White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Shut down at Triple-A
Rotowire
Triple-A Charlotte placed Shewmake on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
After receiving limited playing time with the White Sox, Shewmake was optioned to Charlotte on May 17 and had settled into an everyday role with the Triple-A club. However, he went just 4-for-33 (.121 average) at the dish over nine games with Charlotte before suffering an apparent injury Saturday and landing on the IL a day later.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Shewmake was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.
The 26-year-old will move back to Charlotte with Danny Mendick (back) being reinstated from the 10-day IL on Friday. Shewmake struggled during 29 games in the bigs, slashing .125/.134/.203 with one walk across 67 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Gets fourth straight start
Rotowire
Shewmake will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Shewmake will start in his fourth straight game, with two coming at second base and two at third base. He doesn't seem to be making much of a case to move into a full-time role at any position, however, as he went 0-for-9 over his previous three starts to drop his season-long slash line down to .140/.154/.240 over his 52 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Breaks hitless streak
Rotowire
Shewmake went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two stolen bases Wednesday against the Twins.
Shewmake sat two straight games, but he returned Wednesday to start at second base and hit eighth. He also ended a four-game hitless streak with a bunt single in the fifth inning before stealing a pair of bases -- including home. Shewmake is hitting just .158 across 40 plate appearances on the campaign, but he has chipped in four stolen bases and is striking out at just a 12.5 percent clip.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Retreats to bench
Rotowire
Shewmake is out of the lineup for Monday's game in Minnesota.
Shewmake started on the left side of the infield in five of the previous six games, but he went just 1-for-15 at the plate to bring his season average down to .143. Though he's still regarded as one of the organization's better prospects, Shewmake will likely need to have a sustained run of success as a hitter before he shifts out of utility role and takes hold of a regular job at third base or shortstop.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Losing work to DeJong
Rotowire
Shewmake will start at third base and bat seventh in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Royals.
Shewmake will crack the lineup for the front end of the twin bill, but he seems to have moved into more of a utility infield role after he initially looked on track to unseat Paul DeJong as the team's primary shortstop. DeJong will cover shortstop for the fourth time in five games in Wednesday's opening contest.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Out against right-hander
Rotowire
Shewmake is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
The lefty-hitting Shewmake was unsurprisingly held out of the starting nine against a pair of lefties in the first two games of the series, but his absence from the lineup Sunday versus Reds right-hander Graham Ashcraft comes as more of a surprise. Paul DeJong will draw another start at shortstop Sunday despite going 0-for-5 at the dish over the previous two days.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Poaching work from DeJong
Rotowire
Shewmake will start at second base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Shewmake will remain in the middle infield for the third time in four games and might have at least temporarily moved ahead of Paul DeJong on the depth chart. Though Shewmake's .597 OPS in 18 plate appearances lags behind DeJong's .625 OPS in 24 plate appearances, Shewmake at least theoretically has upside working in his favor. The White Sox head into Wednesday's game sitting on a 2-9 record and could be inclined to pull the plug on unproductive veterans like DeJong.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Drawing another start at shortstop
Rotowire
Shewmake will start at shortstop and bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus Atlanta.
Shewmake will get his second straight start at shortstop, and he has now been in the lineup four of the five times the White Sox have faced a right-hander. He could be overtaking Paul DeJong as Chicago's preferred option at shortstop, at least against righties.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Playing versatile role
Rotowire
Shewmake went 1-for-4 with a stolen base Sunday against the Tigers.
Shewmake started his second consecutive game, the first coming at shortstop and the latter at second base. He was productive with the opportunity, combining to go 3-for-8 with a home run and stolen base -- both of which were the first of his career. Shewmake's fit in the White Sox's infield is unclear as he's an unnatural platoon partner with Nicky Lopez at second base. That could make his primary path to playing time displacing Paul DeJong at shortstop, though it's unclear whether the team is willing to consider that move early in the season.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Set to make Opening Day roster
Rotowire
Shewmake will begin the regular season on the big-league roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Shewmake was acquired from Atlanta this offseason and is set to make the roster as a utility option, capable of playing at third base, shortstop and first base. He's had a mediocre spring, though his six stolen bases across 36 at-bats stand out from the rest of his line.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: In lineup Saturday
Rotowire
Shewmake (ankle) is starting at shortstop Saturday against the Mariners.
Shewmake was given a 2-to-4 week timeline when he was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain Sunday, but his recovery has progressed much faster than expected, and he has apparently already gotten to the point where the White Sox are comfortable playing him in the field. Shewmake is only 7-for-32 with five RBI this spring but still projects to win a bench spot on Chicago's Opening Day roster.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Not ruled out for Opening Day
Rotowire
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Wednesday that Shewmake (ankle) has not been ruled out for Opening Day, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Shewmake was given a 2-to-4 week timetable after being diagnosed Sunday with a lateral left ankle sprain. However, he has been able to field grounders each of the last two days and could make a quicker-than-expected return. Shewmake had appeared in line to win a reserve role before the injury.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Dealing with ankle sprain
Rotowire
Shewmake was diagnosed Sunday with a lateral left ankle sprain and is expected to be sidelined 2-to-4 weeks, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The 26-year-old suffered the injury during Saturday's Cactus League contest and will now be unavailable for the rest of camp. Shewmake was in good position to make the White Sox's Opening Day roster as a reserve infielder, but now he's likely to begin the campaign on the injured list.
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White Sox's Braden Shewmake: Exits with apparent injury
Rotowire
Shewmake was removed from Saturday's Cactus League game versus the Mariners with an apparent leg injury, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
It's not clear what happened with Shewmake, but he was seen hobbling back to the dugout after flying out in the top of the fifth inning and was lifted before the bottom of the frame. The White Sox are expected to provide an update on his condition Sunday. If healthy, Shewmake has a good shot to make the Opening Day roster as a reserve infielder.
White Sox's Braden Shewmake: May have path to majors
Rotowire
Shewmake was traded from Atlanta to the White Sox on Thursday along with Michael Soroka (forearm), Jared Shuster, Nicky Lopez and Riley Gowens in exchange for Aaron Bummer.
Shewmake entered the 2022 season with a chance to win the starting shortstop job in Atlanta, but Orlando Arcia's strong form ended that opportunity. Even after posting a disappointing 72 wRC+ across 526 plate appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett, Shewmake should once again be in a position to vie for a consistent role in the majors during spring training thanks to this change of scenery.
Shewmake is slashing .328/.421/.656 over his last 18 games for Triple-A Gwinnett with seven doubles, a triple, four homers, four steals and a 7:7 BB:K.
The 25-year-old shortstop has no clear path to the majors as long as Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia are healthy, but Shewmake appears to be taking a big step forward as a hitter. His glovework has never been in question, so if he can demonstrate the ability to provide some kind of offense in the majors, he stands a much better chance of securing a starting role in the future -- whether it's with Atlanta, or in another organization should he get shipped out at the trade deadline.
