The One Hitter…Nomar Mazara will be back

This is the One Hitter, don’t forget to exhale.

I touched on this in the latest FromThe108 Podcast and as I said there, the non-tender was the absolute right move. Debating that would be as insane as predicting Nomar Mazara would hit 3 HR in 5 games during the 2020 season. What I do believe is that Mazara will be back with the White Sox Org in 2021. So let’s look at why and how.

I’m not going to attempt to show you some small sample statistic that shows that Mazara figured it all out in the last weeks of the season and he’s the right fielder of the future. You saw his performance in 2020 and you know what it was. However, you probably saw something just as ugly during the season. When the team encountered any type of outfield injuries, we were treated to Nicky Delmonico or Luis Gonzalez.

The current hole in RF is much deeper than many of us are thinking. It only gets worse with Micker Adolfo being out of minor league options. The AAA club is now extremely short on OF other than the guy in every trade on Twitter, Blake Rutherford. Any injury would be very problematic for the Sox, even if they go out and get a real-life RF for the major league club. And this is why acquiring Mazara on a minor league contract is attractive.

If you look at the free agent right fielders, there aren’t a ton of flashy names. But if you’re filling out a major league roster, there are plenty better than Mazara on the list. And they will eat up the major league contracts he is vying for.

What you will notice however, is that he is the youngest in the list. And if the White Sox really did see something that liked, it might make a lot of sense for this reunion to occur. It’s not sexy, it might even anger you. But having someone who is league average (career slash .258/.318/.426) when injuries happen, would be a breathe of fresh air for Sox fans. If not, the 108 knows another lefty slugger who might be available…

-Chorizy-E