CHICAGO — Former Red Sox prospect Chase Meidroth will make his MLB debut Friday against Boston.
Meidroth was one of four prospects who the Red Sox traded to the White Sox for ace Garrett Crochet on Dec. 11. The White Sox selected his contract Friday afternoon, optioning outfielder Greg Jones to Triple-A and designating pitcher Justin Anderson for assignment to clear roster spots.
The 23-year-old will start at second base and bat seventh in the White Sox lineup against Boston left-handed starter Sean Newcomb. He’ll face the only organization he ever was a part of before the December trade. Meidroth, a 2022 fourth-round pick out of the University of San Diego, was in big league camp with Boston last year and caught manager Alex Cora’s eye in Fort Myers.
“He’s gonna be a good one,” Cora said before the game. “One of these guys that, the more you see him, the more you’re going to like. Obviously, physically he’s not the biggest one or the fastest one but I can guarantee, the baseball part of it, people are gonna love.
“Very smart individual. He knows how to play the game. Obviously, those trades, you hate to lose players but we like what we’ve got and I know they like the package. It’s a win-win situation for both.”
Meidroth — who Baseball America ranked Boston’s No. 8 prospect when the trade happened — batted .267 with a .450 on-base percentage, .600 slugging percentage, 1.050 OPS, three homers, one double, 11 runs, four RBIs, two steals, eight walks and five strikeouts in nine games for Triple-A Charlotte to begin the season.
Meidroth is excellent at getting on base, which led to his Triple-A Worcester teammates last year nicknaming him “Force Field.” He had a .437 on-base percentage in 122 games (558 plate appearances) for the WooSox in 2024. He walked 34 more times than he struck out (105 walks, 71 strikeouts).
The Red Sox never called Meidroth up to the majors, opting instead to fill infield vacancies with players like David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard throughout last season. It didn’t take long for him to get a chance in his first season with the White Sox.
“He’s a really good player. Saw him in spring training a lot last year. Good defender, good offensive player. He controls the strike zone. He doesn’t chase, which is ironic,” said Cora, slipping a dad joke into his pregame media session in Chicago.
Boston sent Meidroth, catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez to the White Sox for Crochet who signed a six-year, $170 million contract extension with Boston on March 31. Teel is one step away at Triple-A Charlotte while Gonzalez is at Double-A Portland and Montgomery is making his professional debut with Single-A Kannapolis after being selected as the 12th overall pick last summer.
“They got some players over there,” said Cora. “It starts tonight with Chase. People are gonna fall in love with that kid. He’s a really good player.”
