The vibe around the White Sox’ clubhouse and in the manager’s office is the same: Enough losing. It’s time to win in 2020.
‘‘What would I like to be talking about a year from now?’’ manager Rick Renteria said Friday. ‘‘That we’re fighting for a position in the postseason. That’s going to be my message.’’
But general manager Rick Hahn wasn’t ready to declare 2020 the year to win in his end-of-season message to the media, even though he trumpeted the steps taken by core pieces Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez in the third year of the Sox’ rebuild.
‘‘How quickly we get to the most important stage — winning — it’s premature to say right now,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘We have to wait to see what the rest of this roster looks like and then, over the course of the early part of the season, see how the young players continue to grow before we can start saying, ‘This team’s ready to win a championship.’ But we’re moving to that next stage.’’
Fans fed up with the fourth-longest postseason drought in the majors — the Sox’ 2008 postseason appearance is their only one since they won the World Series in 2005 — should know Hahn plans to spruce up the roster via free agency and trades during the offseason, but he has nothing to gain by declaring 2020 to be the year.
‘‘In terms of general expectations for wins and losses or playoff competitiveness, let’s wait until we get to [spring training in] Glendale [Arizona] and see what changes, what augmentations we’ve been able to make over the course of this offseason before deciding exactly how close we are to where we want to be,’’ Hahn said.
A right fielder, a designated hitter and one or two starting pitchers top the priority list. Giolito, Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez seem to have spots in the rotation, Hahn indicated, with Michael Kopech (sooner) and Carlos Rodon (later) returning after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Look for Hahn to add at least one starter, although probably not big-ticket free agent Gerrit Cole.
First baseman Jose Abreu, whose contract expires after the season, figures to return for a seventh season — and more.
‘‘With Jose, we’ve heard his thought that even if we don’t re-sign him, he’s going to re-sign himself,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘We’ve heard [chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s] thoughts about [how Abreu will] always wear a White Sox uniform.
‘‘I don’t think they are going to be teaching this in negotiation classes in college how this one is unfolding. But my takeaway from all that is that there’s a strong desire on both sides to figure out a way to keep Jose in a White Sox uniform beyond this year.’’
Prized center-field prospect Luis Robert and second-base prospect Nick Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, are expected to play regularly for most of the 2020 season, with Robert getting started sooner than Madrigal.
‘‘We can say that, similar to Eloy a year ago, we expect Luis Robert to be playing center field for most, if not all, of the 2020 season,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘Nick Madrigal playing second base? Probably most of the 2020 season. But let’s wait and see how he comes to camp and what this offseason holds.’’
The Sox lost 95 and 100 games in the first two seasons of their rebuild and will take a 70-88 record into a doubleheader Saturday against the Tigers after having two games washed out Friday.
It’s time to turn a corner. Just how hard remains to be seen.
‘‘We’ve paid our dues for the last three years,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘These things tend to take longer than three years, so we are not out of the woods yet. But we are ready for that next stage when we get much closer to competitiveness to start ramping up here in the next weeks and months into next season.’’
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