GLENDALE, Ariz. — Spring training is a time of perennial optimism. Look no further than Nicky Delmonico digitally redecorating the front of the White Sox facility to crown them World Series champions in 2019, 2020 and 2021. That’s optimistic, to say the least.
But a few White Sox players might be throwing some frustration in with their optimism. Well, maybe not frustration so much as a chip on their shoulder, a hunger to finally accomplish what this organization has been building toward.
“I'm sick of losing, honestly,” starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said Thursday at Camelback Ranch. “I've been losing from the minor leagues, my last few years, coming up here. I'm ready to win.”
Giolito was talking from a personal standpoint. Excluding his brief stint with the 2016 Washington Nationals, you have to go all the way back to 2014 to find the last time he was part of a team with a winning record: the Class A Hagerstown Suns, who went 82-58 in the South Atlantic League that season. Most recently, he was part of 2018’s 100-loss campaign on the South Side. And he was a featured player in that misfortune, leading baseball’s qualified pitchers with a 6.13 ERA and leading the American League with 90 walks.
Obviously, he would like to put all that in the rear-view mirror.
But personal results aside, there’s a feeling — inside the clubhouse, at the very least — that this team is ready to take the next step. How realistic that is remains to be seen given that Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Luis Robert, Nick Madrigal and many other of the organization’s best young players will spend most if not all of the 2019 season away from the major leagues.
But the guys who are here now are ready to turn the corner, a little tired of talking about the far-off future and ready to show there should be a conversation about the present.
MLB
“We're about winning here,” Giolito said. “It's not about trying to win. It's not 'Oh we're feeling it out.' It's about winning now. That's pretty much it. That's the most fun, when you're winning. That's the mindset now. I'm all about it.”
Giolito echoed the message manager Rick Renteria gave his players a day earlier, and Renteria shared a bit of that with the media Wednesday.
“I think we're in a different phase in where we're at as an organization,” Renteria said. “It's the third year in all the change that's been going on. We expect a lot. We don't sell ourselves short. We're going to shoot high.”
This is all well and good for the players who have tried to win every game during this rebuilding process, even if the bulk of the organization’s talent has been busy developing in the minor leagues. Eloy Jimenez will arrive early in 2019 and figures to make this team better right away. The offseason additions of guys like Yonder Alonso, Jon Jay, Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera and Ivan Nova were upgrades. And there’s the possibility that Manny Machado comes to the South Side and serves as a transformational figure as the rebuild reaches its apex.
But there’s still time to go before Rick Hahn’s planned perennial contender is fully cooked.
Jimenez, Giolito, Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and Reynaldo Lopez will continue to develop at the major league level. And there are still many young players making their way through the minor league system. Are things progressing in a positive fashion? Absolutely, and people are right when they say that some of the biggest names of this process have reached or are about to reach the big league level. But that doesn’t mean it’s over.
“We’re very cognizant of fact of where we are in this rebuild,” Hahn said Wednesday. “We know we’re entering Year 3, have really been at it in earnest for 26 or 27 months. … It’s nice to start seeing some of the fruits of this labor, some of the guys we project to see playing big roles on championship clubs starting to work their way more toward that environment in the big league level.
“It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture from time to time and get focused on one or two potential moves that may be out there. But when you take a step back and you look at what we’ve been able to accomplish over the course of the first couple years and what it’s going to start looking like over the course of the next couple, it’s hard not to get excited.”
Of course optimism is allowed at this stage in the baseball calendar, when every team is tied for first place. The White Sox know the train has not yet reached the end of the rebuilding track, but that fact isn’t going to dampen their springtime expectations, it’s not going to curb their preseason appetite. They’ve kept hearing about how bright the future is, and they’re confident in that. But some of these guys are ready for the present being bright, too.
“Sky’s the limit,” outfielder Jon Jay said Wednesday. “You never know what’s going to happen, that’s the beauty of baseball. You’ve got to play 162 games. There’s a ton of talent in this room. A lot of guys had positive years, positive second halves or whatnot, stuff where you can look at it.
“The goal is to look up in September and have a chance to play in October. That’s what we’re all here for and what we’re striving for.”
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.