Adieu, Tim

The White Sox nontendered first baseman Tim Elko yesterday, a move that probably would‘ve happened whether or not Elko had surgery last month for a torn ACL. Oh, well. I can think of a whole bunch of reasons to wish the soon-to-be 27-year old well. He was a tenth-round draft pick who forced his way onto a major-league roster by hitting the cover off the ball—and possessing a career .289 BA while doing it—wherever he played in the minors. But timing is everything, both when you get your chance and how your mechanics affect production. Elko was the victim of bad timing, then, as evidenced by a .134 BA in 67 at-bats on the South Side. Hated the 30 strikeouts, loved the four homeruns. It would seem to me Colorado is the perfect spot for someone with Elko’s talents; here’s hoping. For what it’s worth, there are two Elko-like players, perhaps with better timing, waiting in the wings. Ryan Galanie, a 25-year old infielder, hit .276 with 94 RBIs across Double-A and Triple-A last season. Galanie doesn’t have the same level of power as Elko, but he doesn’t strike out as much, either. Galanie probably bumped into Caden Connor at some point last year while Connor was moving from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A. A lefthanded-hitting outfielder, the 25-year old Connor managed 64 RBIs on the season while hitting .272 (.333 with seven RBIs in 39 at-bats for Triple-A Charlotte) with only seven homeruns. Wow, a guy who drives in runs by making contact rather than crushing the ball. Let’s give both Galanie and Connor invites to spring training, especially now that Mike Tauchman also got nontendered.