In addition to their previously reported promotion of Tommy Pham and DFA of Kevin Pillar, the White Sox will select the contract of veteran outfielder Rafael Ortega and option fellow outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. They’ll need a second 40-man move to open a spot for Ortega.
The 32-year-old Ortega has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons between the Rockies, Angels, Braves, Marlins, Cubs and Mets, hitting .247/.324/.352 in 1284 plate appearances. That includes a strong 2021-22 showing with the crosstown Cubs, wherein he played a semi-regular role and hit .265/.344/.408 with 18 homers, 24 steals, a 10.6% walk rate and a 20.5% strikeout rate in 701 plate appearances. He appeared in 47 games for the Mets last season and batted .219/.341/.272.
Ortega inked a minor league deal with the Sox over the winter and has gotten out to a .241/.378/.431 slash in Charlotte. He’s homered three times, swiped six bags and drawn a walk in 18.7% of his plate appearances on the young season. He’s a left-handed hitter who can handle all three outfield spots.
Fletcher, 26, was acquired in an offseason swap that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to the Diamondbacks. The hope for the Sox was that he’d give them an MLB-ready outfielder with solid defensive skills who could build on an impressive rookie showing with the ’23 D-backs. Fletcher hit .301/.350/.441 with a pair of homers, five doubles and a triple in his first 102 MLB place appearances with the Snakes last season. He didn’t walk much (6.9%) but also posted a 21.6% strikeout rate that was lower than average.
Unfortunately, Fletcher hasn’t been able to sustain that pace or anything close to it following his change of scenery. He’s appeared in 20 games and taken 66 turns at the dish, hitting just .203/.277/.271. Though last year’s strikeout rate was solid, he’s fanned in more than 30% of his plate appearances on the young season. He’ll head down to Triple-A just one day after older brother David Fletcher was sent to Triple-A by the Braves (albeit David via outright assignment rather than optional assignment).
The younger Fletcher brother already has a strong track record in the upper minors, which lends some hope that he can right the ship in a lower-pressure setting. If he’s able to get back on track, the current state of the White Sox’ roster should rather easily afford him another opportunity to prove that he can stick at the big league level. The White Sox can control the former No. 75 overall draft pick for six full seasons, and Fletcher has a minor league option remaining beyond the current year as well.