CHICAGO – White Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames recalled a time when he was struggling as a prospect in the New York Yankees organization.

He began the 1999 season with the Double-A Norwich Navigators before being sent to the team complex for developmental work.

“It sucked,” Thames said Sunday at Rate Field. “It didn’t feel good. You felt kind of dejected, but at the end of the day you still got some spikes on. You got a chance to play, and you know people are behind you when they’re doing that for you.”

He didn’t let that obstacle derail his career, though. Thames went on to make his MLB debut in 2002 and play 10 seasons in the big leagues, hitting 115 career home runs with a .246/.309/.485/.794 slash line.

So when the White Sox sent Colson Montgomery – the team’s No. 4 prospect who’s ranked No. 34 in the MLB pipeline – to Arizona for individual work on his swing, among other things, Thames could relate. He relayed the story of his development in the minor leagues and offered support to the 23-year-old infielder.

“I texted with him [Saturday] night. I kind of told him I believe in him. I do. I see some things that he can do that I know can work up here,” Thames said. “It’s what you make out of it. Get there, get your work in, and hopefully good things will come. I think he’s going to be in a good spot once he’s done finishing up doing what he needs to get done in Arizona. … He’s got the whole organization that’s behind him, so he’s gonna go out and do a good job.”

Montgomery, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, entered spring training with a chance to win the Opening Day shortstop job for the White Sox, but back spasms limited him to just nine at-bats. Beginning the regular season with Triple-A Charlotte, he’s struggled mightily in his first 103 plate appearances.

White Sox director of player development Paul Janish explained the organization’s decision to send him to Arizona.

“The philosophy behind it is, look, Colson, again, he’s not off to the start he wanted to be,” Janish said Sunday. “I know [general manager] Chris [Getz] touched on this that there’s some mechanical things that he needs to work through. There are some giving him a break mentally from the competitive environment of Triple-A and Charlotte, just the day-to-day and everything that goes along with it. Kind of the intimate environment we can create here in Arizona.”

“The response from Colson was pretty mature,” Janish said. “He would tell you the same thing. He hadn’t performed the way he knows that he can. Again this is an effort to remove him from the environment briefly and reinsert him hopefully this coming week and give him a little bit of a fresh start with going all the way down to the daily routine and just getting him into the mindset of just competing every night.”

Janish said Montgomery’s day-to-day routine in Arizona will include work in the batting cage, fielding ground balls, weightlifting and running in order to stay in condition when he returns to game action. He’ll work closely with White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller.

The Arizona Complex League began Monday, and Montgomery hit leadoff and played shortstop. He went 0-for-3 with a walk, one run scored, two ground outs and a pop out. They have games scheduled for four of the next five days, though it’s unclear exactly how long he’ll be in Arizona. Janish said it’s a chance for Montgomery to get back to neutral and take a breather, with the intention of returning to Charlotte sooner than later.

While this may not be a common practice, it’s what the White Sox felt was best for Montgomery.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily extreme,” Janish said. “I’m glad that we were comfortable enough to pull the trigger on this earlier rather than later, just because it’s something that I think can be a little bit of an ‘a-ha’ moment to get out of the affiliate day-to-day and just breathe and get back into it. I wouldn’t call it extreme.”

“I know other organizations have used it and done it, as well, with certain players. Obviously, it’s the type of thing we do with a guy we think a lot of, care [about], expect a lot of. It’s not the type of thing you necessarily do with everybody. Not extreme, just another tool in the sense of, ‘Look, this is what we feel is best in terms of righting the ship.’ That’s what we’re going to try to do. At the end of the day, everything – this decision or any other decision we make about a player – is with their best interest at heart, right? That’s what this is, as well.”

Perhaps the biggest concern is around his 43 strikeouts and just seven walks, which equates to a 41.7% strikeout percentage and a .149/.223/.255/.479 slash line. This comes after a 2024 season in Triple-A in which he struck out 164 times, a 28.6% strikeout rate, while hitting 18 home runs with 63 RBI in 572 plate appearances. He finished last season with a .214 batting average and a .710 OPS.

Montgomery’s numbers have dropped off significantly since being promoted to Triple-A. Across three levels of the minor leagues in 2023, he hit .287 with a .940 OPS. He’s still a young player, and the White Sox maintain their confidence in him. At the same time, Janish said the White Sox want players to earn their promotions and be suited to advance to the next level.

“We’ve been real intentional to highlight the fact that there’s still a great deal of belief in Colson and his ability and what he’s going to do moving forward,” Janish said. “I think maintaining the fact that we believe in him and just as important, he believes in himself, which talking to him through this process, is something that’s been evident. He does believe in himself. He got in a little of a lull, slump, whatever we want to call it. This is our way of trying to help him get out of it.”

“That’s what this is about, right? It’s not necessarily about having success in Charlotte. It’s about getting him into a position where he’s confident and comfortable enough to compete at some point this year, he’ll go to the Major League level.”