KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lenyn Sosa’s second stint with the White Sox looks a little better than the first.
For Sosa, this was a necessity considering the 24-year-old Venezuelan infielder batted .132/.145/.221 with one homer in 22 games after he came up from Triple-A Charlotte in April. Since going back to the minors and returning Aug. 18, Sosa was batting .246/.246./474 with four homers going into the Sox’ 6-4 victory against the Royals on Wednesday night. He was 0-for-4 in the game.
There is some upside to Sosa’s offense, which features power, and to the opposite field at that, but it’s remarkable knowing he has walked only once in 125 plate appearances. Defensively, there are steps to be taken. Specifically, with his first steps at the crack of the bat.
To that end, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez, who works with infielders, is coaching him up as a second baseman. A recent pregame work session saw Sosa standing face-to-face with Rodriguez, looking him squarely in the eye listening to the 64-year-old coach.
“He wants to be good,” Rodriguez said. “I told [manager] Pedro [Grifol], he’s come back [from Charlotte] with something different. At the plate and on defense, came back with an appetite to learn and to stay at this level. Whatever that is. He was getting his feet wet the first opportunity and was, ‘Can I do this? Am I willing to do this.’ Now he’s ‘yeah, yeah, I can do this.’ ’’
With the PitchCom on-field communication system, Sosa knows what pitches are being thrown and to what location, which can help him anticipate where the ball might be hit.
“In the minor leagues we don’t have PitchCom. It’s easier for me because I know where the ball might be hit,” Sosa said. “It makes [fielding] more interesting.”
And [fielding] is “more important for me right now,” Sosa said. “I need more range on ground balls. I keep practicing that every day.”
“We’re working on specifics, familiarizing him first with his lateral moves, it’s the only way to create range, give yourself space,”
Rodriguez said. “For whatever reason, infielders tend to believe straight lines to balls are better than angles. And he’s in that mode and we’re trying to break him from that.
“It’s impossible to play a hitter facing a pitcher with three pitches in the same spot.”
Sosa carries a playing card which indicates original positioning for hitters as a guideline, but he’s on his own to move before a pitch in the context of the game, count and the hitter.
“We’re trying to instill thoughts, mental stimuli and give him the leeway to move,” Rodriguez said. “He’s starting to. Sometimes he’ll look at me and I’ll move my head one way or another, having seen and having a feel for what the hitter is trying to do, knowing the pitch and velocity in certain counts.”
The Sox haven’t had an answer at second base in some time. Whether Sosa can provide it as an impact player or pan out as something less could unfold in the final days of the season and perhaps into next year.
“I know he’s always [primarily] been a shortstop,” said veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus, who transitioned to second base during spring training. “People say if you play short you can play any other position, and I thought that way, too, but when you actually play the position you realize they all have tricky parts to it. He’s done a really good job but he knows he has to keep working to be the best version he can be out there.”
