White socks have been granted Joey Gallow Unconditional release of Scott Merkin releases by MLB.com. Gallo, who had been with the club as a minor league trade, joined the club in camp but will now be back in free agency to try to get a job with another club before opening day.
Gallo, 31, had a tough season in a tough season for the Nationals, hitting only .161/.277/.336 (76 WRC+) on 260 trips. This is the latest chapter in Slugger’s latest career, who was a first-round draft pick for the Rangers in 2012, and was a two-time All-Star in 2019 and 2021 during his seven years in Dallas. During those three seasons, Gallo hit .209/.351/.477, and he also hit No. 70 Soldier 121 times. Large 35.6% clip.
The combination of almost unparalleled momentum and deep strikeouts has contributed to the roller coaster career, and Gallo is sometimes one of the most influential batsmen in the sport, sometimes well below average. All of these averaged a relatively moderate .194/.319/.456 (107 WRC+) line in the Grand Slam, although this has remained a good overall output in recent years. Although the 2023 twins are in 2023, Gallo’s overall slash line over the past three years is just .166/.286/.379, with an average WRC++ 88 for the pole. During that time, he was more than 40% of his highest productivity in Minnesota, and was actually his plate plate of Massive the Plate of Massive 42.8% 22.8%.
Early in his career, Gallo helped make up for his unbalanced offensive production with strong outfield defense. In his days, the two-time Gold Glove Award winners were on the right court and even able to rely on in the midfield if necessary, while Gallo fell from Grace on defense, now best suited the first baseman who roughly averaged defense. Unfortunately, Gallo has been more defensive in recent years, making him more suitable for competitive clubs in benches, and his offensive peaks and valleys make it difficult for him to bet as a full-time starter.
These involve all the final decisions involving the White Sox split with Slugger. While the release of the club that lost the most games in Major League Baseball history last year was an ominous signal, it is worth pointing out that Chicago actually has relatively deep potential options at first base and outfield. Andrew Vaughn and Louis Robert Numbers are everyday players at first base and midfield, and Mike Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi Numbers to capture the game time of the lions at the corner of the outfield.
Tauchman, Benintendi and Gallo are all left-handed bats, so Gallo’s best chance of playing in Chicago will likely spell first base at Vaughan Michael A. Taylor and Austin Slater Both are more suitable for outfield roles. While Benintendi is currently out due to a manual break, he has not explicitly ruled out opening day and may be able to return fairly early this season, making it less wise to have a player like Gallo as a fill option.
Even so, however, it would be hard for Gallo to find less than two weeks of major league performance until the season begins. Injuries opened holes during the lineup and rotations of various clubs throughout the spring, and there are currently not many obvious vacancy around the first base around the league. Maybe clubs like the Padres, Pirates, or Marlins can use some extra depth at that location, but even those clubs have internal options, they seem to be happy with heading to the opening day. That being said, the team will certainly value depth, and it’s not hard to imagine Gallo catching up with another club to a less crowded first base and outfield game, even if it’s a new minor league deal, even if it’s not a straight road to major league playing time.
