General supervisor Rick Hahn likes the steadiness the Chicago White Sox have from an offensive standpoint.
And he believes the Sox have improved defensively and that they’ll be a “headier” ballclub.
He sees having second baseman Elvis Andrus within the clubhouse as useful. And whereas he is aware of all too nicely concerning the damage issue, Hahn likes the flexibleness the roster offers, with depth choices, if a setback happens.
“Overall, I like that this group believes what we are capable of accomplishing and wants to prove to the rest of the baseball world that we’re capable of being the team we should be,” Hahn mentioned.
Hahn mentioned the upcoming season with the Tribune on Saturday at Camelback Ranch. The dialog came about because the Sox have been nonetheless finalizing their roster.
Hahn recalled a latest dialog regarding the optimism each major-league membership feels this time of 12 months.
“This year seems different to me,” he mentioned. “This 12 months appears completely different simply from the extent of vitality, the extent of focus and the dedication. Just wanting to get going to point out that final 12 months was an aberration, that wasn’t who we’re and we’re going to be again on observe to the workforce we noticed in ‘20 and ‘21 and regain our place among the many groups which are contending for championships.
“We know we have something to prove that we belong there, (and) look forward to get going on that.”
The Sox made the playoffs in 2020, falling to the Oakland Athletics in a wild-card collection. They gained the American League Central in 2021, their first division title since 2008, earlier than dropping to the Houston Astros in a divisional collection.
The Sox have been the favored decide to win the division once more final season, however accidents and inconsistencies led to an 81-81 season.
The offseason included hiring Pedro Grifol because the supervisor in November and signing pitcher Mike Clevinger and left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Andrus, who joined the Sox final August, returned on a one-year deal early in spring camp and can transfer from shortstop to second.
“We wanted to bring in a guy like Benintendi who should help improve the outfield defense as well as balance out the lineup,” Hahn mentioned. “Elvis is principally a man with shortstop abilities at second base, particularly below the brand new guidelines we thought was necessary to enhancing the athleticism of the membership in addition to enhance our protection.
“There were areas we wanted to address, but fundamentally, even though you’d be a little hard pressed to pick out the guys who achieved at the levels we expected last year, there’s still understandable levels of belief in the capabilities of a healthy Luis Robert, Yoán Moncada, Eloy Jiménez, a full season of Tim Anderson. Yasmani (Grandal) being a year removed of putting up a .939 OPS as a catcher on a division winner.”
Hahn added: “There’s cause to consider on this group and we weren’t going to easily make modifications for the sake of constructing modifications.
“It’s betting on the talent that’s in there, the manager and the coaching staff put in the best position to succeed and hopeful that some of the alterations we made will improve our luck from a health standpoint.”
Hahn mentioned Grifol ran a “great camp.”
“Pedro and his staff have been everything we could have hoped for and more in terms of the attention to detail, the communication, the organization of our days,” he mentioned. “Now, ultimately we’re all going to get judged obviously on how the performance is during the regular season, but in terms of level of preparation and being able to control what you can control over these first six weeks in spring training, everything has just gone extremely well.”
First baseman Andrew Vaughn mentioned Grifol has “got us all pulling together. That’s the biggest thing. We’re all pulling from the same rope.”
“I think it’s important within the clubhouse, that level of trust and communication that Pedro and his coaches have brought helps foster that environment,” Hahn mentioned.
The Sox had an prolonged have a look at their depth with some regulars away for the World Baseball Classic. Eight Sox gamers participated within the occasion, which Hahn mentioned, “there were a lot of positives to come out of that.” Reliever José Ruiz was amongst those who stood out, together with placing out Mike Trout whereas pitching for Venezuela.
“That’s something that not only is a great accomplishment for him, but is a learning experience he can take with him into the season in terms of that level of intensity and what he’s capable of doing on a big stage against one of the greatest players of our generation,” Hahn mentioned.
Additionally, there was Moncada being named to the All-Tournament workforce enjoying for Cuba. And for Team USA, Hahn mentioned, “Lance (Lynn) was great on the big stage. TA, I heard a lot from the folks from Team USA about how important he was in that clubhouse and I said, ‘Yeah, I know. We see it for seven months.’”
Back at Sox camp, some of the talked about gamers has been outfield prospect Oscar Colás, who’s has been vying for a roster spot.
“He’s shown he belongs in the big leagues and he’s capable of doing in the big leagues when the time comes,” Hahn mentioned. “But there’s been alternatives to show him about positioning on some fly balls, about jumps he’s had on tagging up on sure performs. On his pitch choice, which was actually good at first of camp, pale slightly bit and has now improved once more.
“Overall, a lot of people may see the ability and performance and be like, ‘That’s a good camp.’ And they’re right, but it’s also been a good camp because our guys have been able to pull him aside from time to time and fine tune the edges of his game, which is going to serve him well.”
On the pitching entrance, Grifol mentioned the Sox plan in late-game conditions can be “leveraging it out” within the absence of Liam Hendriks, who introduced in January he was identified with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hendriks has been round at camp, together with enjoying catch.
“He’s obviously in real good spirits and we’ll know more in the coming days and weeks about a potential timeline,” Hahn mentioned of Hendriks. “It’s just good to see him be in the clubhouse, spending time with the guys.”
“We all know the challenges that Liam has had in front of him off the field so it’s nice to see him avail himself of the normalcy that his routine provides.”
The rotation is about, with American League Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease getting the beginning for Thursday’s opener. Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech are additionally again, with Clevinger becoming a member of.
Houston is the start of a troublesome April for the Sox that additionally consists of enjoying the Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and two collection in opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I think we’re all embracing the idea of being challenged right when the bell rings,” Hahn mentioned of the schedule, “right with those first four days against the defending champs and then again over the next several weeks of April.”
Those alternatives start this week.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com