GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yasmani Grandal signed his four-year, $73 million contract, a record for a White Sox player, after James McCann signed on for another year after his All-Star season with the White Sox.
What it means for the Sox is they are very deep at catcher. What it means for McCann is a backup role he wasn’t expecting.
“It is what it is,” McCann said Wednesday, the first official day for pitchers and catchers at spring training. “There’s things about the business that you can’t control. All you can control is how you handle your own self and how you handle your own preparations, and that was my main focus throughout the offseason and that will continue to be my main focus: how to make myself better and how to help the team win.”
So McCann, who became a solid clubhouse leader in his first year on the South Side in 2019, will soldier on in a role he can’t be thrilled about, especially as he looks ahead to being a free agent after the season.
“I’m just here doing my job. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll be willing to do,” he said.
Although he said the right things, it seemed obvious the worker and competitor in him wanted more.
He certainly expects more from the Sox in 2020.
“If I said we weren’t trying to win a World Series, then I’d be lying,” McCann said. “You go into every season with an expectation to win. This season is obviously no different, but there is a little more in regards to the moves that were made in the offseason. It’s win now, and it’s not just get to the playoffs, it’s win a World Series.”
A lofty goal, indeed. McCann also knows having depth is needed to attain such goals.
It’s like what top prospect Nick Madrigal, who is competing for a second base job this spring, said.
“The great teams have competition from position to position,” Madrigal said Wednesday. “That’s what really drives the greatest teams. Hopefully, not only for the second baseman but at every position out there guys are working to beat each and every guy out.”
Lopez’ offseason
Looking to increase his fastball spin rate and get in better physical condition, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez trained at Mamba Academy with Lucas Giolito and Noah Syndergaard this offseason.
Losing focus has been an issue for the 26-year-old right-hander, who has flashed long stretches of excellence and failure during his two full seasons with the Sox.
“Last year was a year of too many ups and downs,” he said through translator Billy Russo.
To that end, Lopez also worked on “getting my mind right,” utilizing meditation and other mental training and relaxation techniques. He said things would tend to go south mentally after a bad pitch or sequence or inning.
“It was more about letting your [bad] thoughts flow through instead of holding them,” he said.
Lopez knows his spot is far from guaranteed in a rotation that includes Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez and Dylan Cease, with Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon waiting in the wings.
“When you’re in this level, everyone knows you can’t be comfortable because there’s a lot of people behind you that want that spot,” Lopez said.
