Oscar Colás and Gavin Sheets crushed plenty of pitches throughout batting observe.
Yoán Moncada obtained within the vital drills, together with fielding and baserunning.
Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jiménez tracked down fly balls.
Those had been a number of the sights Wednesday because the Chicago White Sox labored out Wednesday at Minute Maid Park forward of Thursday’s season opener in opposition to the Houston Astros.
The Sox enter the season with new supervisor Pedro Grifol and are aiming to bounce again after ending at .500 in 2022.
“Our expectations are extremely high, and that doesn’t change based on whether we’re sitting here now coming off a year where we underachieved or a year ago when everybody throughout baseball is picking us to run away with the division and potentially make some noise deep into October,” normal supervisor Rick Hahn mentioned after the exercise.
“We are going to be in a much better position to control what we can control on a daily basis and we’re eager to get going.”
Here are 4 issues to observe because the 2023 season will get underway.
1. Grifol’s time has come.
Grifol anticipates having household and “a ton of friends” in attendance Thursday.
After numerous roles within the Seattle Mariners group after which a wide range of positions on the Kansas City Royals employees, Grifol’s big-league managerial profession begins with the nationally televised recreation in opposition to the Astros (6:08 p.m., ESPN).
“My wife and my kids, they’re the reason I’m here,” Grifol mentioned Wednesday. “And extended family as well. It’s been a community effort to get to where I’m at right here.”
Hahn mentioned he “could not be happier where we are at right now from a staffing standpoint.”
“(Grifol has) delivered on every expectations we’ve had ranging from communication to the inclusivity to the focus,” Hahn mentioned. “It’s been implausible.
“This is the big leagues, and we all get evaluated on ultimately wins and losses once (Thursday) starts. So we haven’t had the most important element yet, but everything leading up to it has been matched or exceeded our very high expectations for that role. He’s been fantastic.”
While Thursday is a primary for Grifol, he made clear the day isn’t about him.
“It’s about these players,” Grifol mentioned, “the work they put in, the goals they want to achieve, the goals they have.”
2. Several gamers, together with Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, look to bounce again.
Injuries had been an enormous a part of the disappointing 81-81 2022 season.
Regulars lacking time through the 12 months included Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, Robert, Jiménez and Moncada. Moncada and Grandal are amongst these seeking to return to type offensively.
Moncada, who slashed .212/.273/.353 in 104 video games final season, had a powerful World Baseball Classic and earned All-Tournament honors.
“He’s been really working hard,” hitting coach José Castro mentioned Monday in Mesa, Ariz. “We worked on a couple of things. More lower-half stuff, staying behind the swing more. We like where he’s at.”
Grandal, who slashed .202/.301/.269 in 99 video games final season, had a powerful camp.
“I like where his swing is at,” Castro mentioned. “Keep him fresh and I think he’s going to be a good force.”
The Sox enter the season comparatively wholesome with Moncada lively after being slowed just lately by lower-back stiffness. Additions resembling Andrew Benintendi and a full season of Elvis Andrus lengthen the lineup.
3. Fresh faces on the roster embody Colás.
Colás was probably the most talked about gamers throughout camp. The second-ranked prospect within the group in accordance with MLB.com, Colás earned a roster spot with a spring that included slashing .258/.279/.424 with three homers and 6 RBIs.
“Oscar was great, and not just from a performance standpoint but from the standpoint of being extremely coachable and responding to any feedback that he got from Pedro and his staff,” Hahn mentioned.
Completing the roster, Hahn additionally introduced including Gregory Santos to the bullpen whereas infielder Hanser Alberto and infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez will present depth, together with catcher Seby Zavala and the outfielder/first baseman Sheets.
“We had to make some tough choices, send some players we know are going to help us over the course of the season to the minors,” Hahn mentioned. “Guys like Jake Burger, who had a heck of a camp, Adam Haseley had a wonderful camp. We’re certainly confident that at some point those guys will be contributing to us in Chicago.”
Hahn introduced the Sox had been chopping ties with infielder/outfielder Leury García, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract earlier than the 2022 season.
“The message from (Chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf was clear that we need to go with the best 26 to put us in the best position to win this year, even if in the end, as was the case with Leury, it wound up with us having to eating some sunk cost on the contract,” Hahn mentioned. “Leury García’s going to help a team at some point this year win.”
4. Which course will the crew go for the ultimate 3 outs?
Hahn shared a optimistic replace on nearer Liam Hendriks, who introduced in January he was identified with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“He remains in treatment, he still has some work ahead of him, however he is making very good progress,” Hahn mentioned. He famous the crew didn’t place Hendriks on the 60-day injured listing.
“And that is on purpose,” Hahn mentioned. “Hopefully at some point in April, toward the end of April, I’ll be able to get a little bit more specific for a potential timeline for his return.”
The Sox received’t have one set particular person filling in.
“(Grifol has) got a lot of options down there, whether it’s (Kendall) Graveman, who has had the most recent closing experience, Joe Kelly has done some, (Aaron) Bummer, or even Reynaldo López, who has looked fantastic over the course of spring,” Hahn mentioned. “Not having a set nearer per se on opening day does free Pedro up just a little bit to combine and match and play leverage conditions.
“He’s got multiple quality late-inning options and he’s going to be free to deploy them however he wishes each day.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com