Hey, remember Adam Engel?
The longtime defensive whiz has been a bit of a forgotten man this winter as the Chicago White Sox prepare for a run at a championship in 2022. That's not to say he's been written out of any plans by the team itself, and the role he's long seemed best suited for — a fourth outfielder that can play all three positions, do it with spectacular defensive ability and hit a bit, too — could very well be the one he ends up filling for the South Siders this year.
But some see a hole in right field, and while those same folks might not see Engel as the solution, he's rarely been mentioned as a candidate, something this writer, too, has been guilty of numerous times, perhaps mentally relegating him to reserve status automatically.
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Engel, though, was plenty of fans' choice to take over everyday right-field duties at this time a year ago. Adam Eaton's return enamored only a certain percentage of the fan base, and there were calls to give Engel a shot he seemingly earned by bringing his offensive capabilities closer to the level of his defensive ones during the shortened 2020 season.
Well, Engel's numbers at the plate were once again good in 2021, his batting average down more than .040 points from where it was the season prior but his OPS up more than .020 points. His was particularly effective against right-handed pitching, with a .938 OPS.
But it's going to be difficult to mount any sort of argument in favor of an expanded role for Engel given the sample size. While his 36 games during the shortened 2020 season were obviously the effect of the schedule, he played only three more games during the full-length 2021 campaign, hampered by injuries throughout the year. A hamstring injury in the spring turned out to be much worse than initially believed, especially after a setback during his recovery. More health issues followed, and Tony La Russa was being asked what Engel could contribute until the very end of the White Sox' brief playoff run.
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Obviously this was frustrating to the always upbeat Engel, particularly because he was productive when his body allowed him to be. That just wasn't very often in 2021.
An offseason of recovery, though, would figure to provide a much more available Engel in 2022. And if Engel is healthy enough to play on a regular basis, you'd figure he'd be part of whatever outfield plans the White Sox have.
"We'll see how the offseason goes," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in November. "We believe in the futures of (Andrew) Vaughn and (Gavin) Sheets, and we have Adam Engel — who, knock on wood, will be healthier over the course of the 2022 season — who are all viable options in right field.
"If we find a way where we're potentially stronger in that spot, then we still have the DH spot for, potentially, Vaughn and Sheets to get ABs. We're going to remain flexible."
Hahn did a fine job there of outlining the entire situation in right, the discussion of which outside the organization has focused mostly on the choice between a Vaughn-Sheets combo or a splashy outside addition. There are still plenty of big names on the free-agent market who could slide into right field, if Hahn wants to take that route to upgrade the lineup when he can resume his offseason work on the other side of the ongoing lockout. Meanwhile, both Vaughn and Sheets showed promise in 2021, and any pairing of them — who knows if they'd stay in the righty-lefty platoon their rookie-year splits indicated would work well — would seemingly be a fine way to go.
Engel, though, could fit into that calculus in a number of ways. While Vaughn was a godsend for the White Sox filling in as the primary left fielder during Eloy Jiménez's injury recovery last summer, there's no doubt Engel is a better defender, and his glove could be useful on a near daily basis if Tony La Russa wanted to ensure late leads had the best chance of being protected. But the evolution of Engel's bat in recent years showed he's more than just a defensive replacement, too, something that could give La Russa options not just in late innings but in any situation on any day during the season.
Vaughn and Sheets, it could certainly be argued, are perhaps more suited to be DHs, given their natural positions as first basemen, allowing Engel to play regularly in right field and give the White Sox an improved defensive lineup, something Hahn mentioned as important moving into the upcoming season. Engel could fill a similar role as a frequent fill-in even if Hahn makes a big move in right field, which would seemingly assure Vaughn and Sheets as regular DHs.
It's hard to place Engel, exactly, into the puzzle for 2022, but that alone should show how valuable a piece he could be, someone who gives the team confidence, both offensively and defensively, when deployed in any situation. Versatility is always a luxury, and the White Sox have it in Engel.
The question is whether fewer than 80 games' worth of solid offensive numbers — not entirely fair, considering noticeable improvement near the end of the 2019 season — is enough to bank on in a season with championship aspirations. Obviously, not every spot on the roster is going to filled with an All Star, but there's no doubting how important role players are to teams that end up winning the World Series.
Engel might not need to be depended on to start 150 games in right field, but he'll need to be depended on.
Time to find out if the bat has permanently caught up to the glove.