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The Chicago White Sox entered last spring as the favorites to win the American League Central.
It didn’t work out that way as injuries, inconsistency at the plate, questionable managerial decisions and sloppy defense added up to a disappointing 81-81 season in which the Sox finished 11 games behind the division-winning Cleveland Guardians and missed the playoffs.
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The Sox enter this spring looking to return to the form that led to postseason berths in 2020 and ‘21.
“We had such high expectations for last season,” starting pitcher Dylan Cease said during a videoconference last month. “If you take pride in what you’re doing and you really took that to heart, failing and losing like that, it hurts.
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“If we take that to heart and do use that, anytime you can have a little chip on your shoulder and have that extra motivation, it’s always a positive.”
It has been an emotional offseason with closer Liam Hendriks announcing in early January he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
It also has been a troubling one with Major League Baseball investigating newly signed starter Mike Clevinger for domestic violence allegations first reported in late January by The Athletic.
It’s under those circumstances that spring training gets underway, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp Wednesday at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. The first full-squad workout is Feb. 20.
Here are four questions as the Sox begin preparing for the 2023 season.
Grifol spent the last 10 seasons in various roles on the Kansas City Royals staff, including as bench coach from 2020-22. He officially became the 42nd manager in Sox history on Nov. 3, completing a search that began after Tony La Russa announced Oct. 3 he would not return in 2023 because of health issues.
Grifol takes over a roster that largely remains the same from 2022 — with first baseman José Abreu’s departure to Houston a notable exception.
“It’s going to be a little bit weird (without Abreu), but this is the business,” outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez said during a video conference in late January. “We need to move forward and play with what we have.”
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Jiménez, center fielder Luis Robert, shortstop Tim Anderson, third baseman Yoán Moncada and catcher Yasmani Grandal were among the regulars to spend time on the injured list last season. Their health — and for Moncada and Grandal, a return to their accustomed levels — will be vital.
And if the Sox are going to be contenders, they need to be better defensively after making the most errors (102) in the American League last season. They also have to avoid critical baserunning mistakes that occasionally cut short rallies.
Those fundamentals will be worth monitoring, as will navigating camp during a spring featuring the World Baseball Classic.
Anderson, starter Lance Lynn and reliever Kendall Graveman are on the Team USA roster. Moncada and Robert are on Team Cuba, Jiménez is playing for the Dominican Republic, while Nicholas Padilla and José Ruiz are pitching for Puerto Rico and Venezuela, respectively.
Grifol doesn’t believe the WBC will cause a disruption.
“I’ve coordinated camps before during the WBC,” he said during the winter meetings on Dec. 6 in San Diego. “You’re just giving other guys an opportunity to showcase themselves in spring training, and you never know, somebody might make a team or somebody might impress to a point where something happens during the year, we have a really good idea of what this particular player can do in the big leagues.”
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The rotation appeared set in early December when the Sox announced Clevinger’s one-year, $12 million deal.
What comes next remains to be seen as MLB continues its investigation.
The Sox, as part of a statement released the day of The Athletic report, said they “were not aware of the allegations or the investigation at the time of his signing” and would “refrain from comment until MLB’s investigative process has reached its conclusion.”
As the process plays out, the Sox have to explore all options for pitching depth.
Last year, Davis Martin filled in when the Sox needed an additional arm. He went 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 14 appearances (nine starts).
“Obviously Davis was really valuable for us last year, and it’s important to have depth beyond your starting five,” assistant general manager/player development Chris Getz said during a video conference on Jan. 31.
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Getz mentioned Sean Burke, Jesse Scholtens, Nate Fisher and Matthew Thompson as pitchers possibly in position to follow Martin’s path.
Burke went 4-10 with a 4.75 in 27 outings (26 starts) at Class A Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte.
The right-handed Scholtens and the left-handed Fisher were free agents signed to minor-league deals this offseason.
Thompson had a 4-7 record with a 4.84 ERA in 25 starts for Winston-Salem and Birmingham.
Hendriks is one of the top closers in the majors, leading the AL in saves in 2021 and finishing second in the category last season.
But that’s only part of his impact with the Sox.
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“It was definitely pretty devastating to hear (the news of the diagnosis),” Cease said. “Not even from a baseball standpoint. He obviously is a huge part of what we have going on. And on the baseball side, it’s a big loss. But to us, he’s a friend and almost like family first.”
Teams and players throughout the game have shown support. The Sox recently offered “Close Out Cancer” shirts through their website with the net profits benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
The Sox did not anticipate having an update on Hendriks’ playing status until “prior to opening day at the very earliest,” general manager Rick Hahn said as part of a statement on Jan. 8.
If called upon, Kendall Graveman has experience in the ninth-inning role. The right-hander has 16 career saves with 10 coming in 2021 for the Seattle Mariners and six last season for the Sox.
Others with at least five career saves include Jake Diekman (15), Joe Kelly (six) and Aaron Bummer (five). Non-roster invitee Keynan Middleton, signed as a minor-league free agent, has 13.
Reynaldo López and Jimmy Lambert figure to have prominent relief roles, and Garrett Crochet will be returning at some point after suffering an injury that required Tommy John surgery last spring.
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The Sox addressed one corner outfield spot, signing left fielder Andrew Benintendi to a five-year, $75 million contract.
They’ll use the spring to determine opening-day starters in right field and at second base.
Romy Gonzalez and Lenyn Sosa are among the returning options at second.
Gonzalez slashed .238/.257/.352 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 32 games in 2022. Sosa was 4-for-35 (.114) with three runs in 11 games.
The Sox anticipate using Leury García in a backup role.
As for right field, Gavin Sheets made the most starts there for the Sox last season (78). After a slow start, he slashed .241/.295/.411 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs in 124 games.
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Jiménez, previously the starter in left field and the most likely option at DH, said he has been working out in right.
And there’s Oscar Colás, the No. 2 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America, who slashed .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers and 79 RBIs for Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Charlotte.
“Oscar’s season was certainly impressive playing at three different levels and being productive at each of them,” Getz said, “and quite honestly continued to get better every time he was challenged at a higher level.
“We just saw him recently at a minicamp in Arizona. He’s in very good shape. You can tell he’s really dialed in and excited to have a productive year.”
