Nick

Senzel

In addition to the homer, Senzel also drew a pair of walks. The 30-year-old is off to a nice start to the spring in his attempt to win a utlity spot with the Dodgers in 2026. A former top prospect, Senzel is just roster fodder, but his versatility gives him a chance for helping the Dodgers if he does win that job.

Statcast said Senzel hit a single 111.1 mph yesterday, and while we’re skeptical that’s true — it also said Nick Madrigal, of all people, hit a ball 111.6 mph in the same game — he’s definitely off to a nice start this spring. His two doubles today were recorded at 108.1 and 105.4 mph. His high figure ever in a major league game is 109.8 mph, which he achieved in 2021. Last year, he topped out at 108.6 mph for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Senzel, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, hit .252/.341/.408 with 12 homers in 99 games in the Dodgers system last year, the first season since 2018 in which he failed to appear in the majors. He’s a career .232/.299/.363 in 1,633 plate appearances with the Reds, Nationals and White Sox.

The 29-year-old was signed out of the Mexican Independent League after hitting .591/.654/1.136 in 26 plate appearances with three home runs and 10 RBI. He’ll likely serve as a utility player in Triple-A and be a fallback option for the Dodgers at multiple spots in the field.

The 29-year-old has been out of work since he elected free agency from the White Sox back at the end of August. He’ll likely report to Triple-A Oklahoma City where he’ll serve as extra depth for the defending world champions.

The 29-year-old was designated for assignment by the White Sox earlier this week, and rather an accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte from the worst team in baseball, Senzel has opted to look for work elsewhere. Senzel went 3-for-30 (.100) during his time with the White Sox.

Senzel had played just once in the last 20 days. He wound up 3-for-30 in his 39 days with the White Sox. It seems unlikely that he’ll be claimed off waivers, and he’s probably going to have to settle for a minor league contract or maybe head to Asia this winter.

Most had assumed that Senzel would see regular action at third base with the White Sox, but after starting his first game on Friday night, he finds himself on the pine for this one. Paul DeJong will slide over and cover the hot corner on Saturday while Nicky Lopez draws a start at shortstop and rookie Brooks Baldwin gets another start at second base.

Baldwin started the year in Double-A and played only eight games in Triple-A before getting the opportunity with the big league club. In 82 games across those two levels, Baldwin hit .324/.391/.460 with eight home runs and 17 steals. He stole 22 bases last season and has a .284 career minor league batting average with just a 16 percent strikeout rate so he could be a decent source of average and speed in fantasy leagues. While Baldwin has played 2B, 3B, 1B, and OF, he played the vast majority of his games at SS this season, so it will be curious to see where the White Sox decide to play him. It had been assumed that Nick Senzel was signed to be the everyday third baseman, so perhaps Baldwin will push Nicky Lopez at second base until Paul Dejong is traded and the shortstop position opens up.

The deal is now official. With Yoán Moncada (adductor) due back at some point next month, and Lenyn Sosa heading to the minors, it seems like the White Sox are going to give Senzel some runway at second base coming out of the All-Star break. The former second-overall pick from the 2016 MLB Draft never quite lived up to those lofty expectations with Cincinnati and was cut loose earlier this month by the Nationals after posting a .663 OPS with seven homers and one steal in 64 games. The 29-year-old has undoubtedly underwhelmed to this point in his career, but he represents a worthwhile reclamation project for the White Sox over the next few months.