GLENDALE, Ariz. — Martin Perez wants no part of gloom and doom surrounding the White Sox, who will be challenged to avoid a third straight 100-loss season.
“Believe, man,” Perez said Wed. “This team finished well last year, we have good pitchers, good arms, they just need to figure out how to get guys out.”
Seeing is believing, and Perez, a new Sox, didn’t see first-hand what 121 losses looked like in 2024. But he saw the Sox in September as a San Diego Padre and noticed they won five of their last six games.
He’s now with them, a team whose strength is pitching but has no clear-cut Opening Day starter. He has never started Opening Day, but he could be the one.
“I’m ready for anything,” Perez said Thursday, the second day of camp. “I don’t care if it’s the first day or the fifth, I’m here to pitch and help the team. They’ll make the decision; I’m not paying attention to that. I’m just trying to be a good teammate. I just want them to know who Martin Perez is – I’m not here to get a job someone else might deserve.”
Jonathan Cannon warrants consideration, having posted a 4.49 ERA over 121 1/3 innings in his first full season. Cannon stopped the 21-game losing streak at Oakland and a 12-game streak at Boston with wins and notched a three-inning save against the Red Sox to halt a 14-game skid.
It was a more-than-fine first season, and on this team, that deserves staff-ace conversation.
If not Cannon, there’s Perez, almost 34, a 2022 All-Star left-hander and veteran of 13 seasons who was signed in the offseason to contribute innings, leadership and starts every fifth day.
Rotation roles behind Cannon and Perez will be filled by Davis Martin and Drew Thorpe – if and when Thorpe is fit to start after coming to camp behind the others due a sore elbow that slowed his offseason prep work.
Sean Burke, who made a good showing in three starts in September in his major league debut, and Jairo Iriarte, who came with Thorpe from the Padres in the Dylan Cease trade last spring, are among the other possibilities.
While Perez is not part of the future — he could be traded by the deadline for the second straight seasons — the others could be. Perez pitched to a 3.46 ERA down the stretch after the Padres, owns a 4.44 career ERA, made 32, 20 and 26 starts the last three seasons and will be that veteran to lean on.
“I just want to make [all] 32 starts,” he said. “Give me a chance on Opening Day? OK. If not, I’m not going to get mad.”
For first-year manager Will Venable, who is processing the 100 or so things to digest in the first days of his first camp at the helm, who starts on Opening Day was far from his first concern on the second day.
“We are still talking about it,” Venable said. “See how the schedule lines up. There are certainly a few guys we are discussing. But we haven’t gotten that far yet.”
For these Sox, there is a long way to go.
With Thorpe’s elbow serving as a warning, it might behoove general manager Chris Getz to sign a veteran such as former Sox and Cub Jose Quintana. But Venable says the Sox like what they have.
“We are going to see how this all shakes out and how this roster shakes out,” he said. “We like the guys who we have. We know these guys are going to out and compete and do their thing and be able to perform for us.
“It’s not going to be just about giving young guys a shot. We are putting together the best rotation that we can and we know that there’s going to be some young guys involved in that which we are excited about.”
Believe. And why not? That’s what spring trainings are for.