producing an OPS+ of 52 before the team ultimately released him in September. Taylor went unclaimed and received little interest until the White Sox signed him in February.
Taylor has a career on-base percentage of .290 to go along with a career OPS+ of 80. He profiles as a late-inning defensive replacement for most teams. But it’s unclear how the White Sox plan to use him when he recovers from his elbow inflammation.
Chicago also lost left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who suffered a broken hand after being hit by a pitch Thursday. The 10th-year veteran is expected to miss four to six weeks with the “non-displaced fracture of his right hand.”
