Message from Garcia: Sox have ‘ great future’
MIAMI — Avisail Garcia couldn’t even be certain he was going to get to 2017 as a member of the White Sox by the time the Sox started selling off players over the winter.
Now the team’s lone All- Star is making promises about the future, envisioning a role with Chicago’s — if not the American League’s— next powerhouse.
“We have a great future,” Garcia said when asked what he expects the roster to look like after the July 31 trade deadline. “That future might not be this year, but for the next year we’re going to be a great club and have a pretty good chance to win.”
If Garcia is right about his vision, then his timing might be just as right for becoming an AllStar outfielder and showing off his value as a core player.
Soaking up the All- Star vibe during media hour Monday, Garcia rattled off names of young players coming through the Sox system he expects to be on the same stage soon — and even expects to be better than the Cubs’ Kris Bryant/ Kyle Schwarber/ Addison Russell core.
“For sure, 100 percent yes,” he said. “I believe it, and I see it. Believe me.”
Others seem to see the same thing. Baseball America has Sox prospectYoanMoncada rankedNo. 1 on its latest prospects list. Righthander Michael Kopech showed off his triple- digit fastball during the Futures Game on Sunday.
“We have a lot of talented guys and a great future,” Garcia said.“We gotMoncado, we gotKopech, we got [ pitcher Reynaldo] Lopez. They’ve got to keep working and we’ll see what happens for next year.”
Meanwhile, Garcia, 26, tries to tune out trade rumors as the front office hangs a for- sale sign on the roster — the same way he tuned out rumors that sometimes included his name last winter.
“I don’t pay attention to that; it’s a business,” he said. “You’re here today, you don’t know tomorrow. When they call me and they say you got traded, then I’m not with the White Sox. But I don’t pay attention to what other people say.
“If you pay attention to that you go crazy.”