Travis Jankowski elected free agency after being outrighted by the White Sox, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. Chicago designated the veteran outfielder for assignment over the weekend when they activated Mike Tauchman from the injured list.
Jankowski started Spring Training with the Cubs. He was granted his release and signed with the White Sox in mid-March. Jankowski broke camp and appeared in seven games. He had three hits (all singles) and a walk in 14 at-bats. The lefty-hitting outfielder didn’t produce much offensively last season. He hit .200/.266/.242 in 207 plate appearances with the Rangers.
Texas got much better production out of Jankowski during their World Series season. He hit .263 with a .357 on-base percentage and stole 19 bases across 287 trips to the plate in 2023. Jankowski doesn’t provide any kind of power but he’s a patient hitter who has walked at a solid 10.1% clip over his career. His speed allows him to cover all three outfield positions.
Jankowski should find interest on another minor league deal. It wouldn’t be especially surprising if he circles back to the White Sox on a non-roster contract. First-year manager Will Venable was also the associate manager in Texas for the last two seasons.
Tampa Bay should call him. He can be their 4th outfielder while Jonny DeLuca is out. And since he can cover all 3 outfield positions with decent defense amd speed on the basepaths, he could earn some time and replace Morel for late inning defense.
Walks like Juan Soto but has elite speed and gold glove center not corner defense.
Guy is the 2023 World Series champion and no one wants him on their team? Teams should be lining up to sign this guy.
Huh?
Just because he was on a good team years ago doesn’t mean he is good.
He’s a AAAA 4th outfielder type player
@Phree4u
Your ‘AAAA 4th outfielder’ label misses the hidden math. Jankowski’s 2023 Rangers stint—263/.357/.242, 19 SB in 287 PA (Baseball-Reference)—delivered 1.5 WAR (Fangraphs), a $12 million value (WAR-to-$6M ratio, MLBTR 2023). Texas’ World Series run leaned on his 10.1% career walk rate (MLB.com) and 91st-percentile sprint speed (Statcast 2023), covering all three outfield spots with zero errors in 107 chances. Last year’s .200/.266/.242 in 207 PA? Still 0.4 WAR—$3 million worth—on a $1.7 million deal (Spotrac). He’s not ‘just on a good team’—he’s a cost-efficient multiplier: high-OBP, elite speed, flawless defense. Teams aren’t lining up because GMs overindex on slugging (league ISO .161 vs. his .042, 2024), not because he’s washed. White Sox DFA’d him for Tauchman (.243/.340/.351, 0.8 WAR), a $2 million gap for similar output. The market’s sleeping on a proven winner—data says they’re wrong, not me.
Pretty impressive analysis…I was just going to say he had the potential to add a win or two to the CWS line up and that’s not what they want.
Old York: I an not a Robot. I can’t comprehend all the gibberish analytics in your post. Plainly put, it wasn’t Jankowski who played a big role in winning the WS in 2023. He was just a utility player.
@avenger65
He’s an amazing player, probably one of the top players in the league and he’s a FA.
Detroit should get him
Detroit should definitely go get him. They have Kreidler and McKinstry as regular outfielders. Heck, they have used Baez in CF. Jankowski adds no offense, but he plays a solid CF. Kreidler has done decent as an emergency replacement. Margot is down, Meadows is down, Vierling is down, Perez is down… they don’t want Carpenter to be forced to play the OF. They need his bat to stay healthy. Greene in left is the only OFer left. Malloy is not the answer. Try and get Jankowski and DFA Kreidler or Brewer Hicklen.
Kreidler is optionable.