The White Sox are signing infielder Nate Mondou to a minor league contract, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. It’s unclear whether he’ll get a look in big league camp.
Mondou had spent his entire career with the Oakland organization. A 13th-round draftee of the A’s in 2016, the Wake Forest product reached Triple-A by the start of the 2021 campaign. He spent most of the past two years with their top affiliate in Las Vegas, posting remarkably similar numbers in both seasons. Mondou followed up a .282/.371/.432 showing in 2021 with a .283/.374/.431 line last year. He posted better than average strikeout and walk numbers in both seasons but hit for modest power in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
That consistency earned Mondou a cup of coffee at the end of a lost season in Oakland. He earned a promotion for the final week of the year and got a start at second base, going 0-3 with a walk. That’s his lone big league appearance thus far in his career. Oakland outrighted him off the 40-man roster after the season and he elected minor league free agency upon going unclaimed.
The White Sox’s collection of uncertain second base options has drawn plenty of attention. Chicago watched Josh Harrison and Danny Mendick depart and didn’t address the keystone with a major league addition. Romy González and Lenyn Sosa seem likely to jockey for the reps, with multi-positional veteran Leury García on hand as a possibility. The Sox are bringing Hanser Alberto and Erik González to camp with what’d seem to be a decent chance for either to crack the Opening Day roster.
Mondou slots in behind them on the depth chart, likely starting the season at Triple-A Charlotte. He’s a .283/.373/.432 hitter at that level. Primarily a second baseman, Mondou has also played third base, left field and sparse time at shortstop in the minors.
