White Sox Dump Veteran Outfielder

The Chicago White Sox have dumped veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski. The 33-year-old was picked up late in spring training after the Cubs cut Jankowski from their major league camp. Jankowski made the Opening Day roster for the White Sox, who experienced a handful of injuries down in Arizona. That included former Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman, who began the year on the injured list.

Now, Tauchman is back and to make room on the roster the White Sox designated Jankowski for assignment prior to Sunday's series finale against the Tigers.

Prior to today’s series finale at Detroit, the Chicago White Sox returned outfielder Mike Tauchman from his injury rehabilitation assignment at Class AAA Charlotte and reinstated him from the 10-day injured list.

To make room for Tauchman on the active roster, the White Sox…

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 6, 2025

Jankowski played in seven games with the White Sox. He was 3-for-14 at the plate and scored a run in his brief time on the South Side of Chicago.

(Previous Update)

What was your favorite memory of the Travis Jankowski era with the Chicago Cubs? The veteran outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Cubs as spring training opened up in February. However, as the Cubs assembled their traveling roster for Japan Jankowski was cut from big-league camp and was not one of the 31 players on the flight overseas. Now, Jankowski is hoping to break camp in Arizona with the White Sox.

We can assume that Jankowski had an opt-out in his deal with the Cubs as he suddenly ended up with the White Sox on Wednesday.

White Sox agree to terms with OF Travis Jankowski on a minor-league contract which includes a non-roster invite to spring training, per team.

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) March 12, 2025

The Cubs originally signed Jankowski because the team had a bit of a depth issue in the outfield at Triple-A. Yet, the team still has Greg Allen, while Kevin Alcántara has impressed in spring training, positioning himself as the first outfielder to come up to the majors this season in case there's an injury. Fellow outfield prospect Owen Caissie is also working back from his groin strain.

As for Jankowski he'll have a couple weeks to win a job with the White Sox, who have had a couple injuries to their outfield group since the start of spring training.

(Previous Update)

After signing Greg Allen to a minor league deal the Chicago Cubs added more outfield depth by agreeing to a minor league deal with 33-year-old Travis Jankowski. The 2023 World Series champion has played for the Texas Rangers the past two years and now Jankowski enters Cubs camp as an emergency backup in case the team experiences any more injuries.

His 2024 numbers were rough as Jankowski only slashed .200/.266/.242, which resulted in a 48 wRC+. That being said, the left-handed hitter can be useful as a bench player and from 2021-23, the veteran outfielder posted a solid .349 OBP in 508 plate appearances. Still, not much pop overall as he was still a below average hitter, an 89 wRC+ across those three seasons, but Jankowski provides value with his base running and good defense.

Non roster invite here for Jankowski https://t.co/nseeHpDxOL

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 22, 2025

In 2023, Jankowski recorded a 1.2 fWAR with the Rangers, slashing .263/.357/.332, with 19 stolen bases. He can play all three outfield spots and has been above average where ever he's slotted.

The Cubs have taken a bit of a hit to their outfield depth in the past week with the news of Owen Caissie's groin injury and the team deciding to designate Alexander Canario for assignment. Canario was out of minor league options, so there was never a guarantee that he was making the team out of spring training anyway, but the Cubs opted to make a move on him sooner than later.

With Jankowski and Allen, the Cubs can stash them at Triple-A and only kick someone off the 40-man roster when another injury pops up in the season. Of course, veteran players on minor league deals can have opt-out dates in their contracts, so we'll keep an eye out for that detail for both Jankowski and Allen.

Decent depth for the Cubs by adding Jankowski, who profiles similar to Mike Tauchman with a lessor hit tool. Dependable guy in the outfield and a good eye at the plate. Jankowski has a career 10.1 BB%, which rose to 13% from 2021-23. Again, Jankowski really struggled in 2024, so all his numbers were down across the board.

Jankowski is a 10-year MLB veteran, with a slash line of .236/.319/.305, 11 home runs and 102 stolen bases.

So, for now the Cubs added a few more bodies in the outfield as a safety net. Fingers crossed that the team won't actually have to depend on some of these guys and while we spotlight the signings at the time, often these types of deals are quickly forgotten about once the regular season gets underway.