CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The American League Central is as competitive as it’s ever been.
The Royals are coming off a World Series appearance, the Tigers claimed the division crown and the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber, resides in Cleveland.
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So the White Sox knew they had to do what they could to keep up and surround their young stars with more talent. White Sox assistant general manager Buddy Bell said every AL Central team got better in the offseason.
“The parity is probably something we haven’t seen in a while,” Bell said Friday at BB&T Ballpark, home of the club’s Triple-A affiliate. “Minnesota is rebuilding, but they have a lot of good young ball players and they always seem to be tough to play. The rest of the teams — Detroit, Kansas City, our club — it’s going to be tough.”
The Sox signed former Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera to join last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Jose Abreu, in the lineup. Former Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche was also added to boost an offense that averaged four runs per game last year. Chicago also gave an extension to center fielder Adam Eaton, who hit .300/.362/.401 last year and led the AL with 10 triples.
The ace of the pitching staff, Chris Sale, finished third in AL Cy Young voting last year and the Sox added former Cubs and A’s starter Jeff Samardzija to the rotation. Closer David Robertson, who had 39 saves for the Yankees last year, and left-handed reliever Zach Duke were bullpen additions.
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White Sox manager Robin Ventura said the offseason moves happened in a hurry.
“We picked up Duke first, we got LaRoche, then kind of a flurry with Samardzija and Melky and Robertson. It’s exciting,” said Ventura, who played for the White Sox from 1989-98. “Anytime you pick up players with the track record and who are as well-equipped as these guys, you get excited about it — not only as a staff and an organization, but the players do, too.”
The White Sox are trying to get to the postseason for the first time since 2008 and are coming off a 73-89 season. In order to contend in the AL Central, Ventura knows pitching will be key. Samardzija, who struggled this spring with an 8.44 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, will be the opening day starter Monday against the Royals with Sale coming off a broken foot and sprained ankle.
Sale’s recovery is going well. He made his first spring training start Wednesday, striking out 13 over six innings against Reds minor leaguers. He will make one more rehab start and is expected to join the big club for its game against the Twins on April 12.
“We couldn’t be more pleased,” general manager Rick Hahn said of Sale’s rehab progress. “We thought we could be missing him for an extended period of time, but it should be just one turn through the rotation and that’s it.”
LaRoche, who helped the Nationals go from a last-place team in 2010 to a playoff club in both 2012 and 2014, shares his manager’s enthusiasm.
“We’re trying to get right back in the middle of it and it’s going to be fun to a part of that again,” said LaRoche, who added that Chicago’s current situation is similar to what the Nationals were trying to do in 2011. “I’m excited for the year. It’s always exciting to come into some place new and putting a contending team out there, try to make something happen and find a way to keep playing in October.”
While the White Sox are optimistic about the 2015 season, LaRoche says it’s a cautious optimism.
“You can look on paper what you have in spring training, but you get a month or two in the season, you find out what you’ve really got,” LaRoche said. “There were some positive vibes in spring training coming off of some years that weren’t so great, but it’s a fresh start.”