According to MLB Pipeline, the Chicago White Sox face a difficult decision with outfield prospect Wilfred Veras.

Tuesday night (6 p.m. ET) is the deadline to protect certain players from the Rule-5 Draft, so players must be placed on the 40-man roster or exposed for the draft, which takes place on Dec. 11.

Veras was called the White Sox’s “toughest call”.

Veras has extensive major league bloodlines with sire Wilson, uncle Fernando Tatis Sr. and cousin Fernando Tatis Jr. all of whom reach the Majors. He has some of the best raw power in Chicago’s system but tempers it with an extremely aggressive approach, hitting .267/.319/.424 with 16 homers and 25 steals in 128 Double-A games.

Veras is currently listed as the No. 25 hitter in the organization, according to MLB.com. He is 22 years old.

It’s easy to see this on both sides for the White Sox. Coming off a 41-121 season, Chicago needs all the internal talent it can get. It would be hard to just let Veras go, especially if he has the ability to make an impact at the plate. That said, the White Sox will also be continued sellers this winter. They might value the roster so they can bring in more talent in the form of a Garrett Crochet or a Luis Robert Jr. trade.

MLB Pipeline predicts that Sox will add infielder Colson Montgomery to the 40-man roster. He is a top 100 prospect in baseball and was drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft.

If a player is selected in the Rule 5 draft, they must remain on the draft team for the entire season at the big-league level (if healthy). If they don’t, they return to the original team.

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