The White Sox designated Dustin Harris for assignment to make room for Sam Antonacci, but the Houston Astros quickly claimed him, turning a questionable roster move into a potential loss of offensive depth.
When the Chicago White Sox called up Sam Antonacci from Triple-A Charlotte to make his MLB debut on Wednesday, the corresponding move to create a roster spot was designating outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment.
That was a move I strongly disagreed with from the moment it was made.
It’s true that the White Sox needed a 40-man roster spot. Sending down an outfielder like Tristan Peters to the minor leagues, simply because he has options remaining, wouldn’t have been enough. It required a DFA to clear space for Antonacci. Or did it?
The White Sox could have created a 40-man roster spot by moving one of their injured pitchers to the 60-day IL. In fact, we saw them do exactly that just days later when Prelander Berroa was shifted to the 60-day IL to open up space.
Drew Thorpe remains on the 15-day IL and could also be transferred to the 60-day to clear a spot. Instead, the White Sox chose to DFA Harris and, in my opinion, sacrificed much-needed offensive competence for the defensive versatility that Chris Getz and this front office clearly prioritize.
But that defensive versatility isn’t helping the White Sox score runs. And every day they roll out a lineup with Derek Hill and Tristan Peters in the starting outfield feels like a lost cause.
I’m not sure Dustin Harris was ever going to be a long-term piece for the White Sox. I’m not even sure he would have made it a few more weeks without starting to struggle at the big league level. But from what we saw this season, he was at least putting together competitive at-bats and looked like a legitimate major league hitter. The same can’t be said for the other outfielders on this roster.
The White Sox may have hoped they could sneak Harris through waivers and stash him back in Triple-A Charlotte as depth for later in the season. That gamble didn’t pay off.
The Houston Astros claimed Harris this week and added him to their roster. He was officially placed on Houston’s active 26-man roster on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are still giving a roster spot and semi-regular playing time to Peters, who is batting .209 with a .510 OPS. And if Sam Antonacci doesn’t start to settle in at the MLB level, we may need to have a real conversation about whether the White Sox brought him up too soon.
Antonacci is 1-for-15 through his first four big league games.
Time will tell if Harris flames out in Houston and ends up back in the minor leagues somewhere, or if he thrives and makes the White Sox regret this decision. But right now, it feels like the White Sox opted for an offensive downgrade in the name of positional flexibility. And I’m not convinced that’s in the best interest of this roster, either now or moving forward.