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White Sox Send Rikuu Nishida Back to Minor Leagues
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- White Sox Send Rikuu Nishida Back to Minor Leagues
In what could be classified as an expected corresponding move following the promotion of top prospect Braden Montgomery , the Chicago White Sox have optioned outfielder Rikuu Nishida back to Triple-A Charlotte.
Nishida was called up by the White Sox and made his MLB debut on May 25, immediately making MLB history . He became the first player ever to be born in Japan, attend high school in Japan, come to the United States to play college baseball, and make an MLB roster.
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Nishida was drafted by Chicago in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft after attending the University of Oregon and earned his way to the big leagues with a .347 batting average in Charlotte this year.
In 12 games with the White Sox, Nishida batted .241, going 7-for-29 at the plate. But his OPS sat at just .483 because he had yet to record an extra-base hit or draw a walk. That number is a pretty clear indication of why the White Sox were ready to send Nishida back down, but it may not fully capture the value he brought to the team during his brief MLB stint.
The entire point of promoting Nishida in the first place was to bring energy to the White Sox after a tiring West Coast road trip, and in his first MLB game , he recorded a hit and delivered a massive outfield assist that helped preserve the lead and save the game. He recorded another outfield assist in his second career game, immediately contributing to the White Sox in ways that didn't directly show up in the box score.
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Now, of course, there's always been a bit of a ceiling on what Nishida can be as a big leaguer due to the lack of slug in his bat. He's 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds, with just two career home runs in 306 minor league games . The only real way for Nishida to be a solid offensive contributor is to get on base at close to a .400 clip. We've seen that at times in the minor leagues, but during his 12-game sample in Major League Baseball, Nishida's inability to draw a walk made it difficult for the White Sox to keep him around for the time being.
I do think he could be back and could have a role off the bench for the White Sox in the future, but it is undeniable that Braden Montgomery brings more to this White Sox team than Nishida can right now.
Given the difficult stretch of the schedule the White Sox are navigating, along with their current place in the standings, it needs to be all hands on deck as Chicago figures out who they are and what they need before the trade deadline arrives .
That means, for now, Nishida heads back to Triple-A and hopes another opportunity opens up.
