Chicago White Sox's Garcia relishes first opening-day start
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - He's been on the roster for parts of seven seasons, acquired seemingly long ago in the 2013 trade that sent Alex Rios to the Texas Rangers.
Still, most Chicago White Sox fans probably would be stumped if asked to identify Leury Garcia in a photo.
On the disabled list five times in the last two seasons alone, Garcia has been healthy this season, and he batted a sizzling .431 (22-for-51) in the Cactus League.
"I don't know, I just tried to hit the ball," Garcia said with a wide smile. "I did a lot of work in spring training and had good at-bats."
Garcia probably would have been on the bench Thursday, but with Jon Jay out with a right-hip strain, he made the first opening-day start of his career.
"It's great," the 28-year-old Garcia said. "It's been my goal since I was 16 years old. To be in the starting lineup today, on Opening Day, it's awesome."
Garcia played center field against the Royals. He led off and was 1-for-4.
If he can stay healthy, the versatile Garcia can help the Sox.
"(Garcia) had a really nice spring, we've used him a lot in that (leadoff) slot," manager Rick Renteria said. "It's kind of given him a feel for it and he's taken advantage of it a little bit, I think. Just get him out there, get on base."
Familiar turf:
After spending most of his first eight seasons with the Royals before being traded to the Washington Nationals last June, new White Sox relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera was happy to be back Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
"I began my career here with all the other guys and we reached the World Series (in 2014-15)," Herrera said. "It leaves me with a lot of good memories. I've never been here on this (visitor's) side and was wondering what it looks like. Now I know. It's part of baseball."
Limited to 10 games after the all-star break last season due to a left-foot fracture, Herrera eased into spring training after signing a two-year, $18 million contract with the Sox.
The 29-year-old righty is back up to near full speed. "I feel pretty good," he said. "I'm in shape to begin this."
Signing day:
Contract extensions were being signed at a rapid pace earlier this month, with big-name players such as Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom agreeing to long-term deals.
The White Sox have been doing extensions for years, and last week Eloy Jimenez signed a six-year contract.
"Since I've been here, going back to (Mark) Buehrle and (Paul) Konerko and trying to get these guys young, much less the (Chris) Sale, (Adam) Eaton, (Jose) Quintana type guys, even Tim Anderson a few years ago, that's something we're going to continue to be aggressive with," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.
"Throughout the game over the last three, four weeks, you've certainly seen it spread, even with slightly older players prior to them getting to free agency."