The White Sox introduced this morning that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski to a minor league contract. The Excel Sports activities consumer will head straight to massive league camp. He’d been with the Cubs on a minor league pact for the early portion of spring coaching. Whereas the Cubs didn’t make any formal announcement about Jankowski’s launch or him opting out of that deal, he’s clearly parted methods with Chicago’s north-side squad as they journey to Tokyo for subsequent week’s sequence in opposition to the Dodgers.
Jankowski, 33, had a stable yr with the Rangers in 2023 because the fourth outfielder on their World Sequence-winning roster. He appeared in 107 video games, tallied 287 turns on the plate and delivered a good .263/.357/.332 batting line (97 wRC+) to associate with high quality baserunning and glovework. He wasn’t in a position to observe up on that in a return effort with Texas in 2024; Jankowski performed in 104 video games final yr however hit simply .200/.266/.242 in 207 plate appearances.
Relationship again to his 2015 MLB debut in San Diego, Jankowski has appeared in elements of ten straight massive league seasons, suiting up for the Padres, Reds, Phillies, Mets, Mariners and Rangers alongside the way in which. He’s a lifetime .236/.319/.305 hitter with good velocity who can deal with all three spots within the outfield.
Jankowski will give the White Sox some outfield depth at a time when at the very least two members of their anticipated Opening Day roster at the moment are slated for the injured checklist. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi suffered a damaged hand when he was hit by a pitch earlier in Cactus League play. That harm will hold him off the sector by way of at the very least the tip of camp and presumably into mid-April. He’ll then want a rehab project. Reserve outfielder Austin Slater, who inked a one-year deal in free company, is coping with an indirect pressure suffered final week. The Sox estimated he’d be out of recreation motion for 2 to 3 weeks, leaving a season-opening IL placement an actual risk.
Jankowski is a recognized commodity for brand new White Sox skipper Will Venable, who was on the Rangers’ teaching employees for every of the previous two seasons. He’ll compete for at-bats in left subject or off the bench. Luis Robert Jr. is slated to man middle subject, with offseason signee Mike Tauchman in proper. The ChiSox additionally signed Michael A. Taylor as a glove-first possibility off the bench. Different outfielders on the 40-man roster embrace Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas. Joey Gallo, Corey Julks and Cal Mitchell are among the many different non-roster outfielders in camp.
