GLENDALE, Ariz.— Tony La Russa has his own parking spot and a spot in manager Pedro Grifol’s managerial heart, and, as expected, was already present at White Sox camp a day before pitchers and catchers report to spring training Wednesday.
With a title of senior adviser, a Hall of Fame resume and almost two full seasons of managing the Sox in his second and final dugout stint before health problems sidelined him late in the 2022 season, La Russa’s knowledge won’t be wasted, Grifol said Tuesday.
“He’s been great,” Grifol said. “I actually push him every day to give me more. He’s got a wealth of knowledge and it’s not just knowledge. He’s got a story for everything. He has been around the game that long where he can give some wisdom and share a story too, you know, behind the wisdom.
“He is an example. He’s been unbelievable for me. He’s here and I’m looking forward to spending some good time with him.”
La Russa, 79, told the Sun-Times in December that he doesn’t want to overstep his bounds, describing his role as “putting my two cents in. The other 98% comes from them.”
“It’s focused on a couple of areas, and it’s limited to where I offer opinions based on my experiences and what I’ve learned over the years,” he said.
Go-Go Sox
Grifol is promising a more aggressive baserunning team in 2024.
“We were a conservative club last year. We didn’t take many risks,” he said. “We weren’t taking extra bases, we didn’t steal bases. I’m not looking to see that style of baseball this year. You’ll see the differences here in the spring.
“That’ll change your managing style, just because guys are going to be doing more, they’re going to be more aggressive, they’re going to be a little more fearless.”
Kopech’s role
Michael Kopech hasn’t been handed a spot in the starting rotation because Grifol wants an environment of competition.
“You’ve got to build him up. And he’s a starter right now,” Grifol said. “I’m expecting his offseason work to really propel him to take one of those five spots and be one of our main guys. But we haven’t really spoken too much about that. We’ll make adjustments if we need to make adjustments. But right now he’s going out there to be one of our five guys.”
Kopech, once viewed as a potential front-end rotation piece, was 5-12 with a 5.23 ERA last season.
This and that
Grifol said “it’s way too early” to identify a closer. “We have some guys capable of doing that. I don’t want to commit to any of that right now.”
— Right-handers Corey Knebel and Dominic Leone were signed to minor-league contracts and invited to spring training. The Sox have 68 players in camp, including 28 non-roster invitees.
