Renteria on White Sox trade candidates: ‘They have job to do’

GLENDALE, Ariz. — There will be no getting around swirling trade rumors when White Sox pitchers and catchers report to spring training Tuesday.

Left-hander Jose Quintana has been a hot topic ever since the Sox dealt Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. David Robertson also has value as a proven closer and setup man and is at or near the top of the contending Nationals’ priority list.

Some believe Robertson could go this week if the sides come to an agreement on prospects going to the Sox in return and the amount of salary the Nationals are willing to pay. Robertson has $11 million and $12 million on the last two years of his four-year deal, and the Sox historically are not big on eating contract dollars.

“Obviously it’s something that is swirling, but for the most part, we all know that they come to the ballpark preparing for the upcoming season,’’ manager Rick Renteria said Monday. “It would be foolish for me to say they probably don’t have it in the back of their mind. It’s probably there, but it shouldn’t be something that encompasses their every waking moment. They still have a job to do. They have to come here and prepare to get ready for the upcoming season.’’

That’s what pitchers and catchers will begin doing in earnest, taking physicals starting at 6 a.m. before taking the field for their first organized work. The Sox are in rebuild mode, and it seems only a matter of when, not if, some of their most valuable assets will move on.

“If there are any obstacles or annoyances that occur, we will do the best we can to kind of minimize those,’’ Renteria said. “For the most part, they are professionals. They know what they have to do. Their day-to-day operations are what they have to do to prepare for the upcoming season, so I think we will try to focus on that.’’

This is Renteria’s first year after managing the Cubs for one season, sitting one out, then serving as former manager Robin Ventura’s bench coach in 2016. He steps in with less pressure to win than Ventura had in most of his five seasons. In rebuild mode, and with Sale and Eaton already gone, the theme is the future, not the present.

“The expectation outside can be what it’s going to be,’’ Renteria said. “We still have to have high expectations for ourselves.’’

When Robertson signed for $46 million over four years in December 2014, the Sox also signed Melky Cabrera to a three-year, $42 million deal and traded Marcus Semien and three other prospects to the Athletics for one year of Jeff Samardzija. The built-to-win buzz in camp that year lost momentum in the first weeks of the season.

Patchwork signings, big and small, haven’t worked for an organization with a weak farm system, prompting general manager Rick Hahn and Co. to begin the rebuilding phase. Already, the Sox have five top-100 prospects in their system with more trades to come.

And likely more losses, although the players who are here will no doubt say in the coming days that they expect to win.

“Everyone is going to have high expectations for themselves in that clubhouse,’’ Renteria said. “It’s not going to change for me. Most people will say if you set high expectations and they don’t rise to the occasion, you’re setting them up for defeat. I don’t agree with that. I think you set high expectations, you allow them to go through the process and you figure out what we failed at in order to get the job done. That’s also a part of learning how to win.’’

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Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com