Sox infielder Nicky Lopez has been part of an improved team defense in spring training. | AP Photo/Matt York
Matt York/AP Photos
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox didn’t make any flashy free-agent signings this past offseason.
Coming off 2023’s disappointing 61-101 campaign, which included lackluster hitting and field errors, the Sox added several veterans to stabilize the clubhouse and on the field.
The Sox committed the seventh-most errors in the majors last season, had the sixth-lowest outs above average—which measures range—and the fifth-lowest ultimate zone rating, which measures how many runs a defender saved.
So far, the results have been encouraging.
“[I’ve] been going to games — not only when I pitch — and it’s looked great,” pitcher Erick Fedde said following Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Guardians. “Any time you feel really confident with the guys behind you, it makes it much easier to go right at people.”
Acquiring infielder Nicky Lopez in a trade from Atlanta and signing veterans Paul DeJong, Martin Maldonado, and Mike Moustakas helped the club establish consistency in the infield.
“It’s so important for guys that don’t strike out a lot of guys,” pitcher Chad Kuhl told the Sun-Times, “and having a great defense makes a pitcher more confident.”
Against the Guardians, the Sox turned three double plays and got out of a bases-loaded jam. The Sox finished 24th in the league in turning double plays. There’s a confidence that comes with turning double play. It’s an understanding and dance that comes through countless repetitions.
“Double plays are huge,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Saturday morning. “Any time you can get two outs on one pitch, it’s a momentum swing. I love what our defense is doing. I love the work they’re putting in and applying it out there.”
Last season, the Sox often needed more chemistry in their infield. Pitchers need to believe in their infield’s sure-handedness.
“Unfortunately, I’d like to say no, but sometimes you just chase strikeouts when you probably shouldn’t, and it puts you in bad counts,” Fedde said of how a bad defense impacts a pitcher. “When there’s confidence, and it’s not even a thought, now you’re focusing on pitching and getting ground balls, even better.”
Kuhl broke into the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017 before quick, one-year detours with the Colorado Rockies and the Washington Nationals. Kuhl has only been on a team that finished in the top half of defensive runs saved one time (2017).
“Everybody’s going to make errors, but to be great, you have to be good every day,” Kuhl said. “The guys that can show up and constantly do that every day for 162 games … if you can just show up and be solid every day.”
The Sox have a couple of infielders who can play different positions, and it’s a luxury for Grifol to have a couple of players who can play other spots in the infield.
“The fact we put Nicky over [at shortstop] for the first time and he looks like he’s been playing it all spring,” Grifol said. “I’m comfortable putting him back at second base, knowing he’s good. [Braden] Shewmake has been playing some second and we know he can play shortstop. [Danny] Mendick and [Zach] Remillard, those guys can play anywhere.”
Consistency is one of the most essential qualities of any major-league defense. Grifol said the defense is playing out as the staff envisioned: solid plays mixed in with occasional flashy play. But shortstop is a position where being just consistent isn’t good enough most of the time.
“The word perfect is not thrown around in baseball very much,” Lopez said. “You can’t have many mistakes because the room for error at shortstop is much slimmer.”