White Sox fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about contending in 2018, general manager Rick Hahn cautioned Thursday.
“We’re not looking to build a club that’s going to jump up in one year, contend for a wild card and then regress back,’’ Hahn said. “We’re looking for a long-term point of view.’’
Hahn said he was overwhelmed with positive feedback from fans about the first year of the rebuild.
“All that said, we know we still have a lot of work to do,’’ he said. “We know we might be entering a slightly more difficult phase of this rebuild, and that is the phase where we have to allow this talent the time and patience to develop.’’
Home send-off
Tim Anderson scored from first on Rymer Liriano’s single to left fielder Ben Revere in the eighth inning, capping a two-out rally as the Sox came from behind to beat the Angels 5-4 in their last home game Thursday.
Anderson, who was not running with the pitch, went hard from first to third and was waved home by third-base coach Nick Capra when Revere’s throw went to second.
“I didn’t want to slow down because I didn’t want to go to extras,’’ Anderson said. “That’s something that [manager] Ricky [Renteria] brings out of us. He just says ‘Play hard,’ and that’s something that he branded in us.’’
Avisail Garcia doubled with two outs, and Rob Brantly hit a two-run homer before Anderson singled.
Jose Abreu led the players out of the dugout after the game to acknowledge the fans.
Abreu and Garcia: Future Sox?
As Hahn has alluded to, it’s not a done deal that the top two productive hitters in 2017 will be part of the organization past 2019, when they are no longer under control on their current contracts.
“Even under the most optimistic projections of our ability to contend, certainly ’18 and ’19 don’t include the bulk of the time when we anticipate having a window open to us,” Hahn said. “So obviously with any player who isn’t controllable through the bulk of that window, we have to make an assessment.’’
Hahn said he could “explore the trade market and see if we’re more better served moving them in exchange for players who would be under control for that extended window of time.’’
Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf presented Abreu with a ring for hitting for the cycle.
High praise for Renteria
Hahn gave high marks to manager Renteria and the coaching staff for getting players “fighting for 27 outs.’’
“You see them prepared every night,’’ Hahn said.
Hahn said he expects all of Renteria’s staff to return next season. Asked if Renteria, who is under contract for two more seasons, will be the right man for the job if and when the team is ready to win, Hahn said, “I see no reason why not.’’
This and that
Hahn said bullpen help, and possibly a starting pitcher, could be added this offseason.
— Prized outfield prospect Luis Robert, 20, will be invited to spring training and likely open the season at Class A Kannapolis or advanced-A Winston-Salem, Hahn said.
— Season attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field was 1,629,093, a slight drop from 1,746,293 in 2016.
— Tadahito Iguchi, the second baseman on the 2005 World Series team, threw out the first pitch.
Follow me on Twitter @CST_soxvan.
Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com
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