The 26th Annual SoxFest this weekend was a blast and we learned stuff, too. After eleven and a half hours of radio, 18 interviews, and a panel or two we learned a few things about the White Sox, their players, and the organizations direction over the next few months.
Because everyone loves lists, we figured we’d write down a few things we learned. Some are big news, some are reminders, some are just goofy. Either way, here they are:
–Ricky Renteria will, in fact, go by “Ricky.” He’s had other nicknames throughout his career but he’s gone by Ricky for a while now. The new White Sox skipper made it official on the Steve Dahl Show, Friday. The manager is Ricky, the GM is Rick.
–Rick Hahn told Sox Fans during one of the panels that he had a trade fall through on Christmas Eve. Hahn declined to offer many details on the deal but did offer, “Many more [offers] die” than end up working out.
–Hahn maintained his stance that the Sox are still looking to make moves. Whether that’s the next Big One, like trading Jose Quintana, or moving other pieces like Todd Frazier or David Robertson, we’ll have to wait and see.
–Tim Anderson will wear No. 7 this year. He offered to buy new jersey’s for a some fans who’d bought the No. 12 jersey.
–Director of Amateur Scouting Nick Hosteler gave out a few nuggets concerning the 2016 draft. One being the White Sox would have taken Zack Collins (who they picked 10th overall) with the first pick had they had it.
–Hostetler also said that if Zack Burdi was off the board at 26, the White Sox were ready to take Alec Hansen. Turns out Burdi was there and they got Hansen with their next pick.
–Everyone in baseball is waiting with bated breath for the Free Agent class of 2018. Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Clayton Kershaw, Drew Smyly, Andrew Miller and more could all be had. Hahn said the White Sox have not ruled out making an investment two winters from now.
–Lucas Giolito is massive.
–Ricky Renteria uses lobster in his Queso Fundido. I will spend most of the season learning how to make it.
–Zack Burdi will work out of the bullpen.
–The White Sox made a large shift in draft strategy. They focused more on hitters with a control of the strike zone and pitchers with the ability to throw strikes.
–Renteria plans to rotate players through the DH spot and use it to get players off their feet when needed.
–Nate Jones will pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. He was put on the roster before being ‘officially’ notified. Said he was ridiculously excited when he found out.
