White Sox Continue To Put Someone Worse Than Yonder Alonso As The Cleanup Hitter

Yonder Alonso put up quite the pathetic performance at the plate in 67 games before the White Sox finally got rid of him, but somehow they’ve replaced him with someone even worse.

AJ Reed played in 45 games for the Astros in 2016 and had a .532 OPS in 122 at-bats. Then, he got nine at-bats combined in the past two years before the White Sox claimed him off waivers in July, as they try to find anyone to produce from the DH spot.

Well, it might only be a 13-game sample, but it’s a safe bet that Reed won’t amount to much with the White Sox. But what’s even more infuriating for White Sox fans is that Reed keeps batting near the middle of the lineup.

For Thursday’s series finale against the Mets, Reed is getting his fourth start as the cleanup hitter. He’s also batted fifth two other times.

Meanwhile, rookie Eloy Jimenez is in the fifth spot and Tim Anderson continues to be in the seventh hole.

Alonso had a slash line of .178/.275/.301, in 219 at-bats before he was DFA’d. But let’s make an equal comparison. In his first 13 games with the White Sox Alonso slashed .150/.320/.300, with two home runs, nine strikeouts and 10 walks

AJ Reed currently has a slash line of .150/.222/.225, with one home run, 17 strikeouts and four walks. But hey, he’s a left-handed hitter, gotta bat him cleanup!