The White Sox added another outfielder on the same day they moved on from Austin Hays, agreeing to a minor league deal with former Nationals outfielder Joey Wiemer.
As first reported by MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Wiemer will report to Triple-A Charlotte and give Chicago some extra depth in the outfield.
White Sox have agreed to terms on minor league deal with OF Joey Wiemer. He will be assigned to Charlotte
- Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 8, 2026
Wiemer had been placed on release waivers by Washington a couple of days earlier and cleared once the 48-hour window passed. The 27-year-old opened the season on a tear in Washington, going 10-for-17 with two home runs across his first five games.
After that, though, the production fell off fast. Over his next 61 plate appearances, he hit just .189/.295/.340 with a 41% strikeout rate.
Even with that rough stretch, his overall major league line still looked strong at first glance: .286/.398/.514 with a .912 OPS in 32 games.
The numbers got less flattering after he was sent to Triple-A Rochester. In 42 games there, he hit .196/.277/.257 and struck out at a 31% clip. Even after the Nationals put James Wood on the 10-day injured list, they kept Wiemer in upstate New York.
Wiemer entered pro ball as a fourth-round pick by the Brewers in 2020 and showed up on top-100 prospect lists in both 2022 and 2023. He’s carried a reputation for handling left-handed pitching well, but strikeouts have long been the issue.
He has struck out in 32.4% of his plate appearances against southpaws, and a .356 BABIP suggests the good parts of his production may be hard to keep going. He’s still viewed as a solid defensive outfielder with some power, even if he hasn’t been able to make it all click in the majors.
For now, Wiemer looks like insurance more than an immediate option for Chicago. Unless injuries hit between now and October, it’s difficult to see him getting much run. The Sox once had Everson Pereira, Austin Hays, and Derek Hill in the mix, but that outfield group is thinner now than it was before.
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