Colson Montgomery, GM Chris Getz downplay concern over White Sox shortstop's back
TEMPE, Ariz. — As “things to watch” in White Sox camp go, Colson Montgomery’s showing at shortstop ranks right up there. Everyone with a stake in the White Sox' fortunes watching Montgomery get scratched from a lineup with back spasms probably shivered upon hearing the news.
On the day after, both Montgomery and general manager Chris Getz suggested there's no need to fret.
“Purely a spasm,” Getz said. “Not a concern.”
“I’m not worried at all,” Montgomery said.
It’s just that Montgomery has had back issues before. And knowing a position that requires bending forward for ground ball after ground ball after ground ball will put stress on it, and that Montgomery is 6-4, it bears watching.
The former first-round draft pick is a key piece of the Sox rebuild, and Montgomery was off to a good start this spring, making hard contact including a home run in the first game against the Cubs and fielding his position flawlessly.
“The defense has really stood out,” Getz said. “It’s very steady, very under control, that’s been impressive. Obviously, he’s had some really quality at-bats … you’re looking at the bat speed and the ball is coming off. For Colson it’s about being a steady defender, the baserunning needs to be consistent and his direction at the plate which will allow him to take advantage of the skills he has.”
At a premium position, it’s time for this premium prospect to establish some footing and give an organization which hasn’t developed much in the way of position players something to build on.
While there are those who believe Montgomery will eventually wind up at third base, Montgomery, as you would imagine, is not among them. The doubters have planted the proverbial chip on the shoulder, and when it’s suggested to him the defense has looked good, Montgomery doesn’t argue.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” he said. “Just because everybody says I’m not a shortstop, so I kind of take that for more motivation to kind of prove a lot of people wrong but also within myself I know that I’m a good defender. I can be a good defender and I got a lot of good resources here. So, I see myself as a shortstop and in the offseason I took pride in it.”
The left-handed hitting Montgomery was taking batting practice before Thursday’s game against the Guardians when he felt something in his back, though, and he stopped and was scratched from the lineup. He worked out Friday morning and did core work with training staff, so it appears to be nothing major, nothing like the back strain that landed him on the injured list in 2023 when he was in the minor leagues, not long after he put together a remarkable 50-game on-base streak.
“It’s kind of like mid to low back,” he said. “It’s nothing crazy, so I’ve dealt with it before. It feels just like a sore back.
“I just had one swing where it just tightened up a little bit and [hitting coach] Marcus [Thames] noticed it, and he was like, ‘It’s February 27. Just shut it down and do what you need to get right.’ ’’
Opening Day was exactly four weeks away Thursday, and that is the goal for Montgomery, to make the team and make his major league debut. But the ghost of Joe Crede, or that of any player nagged by back problems, lurks.
Take it easy, Montgomery suggested. It’s probably too soon to get jumpy.
“It was just a little muscle spasm,” he said. “It locked up on me. I’m not worried at all. I’ve played through these things before, but there’s a time and a place to play through some stuff and right now is not the time. That’s what everybody has been telling me.”