CHICAGO _ Even if Manny Machado isn't with the White Sox _ yet? _ his presence looms large.
Manager Rick Renteria and several White Sox players read to preschoolers at an Englewood community center Wednesday, but with the SoxFest fan convention this weekend and spring training around the corner, Machado's free-agency-in-limbo couldn't be ignored.
"The winter has been very busy to say the least," Renteria said during the team's visit to the Mitzi Freidheim Englewood Child and Family Center. "We still are in flux."
The Sox manager said the team had a great meeting with Machado and that they put on an impressive presentation to the prized free agent.
But as to why Machado remains unsigned, Renteria wouldn't hazard a guess.
"What the dynamics are for why it's not completed yet with anybody, let alone ourselves, you kind of scratch your head a little bit," he said. "But you know what? Everybody's doing their due diligence and trying to get a young man that's extremely talented, probably doing the best they can to get him under the best terms."
Machado has made it clear to teams that he desires to play shortstop, though the consensus is most would rather slot him in at third base. His arrival could push incumbent shortstop Tim Anderson out of position, though the three-year veteran made great strides defensively in the second half of last season.
Anderson said he would welcome Machado as a teammate.
"I just want to win championships," Anderson said. "So however they want to use me, wherever they want to use me, I'm OK with it. I'm just to here to play and have fun."
But similar to the sentiment he expressed after the Sox drafted Nick Madrigal last year, Anderson said he will compete for his spot.
Asked whether he stills sees himself at shortstop, Anderson replied, "What do you think?"
"Definitely, I see myself at shortstop," he added. "And it's going to be tough to kind of move me. I put a lot of work (in) to get to where I am today. It's not going to be easy to move me."
