Engel among 3 non-tendered by White Sox

The White Sox parted ways with some of their defensive depth at Friday’s non-tender deadline, declining to offer 2023 contracts to infielder Danny Mendick and outfielders Adam Engel and Mark Payton.

Chicago tendered contracts to all of its other arbitration-eligible players: right-handers Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo López, Michael Kopech and José Ruiz. The 40-man roster now sits at 35 players.

“We appreciate all that Adam and Danny did for our organization in 2022, and during prior seasons,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. “As we have said at other times, a lot of consideration and analysis goes into the club deciding to forgo the arbitration process and instead engage with players and their representatives as free agents.

“Our plan is to stay in contact with all three players and evaluate their ongoing fit with our club as we move forward through this offseason.”

Mendick was a solid contributor when healthy in 2022, hitting .289/.343/.443 while filling in around the infield, particularly at shortstop in Tim Anderson’s absence. Mendick’s season was cut short in June when he underwent surgery for a torn right ACL. Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimated that the 29-year-old’s salary could rise to $1.1 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but the Sox could look to bring him back on a lesser deal.

Engel appeared in 119 games this past season and ranked in MLB’s 82nd percentile in outs above average, per Statcast. But his bat regressed, as he posted a .579 OPS, making it difficult to justify the raise to $2.15 million (estimated by Cot’s) in the 30-year-old’s third season of arbitration eligibility. He appeared in 523 games across six seasons for the White Sox, collecting 30 homers, 65 doubles and 47 stolen bases.