GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox signed veteran Travis Jankowsk to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training Tuesday, and it seems the outfielder best remembered by Sox fans for stealing a home run from Andrew Vaughn last season stands a good chance of making the Opening Day roster.
With Andrew Benintendi all but certain to miss the start of the season with a broken bone in his hand, and Austin Slater dealing with an oblique strain, there’s room in an outfield that now includes Luis Robert Jr., Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor at the top of the depth chart. The Sox also have Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas in camp.
Jankowski owns a .236/.319/.305 hitting line with 11 homers and 102 stolen bases in 10 seasons with the Padres, Reds, Phillies, Mets, Mariners and Rangers. He played in 107 games with the Texas Rangers’ World Series champion team in 2023 and in 103 games with the Rangers last season, batting .200/.266/.242.
Rangers associate manager Will Venable, now the Sox manager, advised Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to insert Jankowski as a defensive replacement in a Sox loss at Rate Field on Aug. 28, and Jankowski made one of the catches of the year, reaching above and beyond the wall to take a walk-off homer from Vaughn.
“I apologized to Vaughnie the next day on first base,” Jankowski said Wednesday. “And then I gave him a hug when I came in here and said, ‘I’m sorry, man.’ I told him if he finishes with 399 career homers, I’m going to have to buy him a car or something.
“I still feel bad about that. But I had to do it.”
Jankowski said Venable’s presence is something that appeals to him.
“He’s not far removed from the game,” Venable said. “He understands the struggles of it, right? He knows the guys are going to go through it. As a team, we are going to go through it. We are going to have hot stretches and cold stretches, but the best thing about Will is he’s very mellow, kind of the same every single day. He had two years with what I think is one of the best managers to ever do it with Boch.”
The Katz meow
Rule 5 Draft pick Shane Smith is building a case for a spot in the rotation with five innings of one hit ball in his last two starts, including eight strikeouts with no walks and one hit allowed in starts against the Mariners and Dodgers.
“Shane Smith has really stood out with what he’s been able to do and seems like a guy that can really help us this year,’ Katz said. “It’s just the way he’s conducted himself. We’ve asked him to develop a changeup, he did that. We notice that there might be some need for a little bit more swing-and-miss to right-handers, so we’re trying to change his cutter into a slider, and he’s been able to make some nice adjustments with that. We’ve thrown a lot at him and he’s had some challenges, facing the Dodgers with that lineup. Passing with flying colors. It’s been really good.”