White Sox will be well represented in World Baseball Classic
Spring training is always a needed prep for the season, and the upcoming White Sox camp is going to be even more important.
It will be a nearly six-week stretch for Pedro Grifol to get to know his team and for Sox players to get to know their new manager.
There will be a bit of a challenge for the White Sox this spring due to the World Baseball Classic.
Back for the first time since 2017 after a two-year delay caused by COVID-19, the WBC will occupy a big chunk of March and the Sox will be well represented in the 20-team pool.
Tim Anderson was the first to commit, and the shortstop is looking forward to playing for Team USA.
"I'm going to enjoy the moment, for sure," said Anderson, who injured his finger during an Aug. 6 game at Texas and missed the rest of the season. "I'm definitely going to enjoy the moment to be among some of the greats in the game."
White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn will be joining Anderson on Team USA, which is the World Baseball Classic's defending champion.
Center fielder Luis Robert and third baseman Yoan Moncada are going to play for the Cuban national team and Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and reliever Reynaldo Lopez reportedly are on board to play for the Dominican Republic.
At the winter meetings in early December, Grifol was asked about the challenges of having players missing spring training to play in the WBC.
"I've coordinated camps before during the WBC," said Grifol, who spent the last 10 seasons in a variety of roles with the Royals, the past three as bench coach. "Most of the players that go to the WBC are everyday players. 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 he can do, this particular player can do this in the big leagues.
"So it's just really next man up while we watch those guys compete for something they love."
Robert and Moncada have plenty to prove in 2023, and they can get an early jump by playing well for Cuba.
"You're talking beginning, middle of March, they've got to be ready to go," Grifol said. "That's the big stage. They're playing for something that doesn't happen every year. I just think that these guys, they're not taking that lightly. Their preparation right now is geared to, 'I've got to be ready to go come the beginning of March.' They'll just carry that right on to the beginning of the season for us."