I'M HAPPY TO SEE JORDAN DANKS GO

Yesterday the White Sox made the signing of Emilio Bonifacio official, and also announced in the process that Jordan Danks had been designated for assignment. The news brought a smile to my face.

The smile wasn't as big as it will be the moment I find out that Dayan Viciedo is no longer on the roster, but it was a smile none the less. Not because I'm really excited about the addition of Emilio Bonifacio. As I already wrote, I like the move, and I think it made more sense to do it than trade for Ben Zobrist, but it's still just Emilio Bonifacio.

And I didn't smile because I have anything against Jordan Danks. I don't. I actually liked Jordan Danks, but the real truth is that Jordan Danks just isn't very good. He's proven repeatedly that he's never going to be much of a hitter on the Major League level, but that he has some valuable to your roster as a reserve outfield because he can play all three positions well, and he can also serve as a pinch-runner when needed.

No, the smile was about what the move meant.


The White Sox have long known who Jordan Danks is. He's already 28 years old, and in parts of three seasons with the White Sox he's hit .227/.303/.326 while striking out in 30.8% of his plate appearances. He's that player that's good enough for your Triple-A roster, but if you're carrying him on your Major League roster, something isn't right. You're either bad, or somebody is injured.

So the reason I smiled is not just because the Sox designated him for assignment, but that the White Sox were finally able to designate him for assignment. They haven't been able to do so before because the way the roster was constructed, they needed to keep him around, and there were other, better options to give the boot to.

And now we know that's no longer the case.

Thanks to the work Rick Hahn has already done this winter, the White Sox have a capable Major League roster! One that doesn't need to keep Jordan Danks on the 40-man! There are other real options now! Even if one of them is Dayan Viciedo!

Fuck, one of them's still Dayan Viciedo.

Let's not go down that dark rabbit hole, though, as hopefully that will be resolved by the time April rolls around. The fact is that, even if I'm not convinced that all the moves the Sox have made this winter make this team a real contender in the AL Central (and I'm not, though that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed seeing the moves being made), we're going to have a real team this year.

One that doesn't need Jordan Danks.

So thanks for everything you were able to do here the last few years, Jordan, but don't take it personally when I say I won't miss you.