NEWS » The White Sox have to decide which players to add man roster

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HomeDepth ChartTransactionsMasthead MastheadMeet the Players!Links White Sox Web LinksSouth Side Sox standardsCommunity GuidelinesOdds Shop StubHub 鉁旳nalysisWho wants to play 40-Man Roster Shake-Up?New http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey ,13commentsThe White Sox have to decide which players to add (or subtract) from the 40-man roster by Tuesday in the pen could be Vieira, in place of Bummer or Ruiz; it’s basically a coin flip at this point.40-man roster trimsThis is how I would rank the 10 guys currently on the 40-man, but not projected to make the Opening Day, roster. The ones closest to the bottom are the ones most likely to be removed:Eloy JimenezMicker AdolfoLuis BasabeRyan BurrCarson FulmerAaron BummerThyago VieiraRyan CordellCharlie TilsonIan ClarkinHere are the 10 most likely adds to the 40-man roster, in advance of the Rule 5 draft:Dylan Cease: Ranks third among White Sox top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.Kodi Medeiros: Ranks 19th among White Sox top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.Jordan Stephens: Ranks 20th among White Sox top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.Seby Zavala: Ranks 22nd among White Sox top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.Spencer Adams: Ranks 26th among White Sox top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.Zach Thompson: Flashed a terrific 1.55 combined ERA in the bullpen for Winston-Salem and Birmingham, but his minor league career has been inconsistent. Did well in the Arizona Fall League, and may have leapfrogged Guerrero as a result.Jordan Guerrero: Pitched just as effectively, if not more so, in AAA than Stephens and Adams.Yermin Mercedes: Has the strong catcher’s arm and hitting acumen to be selected Derek Holland Jersey , but his framing and defensive skills are lacking (as a result, he’s yet to play AA ball).Colton Turner: Dominated AA ball as a bullpen southpaw and pitched respectably in a couple of late starts with Charlotte, but will turn 28 before Opening Day.Danny Mendick: Posted satisfactory numbers, reminding a bit of a shortstop version of Jake Peter.While it’s not a guarantee that a team’s Top 30 prospect will be protected, this is usually the case. If the White Sox decide to add each of those five players, the White Sox could add just one more player before maxing out.If the White Sox hit 40 on their 40-man, they can still add players to it — but those adds would come at the cost of dropping the likes of Clarkin, Tilson, Delmonico, Vieira, or Bummer from the 40-man roster with hopes that they go unclaimed.And this is when things start getting tricky — if the Sox wish to add a new player to the 40-man but avoid risking the loss of Vieira or Bummer to a waiver claim, they may decide to non-tender Avi Garcia and/or Davidson, or simply trade/waive players like Castillo or Covey instead.The Sox don’t necessarily need a completely filled 40-man roster by the Winter Meetings; having a roster less than 40 deep at such a time gives the team a little more flexibility. However, if the Sox do add free agents or players via trade when the roster is maxed out at 40 http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , they would have to remove additional players from the 40-man at that time.So, what do you think about these projections? There’s some straightforward decisions to be made, but a lot of wiggle room as well. It’s definitely going to be a tense month or so for Rick Hahn and the rest of the front office. DENVER (AP) — The scorecard in the archives of the Colorado Rockies‘ history stands like this: World Series appearances 1, NL West titles 0.No divisional crowns is a particular figure that All-Star shortstop Trevor Story and his teammates are keenly aware of and hope to remedy, especially with the Rockies climbing into a place they’ve rarely been this late in the season: All alone at the top of the NL West. The Rockies haven’t occupied first place this late in the year since 1995.Colorado began an off day Thursday with a 1 ½-game divisional lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers and 2 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies (77-62) start a pivotal stretch by hosting the Dodgers for three games starting Friday and then Arizona for four more.Buckle up. These last 23 games reckon to be quite a ride.“A division title would be huge, obviously, since we’ve never done that,” said Story, who crushed three homers Wednesday, including one that went a Coors Field-record 505 feet according to Statcast. “We’re very confident we can do it. We’re going for it.”The Rockies are a little bit of an anomaly among division-leading team. Consider this: The Rockies are a minus-8 in run differential. For comparison, the front-running Boston Red Sox are plus-223 in the AL East and the defending World Series champion Houston Astros a plus-235 in the AL West.Colorado doesn’t even have the best odds of making the postseason out of its division. According to ESPN, the Rockies have a 48.2 percent chance, while the Dodgers check in at 77.6 percent.“I still think we are the best team and I know when we are doing things right and playing the way we should,” said right-hander Jon Gray http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , who pitches Friday as the Dodgers counter with ace Clayton Kershaw. “We are going to be where we need to be at the end of the season.”Fresh off a sweep of the Giants, the Rockies find themselves a season-best 15 games above .500. They trailed by eight games after play on June 28, but have since gone 39-20 — including 5-0 in September.“We’ve been playing these kinds of meaningful games for a long time now,” Story said.The last time Colorado was in sole possession of first at this juncture of the year was 1995. That happened to be the season the team moved into its new digs at Coors Field and was led by players such as Dante Bichette, Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga and Vinny Castilla, who’s currently the team’s special assistant to the general manager. They were leading until Sept. 27 when they lost to a Dodgers team that would go on to win the division by a game.Colorado earned a wild-card spot that season. Over the team’s history, they’ve appeared in the postseason four times — all as a wild-card. The Rockies rode a wave of momentum to the 2007 World Series, before being swept by Boston. Last season, they lost a one-game playoff to the Diamondbacks in their first playoff appearance since ’09.“There hasn’t been any rah-rah talk, no pep talks,” Gray said. “We know what needs to be done. Maybe that was needed last year. But not this time.”Story and Nolan Arenado are pacing the offense with NL MVP-caliber seasons. Story is hitting .298 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He’s also playing Gold Glove-worthy shortstop. Despite a recent slump, Arenado is batting .297 with 31 homers and 93 RBIs. He’s going for his sixth straight Gold Glove at third base.The team added even more of a veteran presence by bringing in slugger Matt Holliday Willie McCovey Jersey , who joins a lineup that includes second baseman DJ LeMahieu, outfielder Charlie Blackmon, converted first baseman Ian Desmond and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Younger players such as David Dahl and Ryan McMahon have been coming up clutch, too.On the pitching side, left-hander Kyle Freeland is among the leaders in ERA (2.96), while German Marquez is coming off back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances. The bullpen has been shaky at times this season, but Adam Ottavino has 100 strikeouts to go with a 1.96 ERA and closer Wade Davis leads the NL with 38 saves.After finishing their current 10-game homestand, the Rockies hit the road for nine straight. At 40-32 away from home, they’re one victory away from tying their mark for most wins on the road in a season (2009, ’17).“This team knows what needs to be done,” Gray said. “We are on the same page and we are feeling it happen.”