Healthy infield creates late-season lineup puzzle for White Sox

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You didn’t need the blazing Kansas City sun to shine a light on the glaring holes in last year’s White Sox lineup as they played out the string on the worst season in modern baseball history.

General manager Chris Getz has given first-year skipper Will Venable some more to work with in another rebuilding season, but now they’ve got some juggling to do.

Chase Meidroth’s return to the Sox this weekend against the Royals after two weeks on the shelf with a hand injury has made it a full house around the diamond and at designated hitter as the Sox mull which prospect cards give them the best long-term organizational hand.

Meidroth is a lock for Getz’ vision at second base alongside shortstop Colson Montgomery, though they’ve alternated at short and the 6-foot-4 Montgomery has played a dozen games at third.

Miguel Vargas, who returned last week from an injury, can be written in ink, too, perhaps at the everyday first baseman role he’s often assumed since the departure of Andrew Vaughn and rookie struggles of Tim Elko.

But then there’s Curtis Mead, the Australian acquisition who has scooped up time at first and third as he tries to realize his former top-prospect potential, plus Lenyn Sosa, a holdover from the edge of the last contending window who has slugged his way into long-term consideration.

Getting them all consistent at-bats becomes a challenge as the Sox try to keep rookie catchers Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel in the lineup together, with Venable becoming more comfortable using one or the other at DH.

And don’t forget utility man Brooks Baldwin, who’s been getting more work in an outfield where the Sox are set for the near term with veterans, but don’t have many prospects waiting in the wings.

“It’s been collaborative,” Venable said. “We’re still trying to figure out where this group needs to be.”

More Savannah Sox

Sox greats Paul Konerko and Ozzie Guillen joined the list of ‘05 champs who got in on the Banana Ball craze over the weekend at Rate Field.

A day after Mark Buehrle and A.J. Pierzynski donned the garish yellow for their first pitches together in 14 years, a dancing Guillen served as the Savannah Bananas’ first-base coach and Konerko dug in to the batter’s box on the South Side for the first time in over a decade.

The Sox’ longtime first baseman and famously slow baserunner stoked nostalgia with an easy groundout, and Guillen shimmied along with his Harlem Globetrotters-style baseball squad.

“Next time I have to play an inning at shortstop,” Guillen said in a social media post.

Braden bashing

Highly touted outfield prospect Braden Montgomery has been making the Sox look smart since being elevated to Double-A Birmingham last month.

Another prize of the Garrett Crochet trade alongside Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez, Montgomery was hitting .308/.392/.477 with eight doubles, a homer and six RBI over his first 17 games following the promotion.

The Red Sox drafted Montgomery with the No. 12 overall pick last year, and he’s ascended three levels of the minors in his first pro action with the White Sox organization. MLB Pipeline rates him as their top prospect and No. 33 in baseball.

“I’m kind of just taking it as a crash course, seeing how many different ways I can fail before I find the formula I want, the process I want, to get that consistent look that I eventually want to have,” Montgomery said last month.