Friday, April 04

CHICAGO -- Jacob Amaya is known as a defense-first shortstop, which is a good trait to have for a middle infielder.

But it’s not good enough for the 26-year-old.

“I kind of push it to the side,” Amaya told me during an opening series interview this past weekend. “I kind of want my offense to come around and be equal if not better than my defense side. I know what I can do out on the field. It’s getting my swing back in the box.”

“Good for him that he recognizes that and that his defense is kind of the foundation of his skill set because that’s obviously a very important one,” said White Sox manager Will Venable of Amaya. “You saw kind of his progression throughout camp and maybe trying to do too much early, and then shortening up and using the whole field and putting the ball in play. That’s what it’s going to be for him.”

Amaya started at shortstop in each of the three games against the Angels, going 1-for-8 after hitting .176 over 24 games with the White Sox (23 games) and Astros in ’24. He was back at his primary defensive position and batting ninth during Monday’s frigid series opener against the Twins, going 0-for-4 with a run scored (and a outstanding play on a Carlos Correa line drive on defense)

Venable and his staff have prioritized defense since the start of Spring Training, putting in that extra work to avoid giving extra outs to the opposition while also making the inning-changing or game-changing play on a consistent basis.

“That's who we are and that that's our identity is that we're putting in a lot of work and doing the things that we need to do to win ball games,” Venable said. “And I thought after a Spring Training of pounding our fists on the table for some of these things and the work that we put in, for it to show up in the first series was awesome. We hope it continues.”

Even with Amaya’s usually slick glove work, the 26-year-old certainly is far from the only organization option long-term at shortstop. Colson Montgomery, the No. 4 White Sox prospect and No. 39 overall, per MLB Pipeline, began this season with Triple-A Charlotte after missing 10 days during Spring Training due to a back malady. He homered in his first game for the Knights but is 1-for-13 overall with nine strikeouts through three games.

It’s of course the smallest of sample sizes. But even if Montgomery crushed the baseball for the next two or three weeks, there doesn’t appear to be a rush to get him to the Majors until the 23-year-old checks all the needed boxes.

“There are things defensively he’s working on. There are things on the bases he’s working on,” said Venable of Montgomery. “He’s really continuing to develop.

“We also recognize that getting hits and performing at the plate is important too. So, we’re really just going to take this day by day, let him do his thing, and when he’s ready and we feel he’s ready, we’ll call him up.”

Let’s not forget Chase Meidroth, the No. 8 White Sox prospect, who looked to be a strong big-league possibility at shortstop out of camp and has a .467 on-base percentage and 1.012 OPS in three Knights victories. Meidroth, who was one of the four players acquired from Boston in the Garrett Crochet trade, will get looks around the infield beyond shortstop.

Amaya continues to put in that extra, early work defensively to stay as smooth as possible. His opening fielding error Sunday led to a pair of unearned runs in the first off Davis Martin in an eventual 3-2 loss, but physical mistakes happen. It’s about being prepared to move on from those occasional mistakes.

“Everything stays synced up and the biggest thing is he plays with a high level of confidence and knows that he can go get balls and make plays,” said White Sox first-base coach Justin Jirschele, who works with the infielders, of Amaya. “Obviously at a vital position at shortstop, it’s huge to have.”

Tim Anderson was thinking about White Sox starter Sean Burke when the Angels infielder stepped to the plate for the first time in Thursday’s season opener. But the man who was a star on Chicago’s South Side for much of 2016-23 couldn’t help but notice the prolonged and hearty standing ovation he received from more than 31,000 in attendance.

“It was pretty cool,” Anderson told me prior to Sunday’s series finale. “I didn’t show it, but I was super emotional that day. This is where it all started. This is kind of like home, and it just really showed they paid attention to when I was here.

“Parts of me do miss it a little bit, but I understand the path I’m on and everybody has to get to where they need to be. Sometimes it’s not where you started. It’s where you finish.”

Anderson was cheered throughout the weekend, although he didn’t start in Saturday’s game. He wondered a little beforehand about the crowd reaction in his return but received a highly supportive answer quickly.

“The real ones know,” Anderson said. “I came here to work, I came here to get better, I came here to try to win.

“I didn’t come here to do anything else. That showed day in and day out who wanted to be out there, who wanted to compete and who were the competitors. I fit that description throughout my time here.”

• Who had a better first weekend: The Dodgers, Aaron Judge, or the Charlotte offense? Talk amongst yourself and get back to me.

• Venable quipped Monday about wondering if he should go out and help head groundskeeper Roger Bossard and his crew with the tarp Sunday when the deluge began. He even humorously suggested getting me into the assistance program. I can guarantee that plan would have not worked out nearly as well as the amazing job Bossard did.

• It was good to be back at Harry Caray’s this weekend -- twice, in fact. It’s tough to top them in Chicago for great food, service, and everything else.

“The field turned out to be good. I’m very happy. I’m going to go home tonight and I’m going to sleep real well.”

-- Bossard after his three hours of work to get Rate Field ready following Sunday's massive storm

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