The White Sox are getting healthier, but the returns of Austin Hays and Everson Pereira could force Chicago into a tough outfield roster crunch.
The Chicago White Sox are playing with a lot of confidence right now, sitting with a 19-21 record and actually holding a playoff spot in the American League on May 12.
What’s more, the White Sox will be getting healthier in the coming weeks, returning some talented players to their everyday lineup and filling existing roster holes.
Catcher Kyle Teel will begin his rehab stint with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on Tuesday. Teel has not played yet in 2026 while dealing with a hamstring strain that he suffered during the World Baseball Classic.
Buried behind that news is the fact that outfielder Austin Hays won’t be far behind him. Hays was placed on the IL back at the start of May with a left calf strain, and according to the most recent update from the White Sox, he has been taking batting practice and could start running the bases later this week. That puts him about a week behind Teel in terms of his estimated return, but it won’t be long before he is back in the White Sox lineup.
Everson Pereira has been on the injured list since April 29 with a right pectoral strain. While there has been no public update about Pereira, he is also likely to make a return from the IL in the next few weeks.
All of this is good news for Chicago. These are talented players who improve the on-paper roster and strengthen the lineup, especially with what Hays has done over the course of his career and what Pereira has shown so far in 2026.
However, it also leaves the White Sox with a really difficult decision to make. Navigating the outfield won’t be easy, and there is inevitably going to be a productive player who ends up on the outside looking in.
You’ve got Hays and Pereira, who are both going to be on the roster before long. Sam Antonacci isn’t going anywhere. I don’t think Andrew Benintendi is either, given how much the White Sox are paying him this season and the optimism they've publicly expressed about Benintendi’s ability to get hot at the plate.
That’s already four outfielders. So what do you do with the rest of the crew?
Randal Grichuk got off to a rough start to the 2026 season with the Yankees, going 0-for-13 in his first nine games in New York. But in his last 13 games, including six with the White Sox, he’s batting .300 with four doubles, two home runs, and a .946 OPS.
Grichuk is an established veteran who can crush left-handed pitching, and given how much he’s already helped the White Sox, I don’t think they want him going anywhere.
Tristen Peters has actually played some pretty good baseball too. He’s batting .270, even though his OPS is down at .656 because there’s not much slug in the bat. And while he’s nothing to write home about offensively, Peters brings something to the White Sox with his ability to bunt, steal a bag, and play tremendous defense in center field.
You may be surprised to learn that Peters has accumulated 0.6 fWAR so far this season. That’s 9th best among White Sox players.
While Peters has minor league options remaining, Chris Getz has always valued speed and defensive ability during his tenure as White Sox GM. And I don’t think they plan to discard Peters easily.
There are your six outfielders who could stick on the active roster: Antonacci, Benintendi, Pereira, Hays, Grichuk, and Peters.
Maybe there's a solution with the White Sox keeping seven outfielders. That's how many they've currently got on the roster, largely due to the versatility of guys like Sam Antunacci and Luisangel Acuna, who can both move to the infield in a pinch.
But there's chance the White Sox will have to move on from Derek Hill, who has two home runs, a .685 OPS, and has been surprisingly productive at the plate this season.
They may have to move on from Jarred Kelenic, a 26-year-old the White Sox have been very bullish about. And while Kelenic’s numbers are underwhelming with a .631 OPS, his underlying metrics are fantastic in a small sample size in the big leagues this year.
This could mean moving on from Acuña, which I’m not sure any White Sox fans will have a problem with, but the team might be too stubborn to do it after spending the entire offseason selling Acuña to the fan base to justify the Luis Robert Jr. trade.
And for what it’s worth, none of those three players have minor league options remaining, so all of them would need to be designated for assignment. Both Hill and Kelenic would likely be claimed by other teams if that happens.
It won’t be an easy decision to make.
So while the White Sox are about to get healthier and return some key players to their starting lineup and outfield, it might come with corresponding moves that raise an eyebrow when they are initially announced.