GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Lenyn Sosa devoted the offseason to working on his defensive range while playing for Caracas in the Veneuzelan Winter League.<\/p>\n
But will it be enough to earn a spot on the White Sox\u2019s opening day roster, considering he doesn\u2019t have a permanent position despite hitting a team-leading 22 home runs in 2025?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really pay attention to what my role is,\u201d Sosa said Saturday. \u201cIt\u2019s just trying to get better every day and do the best for me every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Compounding the situation is that Sosa is out of minor league options, so he would be exposed to waivers if he doesn\u2019t make the opening day roster. He came up through the Sox\u2019s system as a shortstop but transition to second base before reaching the majors in 2022.<\/p>\n
Chase Meidroth, however, seized most of the playing time at second during the latter stages of 2025, and Sosa was assessed with a minus-10 defensive runs saved at second. Miguel Vargas will be the Sox\u2019s starting third baseman, and Sosa\u2019s chances of starting at first base, where he played 42 games last season, diminished when the Sox signed Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34 million contract.<\/p>\n
Newcomers Luisangel Acuna and Tanner Murray also can play multiple infield positions, although Acuna is expected to get a long look at center field.<\/p>\n
Sosa, meanwhile, intends to be more aggressive on first pitches and has no intention of raising his 3.3 percent walk rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plan for this year is to be even more aggressive,\u201d Sosa said. \u201cWhat I mean with that is just trying to really crush pitches that are in the strike zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murakami on the move<\/p>\n
The plan for Munetaka Murakami is to start Sunday and Monday, followed by a day off on Tuesday. Venable indicated Murakami, who had two hits and two RBIs in his Cactus League debut Friday, likely would play Thursday and Friday before departing for Japan to train for the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
In other scheduling news, pitchers Mike Vasil and Sean Burke are scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Brewers, and Shane Smith, Seranthony Dominguez and Grant Taylor are lined up to pitch Monday against the Rockies.<\/p>\n
Aided by ABS<\/p>\n
Pitcher Aaron Hicks is a big fan of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, as evidenced by a ball that was overturned and resulted in a called third strike to Max Muncy of the Athletics in the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been telling people I think I might be one of the biggest beneficiaries because that ride back sinker,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cI feel like umpires my whole career have just kind of given up on it. That\u2019s a really important pitch for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hicks, who umpired youth games as a 16-year-old, didn\u2019t mean to disrespect home plate umpire Charlie Ramos but was happy that catcher Edgar Quero requested the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day I think we\u2019re going to trust the catchers overall,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cI think they probably have the best zone awareness over a pitcher. They see hundreds of pitches come in every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sox 11, Athletics 2<\/p>\n
\u2022 Edgar Quero-run single in the first inning and poked an opposite-field two-run hit to right in the third. Brooks Baldwin, battling for an outfield spot, smacked a changeup for a home run to lead off the second as the Sox collected 14 hits.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Shortstop Colson Montgomery looked smooth while ranging to his right while avoiding a collision with third baseman Miguel Vargas and making an accurate throw to retire Colby Thomas for the second out in the first.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Left-hander Chris Murphy was delighted to throw first-pitch strikes to eight of the 10 batters he faced. He threw wild pitches, however, in the second inning that led to a run.<\/p>\n
On deck: Sox vs. Brewers, Sunday, 2:05 p.m., Glendale, Ariz. CHSN. Mike Vasil vs. Logan Henderson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Lenyn Sosa devoted the offseason to working on his defensive range while playing for Caracas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-495683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}