Ricky Speaks: Over the moon with the Summer Camp effort
The decisions are getting a bit trickier, each at-bat meaning more.
Technically, tomorrow's final exhibition game could determine the fates of a few bubble players and pitchers, as White Sox manager Ricky Renteria as much as admitted during his Tuesday media session. But most of the decisions — obvious on the first day of camp, barring injury or intake issues — have been made.
The biggest question mark, at least prior to Monday's night's stellar showing, surrounded Yoán Moncada. The third baseman was chased with a lot of cage and field work as a sort of back-to-back after last night's 1-for-3, terrific D effort against the Cubs, and it seems he's passed the post-coronavirus audition; Renteria sees Moncada as a fixture in the Opening Day lineup.
The mantle of most uncertain for Friday now falls to right fielder Nomar Mazara, who has been out with illness since the weekend. Clearly, whether a nasty bout of flu or something that will require more time, Mazara's status for Friday is very much up in the air.
The rotation is still an intrigue, as both Dylan Cease and Reynaldo López were up and down five times to live hitters during today's workout. Has Cease leaped to the No. 3 starter slot, formerly López's? The righty duo seem to be 3-4, in some order.
Renteria also batted away the notion that a player like Nick Madrigal would be demoted to Schaumburg as a service-time move, pledging that the 30 players the White Sox break Summer Camp with are the 30 who will best produce wins for the club.
For Renteria's complete media session on Tuesday, courtesy of the White Sox, watch below:
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.