May nabs a rotation spot in LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Los Angeles Dodgers
NEWS: RHP Tony Gonsolin will start the season on the IL after injuring his back lifting weights.
IMPACT: Medium
BHQ SPIN: Gonsolin and RHP Dustin May, who both missed the entire 2024 season with injuries, were battling for the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation. Gonsolin may have had a slight edge as the Dodgers prepare to open the season in Japan against the Cubs on March 18. But with Gonsolin out, manager Dave Roberts announced that May will start the season as the Dodgers fifth starter. It is unclear how much time Gonsolin could miss, with no guarantee he pushes May out of the rotation when he does return. We have bumped May’s innings as a starter and moved some of Gonsolin’s innings from a starting role to a relief role.
–Gannon

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Los Angeles Dodgers
NEWS: 2B Hyeseong Kim was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
IMPACT: Medium
BHQ SPIN: Kim, who was signed over the winter after spending the first eight years of his career in the Korean Baseball Organization, has been working on his swing and will continue to work on it at Triple-A Oklahoma City after struggling in 33 PA in spring training. The Dodgers envision him as a future starter at 2B, so his stay in Oklahoma City could be fairly brief. However, with a multitude of options to take his place, the Dodgers likely won’t rush him. The most likely outcome is for IF/OF Tommy Edman to take over as the primary 2B, with second-year OF Andy Pages taking Edman’s spot in CF. Pages made 87 appearances in CF for the Dodgers last season and had a successful rookie season at the plate, hitting .248/.305/.407 with 13 HR over 442 PA. The other most likely option would be for Edman to remain as the primary CF and veteran IF Miguel Rojas to see regular time at 2B with IF/OF Kiké Hernández also seeing time at the keystone. Given his struggles last season, OF James Outman is probably a less likely option. We are reducing Kim’s projected PT at 2B (-15%), shifting PT (15%) for Edman from OF to 2B and boosting Pages OF PT (+15%). The Dodgers have multiple options, so playing time will be adjusted as necessary when the Dodgers make final roster decisions and announce their starting lineup for the opener.
–Gannon

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago White Sox
NEWS: SS Colson Montgomery optioned to the minors in the latest round of roster cuts.
IMPACT: Medium
BHQ SPIN: Top prospect Montgomery was slowed early on in camp with a back issue, but will return to Triple-A to start the season. With two weeks to Opening Day, we’ll attempt to update the Sox middle infield situation, with the caveat that this is probably only deep-league relevant and subject to change. By spring training starts, it appears that Josh Rojas has the inside track to the second base job. Rojas, though, has struggled mightily against LHP in the past two seasons, so this may not be a full-time assignment. We have him slotted for about 50% of the second base AB for the season. Other contributors to this spot are Lenyn Sosa (who is out of options), Brooks Baldwin, and possibly NRI Brandon Drury, who brings an experienced MLB bat to the equation that the others do not. 

At SS, Jacob Amaya has been far and away the Sox’s most-utilized option in spring games; Amaya is known as an excellent defender who doesn’t contribute much on offense. For those reasons—defensive stability and spring PT trends—we’re projecting both Amaya and Montgomery with 40% playing time at SS over the whole season. Chase Meidroth, who came over in the Crochet trade, has also seen some time at both MIF positions, has shown terribly this spring with the bat (2 for 18), though with his MiLB track record and defensive versatility, could factor in at some point. Right now, it seems likely that Meidroth—and perhaps Baldwin as well—will join Montgomery at AAA-Charlotte. Still lots of uncertainty up the middle for the White Sox; expect more adjustments and entries as Opening Day gets closer. 
–Hershey 

Houston Astros
NEWS: Cam Smith continues to surprise in Astros camp and will debut in the outfield in Thursday’s spring training game.
IMPACT: Medium 
BHQ SPIN: The rocket-like ascension of Smith has been a spring training revelation for the Astros, who picked him up from the Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade. He has gone from the longest shot to make the club—as a first-round pick in the 2024 Draft, he’s had all of 134 MiLB plate appearances—to a feel-good late-February story to now, a legitimate option to break camp with the big club. The fact that Houston is trying him in the outfield, where the team desperately needs offense, with still a two-week runway to Opening Day speaks volumes. We’re still a bit skeptical he makes the initial roster, but have given him some PT at both 3B and a bit in the OF with the anticipation that he’ll not need much time in the minors. We’ll be watching this closely and updating PT% as necessary. 
–Hershey

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