Sox Machine

1 month ago | soxmachine.com | James Fegan

White Sox Rule 5 pick Shane Smith generated a lot of enthusiasm in his second outing of the spring for averaging 98.3 mph on the 15 four-seamers he threw. While Smith had reportedly spiked to such velocity heights in the Brewers organization on occasion, it’s a solid four ticks over his four-seamer’s average from last season, and it comes early in the process of stretching out, as the 24-year-old has largely been relegated to the bullpen in the past by injury and circumstance.

1 month ago | soxmachine.com | James Fegan

PHOENIX — If you determined injury severity by armchair body language analysis, Andrew Benintendi’s reaction to a first inning hit by pitch on Thursday wouldn’t have set off all the alarms. Naturally reserved, Benintendi examined his right hand after it was drilled by a 87 mph Logan Allen fastball with the annoyance it deserved before trudging up the first base line to take his base.

1 month ago | soxmachine.com | James Fegan

PHOENIX — The largest free-agent contract the White Sox have ever given out was partially driven by a desire to improve their pitch framing, so it’s not like the fan base hasn’t heard this tune before. But there’s a decisiveness to the messaging from White Sox leadership that might feel new. “At the catching position, improving our framing numbers, knowing the impact that they can have,” Chris Getz said when asked about what will define success for the Sox this season.

2 months ago | soxmachine.com | James Fegan

PHOENIX — Sports media just doesn’t know how to carry out our scrums in thematic order anymore. Sure, it made sense to open Monday morning, the day of the first full squad workout, by talking to Andrew Benintendi. Will Venable said Benintendi will be an everyday, middle-of-the-order presence this season, but he was also signed after the 2022 season to round out the lineup of a team that expected to return to the playoffs.

2 months ago | soxmachine.com | James Fegan

If the saying goes that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, spring training for a White Sox team coming off a 121-loss season might inspire an inverted line of reasoning: If a minor league deal with the White Sox doesn’t lead to a real shot, where do you go from there? The question might haunt the brain of a less experienced, less weathered player through the end of next month.