The White Sox were buzzing about the arrival of a top-rated middle-infield prospect Friday.
No, not that top-rated middle-infield prospect.
Colson Montgomery is still at Triple-A Charlotte, part of the crew Chase Meidroth left behind as he made his way to the South Side for his big-league debut. Meidroth, who was acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade in December with the Red Sox — who are coincidentally in town for a weekend series — seemed close to the majors after a strong year at Triple-A in 2024. He is ranked as the Sox’ No. 8 prospect by MLB.com.
Montgomery, who is ranked No. 4, had a disappointing season while also at Triple-A in 2024, preventing him from making the leap to the Sox’ infield. The wait for that leap continues, with Montgomery off to another slow start this season.
After he slashed .214/.329/.381 in 130 games last season, his numbers are far uglier in an admittedly small sample size of 10 games to begin 2025: a .081/.191/.162 line with 21 strikeouts in 42 trips to the plate.
Though those numbers jump off the screen, the Sox aren’t in panic mode.
‘‘I’ve touched base with Colson,’’ general manager Chris Getz said Friday. ‘‘When you watch him move, you watch his defensive play, his baserunning, even his at-bats right now, he’s still the best player on the field.
‘‘Now, he has not been productive. He’s going through it right now. He really is. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. And that’s a challenging part about this game.
‘‘Personally, I don’t care if he strikes out the next 20 at-bats. I know he’s going to figure it out. We still think the world of him. He’s part of our plans moving forward. We haven’t lost sight of him, and we haven’t lost faith.’’
Young catchers stay in minors
Korey Lee’s sprained ankle meant a new catcher joined the roster. But instead of Kyle Teel or Edgar Quero — two of the Sox’ highest-rated prospects, both of whom are playing at Triple-A — it was Omar Narvaez, who was brought up from Double-A Birmingham.
Getz said there was no consideration given to bringing up either top-100 prospect to fill that spot. Why not?
‘‘Though they both got a taste of Triple-A last year, they don’t have that many at-bats or that many innings at that level,’’ Getz said. ‘‘There are still some areas that they need to grow in and we’re focusing on.’’
Teel played in 28 games at Triple-A as part of the Red Sox’ organization last season. Quero played in 26 games at Triple-A as a 21-year-old and dealt with a late-season injury.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are comfortable leaning on the veteran Narvaez in a pinch with Lee on the injured list.
‘‘That was one of the perks of bringing Omar back — knowing that early on, if something were to happen to one of our catchers, it was good to have someone that knows the organization and was with us throughout spring training,’’ Getz said.
How many owners?
A Sox spokesperson said a CNBC report listing brothers Justin and Mat Ishbia alongside Jerry Reinsdorf as controlling owners of the team is inaccurate.
The Athletic recently reported Justin Ishbia, who with his brother owns the NBA’s Suns, planned to increase his existing minority stake in the Sox and to abandon a pursuit to purchase the Twins.
In its valuations of major-league franchises Friday, CNBC incorrectly reported the Ishbias as Sox co-owners.