Davidson, Nieto in first wave of White Sox roster cuts
Last spring, Matt Davidson got hot late in Cactus League play and he pushed Conor Gillaspie for the White Sox' starting job at third base before being sent to Class AAA Charlotte for more experience.
Davidson, still trying to show he has value after being acquired in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks for closer Addison Reed prior to the 2014 season, was one of 13 players moved out of the Sox' major-league camp Wednesday.
Along with catchers Adrian Nieto and Kevan Smith, infielder Tyler Saladino and outfielder Trayce Thompson, Davidson was optioned to Charlotte.
Pitchers Michael Ynoa and Raul Fernandez were optioned to Double-A Birmingham, and infielders Dan Black, Andy LaRoche and Tim Anderson, outfielder Jared Mitchell and pitchers Tyler Danish and J.D. Martin were reassigned to minor-league camp.
In eight exhibition games this spring, Davidson batted .143 (2-for-14) and he also made 2 errors in the same inning Sunday against Arizona.
Davidson has been dealing with a sore shoulder in camp.
"I think Matt is in a real good spot right now," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn told reporters Wednesday. "He unfortunately missed some time with some shoulder stiffness here so he didn't get quite as many at-bats as we had hoped. At the same time, from a mental standpoint and mechanical standpoint at the plate, he's in a real good spot.
"The most important thing for him was to get over last year, turn the page and start fresh. He's absolutely approaching this year with that attitude."
Last season, Davidson ranked fourth in the International League with 20 home runs, but he batted .199 with Charlotte and led the league with 164 strikeouts.
"Last year, it's not fun driving to the park and struggling day in and day out when it's something you are not used to," Davidson said earlier this spring.
Nieto was a Rule 5 acquisition from the Nationals and, despite playing at Class A Potomac in 2013, the catcher spent the entire 2014 season on the Sox' 25-man roster backing up Tyler Flowers.
In 48 games with the White Sox, Nieto batted .236 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.
"Adrian handled it well," Hahn said. "Having to spend the full year at the big-league level, he really missed out on a fair amount of development time."
This spring, Geovany Soto, Rob Brantly and George Kottaras are competing for the No. 2 catcher job.
Thompson had a solid camp before being optioned to Charlotte, batting .412 (7-for-17) with 1 home run and 3 RBI in 13 games.
Mitchell, the Sox' first-round draft pick in 2009, might be finished with the organization. The former LSU star baseball/football player was removed from the 40-man roster in November and Mitchell was 0-for-7 with 4 strikeouts in Cactus League play before being reassigned.
After Wednesday's roster moves the White Sox have 51 players remaining in major-league camp - 30 pitchers, four catchers, 11 infielders and six outfielders.