What To Expect From The White Sox Newest Outfield Addition

Over the weekend, the White Sox agreed to a minor league contract with former Tigers outfielder Victor Reyes. Scott Merkin of MLB.com was the first to report that the two sides had been in contact and discussing a potential deal during the Winter Meetings. Things finally came to fruition on Saturday, with Reyes receiving a minor league deal and an invite to Spring Training.

Reyes has spent the last five seasons with the Detroit Tigers, so he is familiar with the AL Central. He is a switch hitter that can play all three outfield positions. If he cracks the Opening Day roster, it will likely be as a replacement for Adam Engel. Engel served as the White Sox's fourth outfielder and a defensive replacement late in games. The front office decided to non-tender him after the season.

The decision to non-tender was a slightly easier one. Engel has been plagued with injury issues. In 2021 he was limited to 39 games because of three separate stints on the IL. During the last six seasons, he has appeared in 523 games (an average of 87 per season), hit 30 home runs, 65 doubles, and stolen 47 bases. The 30-year-old was in line for an estimated $2.15 million raise in his third season of arbitration eligibility. While his defense is elite, and his speed is an asset, he didn't project to be a starter next season, and the White Sox are trying to squeeze as much out of their payroll as possible.

Reyes is a cheaper, slightly less talented version of Engel. He is a solid runner with a good throwing arm. Baseball Savant places his arm strength in the 83rd percentile and his sprint speed in the 54th percentile. For reference, Engel placed in the 92nd percentile in speed but just the 38th percentile in arm strength.

Reyes is a versatile defender with a handful of experience in all three outfield positions. He's played over 1076 MLB innings in right field, 925 frames in center, and 680 in left. He is a slightly below-average fielder by most metrics. Reyes has a career .993 fielding percentage and -6 defensive runs saved above average. Baseball Savant rated his outfield jump in the 15th percentile of MLB outfielders. But he will be serviceable in short spurts off the bench due to his athleticism.

The 28-year-old can also be a factor on the base paths. He isn't as prolific of a base stealer as Engel was, but he stole nine bases in both 2018-19 and was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts last season. Reyes swiped 33 bags in his career with a 78 percent success rate.

Rick Hahn has had some luck with minor-league deals in the past, the most recent being with Johnny Cueto, who posted a 3.35 ERA in 25 games last season. The odds of Reyes panning out as well is much lower. He is a career .264 hitter with no power. Reyes has just 16 home runs and a lifetime .379 slugging percentage. Last season he slashed .254/.389/.362 with three home runs and 34 RBIs in 92 games.

The Venezuelan native's most productive MLB season came in 2019. In 69 games, he batted .304 with three home runs, 25 RBIs, and nine stolen bases, which resulted in a career-high 101 OPS+. He hasn't had an OPS+ over 100 since then. His wRC+ places him 17 points below the league average.

Reyes began his career in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Detroit took him with the first pick in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. During his rookie campaign, he slashed .222/.239/.288 in his first 100 games. Despite his struggles, the Tiger's front office opted to keep him on the MLB roster. They were in the midst of a rebuild and wanted to gain his long-term contractual rights.

After five seasons of appearing in about half the Tigers games, the front office opted to non-tender him. It was an easy decision for the Tiger's new president of baseball operations, Scott Harris. Reyes would be owed roughly $2 million if tendered in arbitration.

Hahn pulled him off the scrap heap in an effort to add to the White Sox lackluster outfield depth. If the season started today, Gavin Sheets would be the starting right fielder, while Oscar Colas would start in the right. Colas has yet to play a game in the major leagues, and Sheets is not a natural outfielder. While his defense has improved since entering the league, it is still well below the league average.

The White Sox have made it clear that they would like to keep Eloy Jimenez as their full-time designated hitter.

Reyes is not guaranteed to make the team, but the door is wide open. With the way the roster is currently constructed, he would see a decent chunk of playing time. Don't be surprised if other non-roster invitees or players in the minor league system are in the mix for a roster spot come February. That won't inspire much confidence in fans. Luckily there is still plenty of time left in the offseason to address the outfield depth or lack thereof.