Position change might help White Sox' Rios bounce back
The White Sox are hoping a change of scenery puts the charge back into Alex Rios' bat this season.
Rios is moving from center field to right, the same position he played with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006-07 when he was named to the American League all-star team.
Why not?
Alejandro De Aza is a better option in center field, and maybe having less responsibility on defense will help Rios get it going at the plate again.
“Alex, in the past, has played right field,” manager Robin Ventura said early in spring training. “He had his best years in right field. There's comfort in that, knowing he can do it.”
Two years ago, Rios did it all for the Sox.
He played with exceptional range and skill in center field and batted .284 with 29 doubles and 21 home runs while establishing career highs with 88 RBI and 34 stolen bases.
Last year, only teammate Adam Dunn saved Rios from being tagged the American League's most disappointing player.
Rios batted .227, hit 13 homers, drove in 44 runs, stole 11 bases and frequently zoned out in center field.
“It was a pretty disappointing year for me and for everybody, for the fans and everyone,” Rios said after reporting to training camp last month.
Can Rios bounce back this season? Let's take a look:
The swing:
Rios has one of the more unusual approaches in the game.
He stands 6-feet-5 but gets into a low crouch and drops his hands low while holding them close to his body.
Rios had trouble getting uncoiled last season but was unable to make an adjustment in September, when he batted .309 with 5 home runs and 11 RBI.
“I had a good September,” Rios said. “I was hitting the ball hard and that's all I want to do. I want to hit the ball hard and when you do that, good things happen. If I can bring September back to April, to the beginning of the season, it will be fine. I just want to be consistent and produce a lot of runs.”
Rios went home to Puerto Rico at the end of last season and watched videos of his all-star years in Toronto. He also started hitting much earlier than usual.
“I broke down my swing to start,” Rios said. “I broke it down and tried to get that feeling. I'm going to try to translate that into the games. I tried to see everything and analyze everything that I did when I was doing good. I tried to remember all those things. I hit for quite a while.”
While Rios' body language was bad for much of last season, he does have a burning desire to do well.
“Playing like I played last year, having the year I had, it's tough,” said Rios, who is owed $37 million over the next three seasons and has a $13.5 million club option (and $1 million buyout) for 2015. “It makes the year longer. It makes everything miserable. I'm looking forward to a hot start and keep going to make things fun again.”
The glove:
Rios has 66 outfield assists since 2004, the third-highest total in the American League.
He has the arm needed to play right field, even though it's not always accurate.
Rios won't have to cover as much ground in right field as he did in center, which should take some of the pressure of his chronic case of turf toe.
Rios downplayed his “rotten toe,” as former manager Ozzie Guillen called it.
“I've had this injury for quite a while,” Rios said. “I don't think it's an injury. It's just something I have to deal with every year. In my good years, I had it. In my bad years, I had it. I don't think it's something that affected me on the playing field.”
Other options:
Brent Lillibridge was spectacular when he played right field in place of Carlos Quentin last season, but he figures to spend most of his time in the infield this year.
Kosuke Fukudome is a standout defensive right fielder and he'll give Rios a break against tough right-handed starting pitchers.
sgregor@dailyherald.com
Tops in the AL
Scot Gregor ranks the right fielders:
1. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
2. Nelson Cruz, Rangers
3. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
10. Alex Rios, WHITE SOX
FanGraphs on Rios:
Interestingly, even though he hit just .227 (in 2011), he actually made contact at the best rate of his career. Although this is complete speculation, could it be that for whatever reason, Rios altered his approach to make more contact, and as a result, it hurt his power stroke?