White Sox's Blake Rutherford: Optioned to Double-A

The White Sox optioned Rutherford to Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday, Lamond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports. He hit .154 (2-for-13) with a double, a walk and a run scored while in major-league camp.

Rutherford spent the offseason bulking up, presumably in response to criticism about his lack of power. The White Sox remain supportive of Rutherford, a first-round pick of the Yankees in 2017. He hit .265/.319/.365 with seven home runs over 480 plate appearances for the Barons in 2019. As a player that profiles as a corner outfielder, those numbers won't get him to the big leagues.