The White Sox have selected the contracts of shortstop and right-hander , . Both are now on the 40-man roster and ineligible to be taken in next months Rule 5 Draft. Montgomery, 22, was the Sox top pick in the 2021 draft, coming off the board with the No. 22 overall pick. Hes been the systems top prospect since and currently factors prominently into top-100 lists at multiple publications (e.g. No. 38 at Lance Parrish Jersey Baseball America, No. 37 at MLB.com). He ripped through High-A and Double-A as a 21-year-old in 2023 before struggling for much of the season as a 22-year-old in Triple-A this year. Montgomery did finish the season nicely, slashing .263/.357/.465 in his final six weeks of action, but his overall .214/.329/.381 slash obviously leaves plenty to be desired. Even with those struggles, however, theres no way the Sox were going to leave a prospect of Montgomerys caliber unprotected. He breezed through the low minors and was four years younger than his average opponent in Triple-A. Montgomery hit .313/.511/.656 in 45 plate appearances during the Arizona Fall League as well, further adding to that nice finish. Scouting reports arent sold on him as a long-term shortstop, due primarily to his 63, 225-pound frame, but Montgomery is thought to have the arm and defensive chops to handle third base even if a position switch is nece sary down the road. Carela, 22, came to the ChiSox from the Yankees in the 2023 trade that sent to the Bronx. He split the 2024 campaign between High-A and Double-A, logging sub-4.00 ERAs at each stop. Collectively, it played out as a 3.71 earned run average, a strong 25.2% strikeout rate and a 9.9% walk rate hell work to pare down in the future. Carela totaled 106 2/3 innings, all as a starter. Hell likely head back to Double-A to begin the 2025 season, as he only to sed 32 2/3 innings there. Given his placement on the 40-man roster and the likelihood that hell split 2025 between Double-A and Triple-A, hell be a candidate to make his big league debut later in the 2025 campaign if he continues to pitch well. Omar Vizquel Jersey