The White Sox
White Sox looking to recapture momentum
CHICAGO — The next phase of the rebuild is here for the Chicago White Sox.
After an active offseason, the Sox enter 2020 as a contender in the American League Central.
But instead of the usual 162-game marathon, the Sox will try to make waves in a shortened 60-game sprint as the sport returns after a pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re obviously a young club,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “We have a club with a number of players with high ceilings, and that means we probably have a fair amount of variance in terms of what we are capable of doing over the course of the season.
“On the plus end, guys come out of the gate quickly and reach their potential early, we could do extremely well in a 60-game sprint. If things sort of balance out across the talent level and some guys reach that ceiling and some guys don’t make it there, we feel like we are fairly well-balanced in terms of our ability to compete over a two-month stretch.”
The Sox look to recapture the momentum that was building in the spring.
“I’m still extremely optimistic,” manager Rick Renteria said. “The difference is going to be that there’s been a little bit of downtime for everybody. So depending on how we’ve been continuing to remain active , we come in with the same mindset, to build on what we were building when we were cut off in the spring.
“And I continue to be optimistic about how positively we can roll forward. It’s going to be a unique season because it’s a short season. The teams that start off as well as they possibly can and get to that finish line are the ones that are going to have a chance to be in it in the postseason.”
Buzz starting to build around the team after the busy offseason. The Sox signed free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal, starting pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez, reliever Steve Cishek and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion.
They also re-signed first baseman Jose Abreu, who led the AL with 123 RBIs last season, and acquired right fielder Nomar Mazara in a trade with the Rangers.
And the Sox came to terms on a six-year deal with Luis Robert, putting the team’s top prospect in line to be the starting center fielder.
“We have a lot of new faces mixed with some young guys that have been here,” shortstop Tim Anderson said this spring.
“We’re allowing everybody to be themselves and go out and do what you do best, which is play.
“We’re going to continue to come together as a team.
The biggest part is having fun. If you have fun, then the rest will take care of itself.”Anderson led the majors with a .335 average last season, joining Frank Thomas (1997) and Luke Appling (1936 and 1943) as the only Sox players to win an AL batting crown.
Anderson was just one of the core young players with a breakout year in 2019.
Third baseman Yoan Moncada, who agreed to a fiveyear, $70 million extension this spring, finished third in the AL with a .315 average. And Lucas Giolito became an ace, finishing in the top 10 in several AL pitching categories, including ERA (fifth, 3.41) and strikeouts (seventh, 228).
Giolito will headline the rotation, which got an upgrade with the additions of Keuchel and Gonzalez. Reynaldo Lopez and Dylan Cease also return, while Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon might be able to contribute as they make their way back from Tommy John surgery.
Most of the main parts of the bullpen return, including closer Alex Colome and setup men Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall. Bummer signed a contract extension this spring.
Eloy Jimenez signed a large contract extension last spring. The charismatic left fielder went on to lead AL rookies with 31 home runs.
Robert adds more pop to the lineup.
He had 32 home runs between three minor-league stops last season.
“I’m real excited. I’m counting the days for opening day and being able to start doing good things,”
Robert said this spring through an interpreter.
“I don’t have have any goals, I don’t (have) limits. I’m just trying to do the best that I can, and the numbers will be there at the end of the season.”
All of the moves have placed the
Sox in legitimate position for their first winning season since 2012. And that might be just the beginning.
“Nobody likes losing, of course.
I’m no different,” Renteria said this spring. “The thing for us to do is everything we have on paper, keep them confident, working, preparing (and) making that paper come to fruition between the lines.”
Anderson is confident exciting times are ahead.
“I’m always excited,” he said. “To bring the lineup that we have now, hopefully we can win a lot more games and can get that playoff push and can get to that ultimate goal, which is to win championships.
“We don’t know when, so we have to continue growing, keep having fun, keep building each other and keep rallying around each other, and I think we will get to that goal.”
The Sox aim for those goals in a unique season.
“It’s going to be a little different feel,” Hahn said of the 60-game campaign. “It’s going to be a heightened excitement with each individual game being worth essentially the equivalent of almost three games on a normal schedule. We expect the intensity will be there from the start of the season, and we know how important each and every game will be because of the limited schedule.”