CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox were reeling at this time last year, coming off a season in which they set a modern major league record for losses.

General manager Chris Getz and manager Will Venable see a team that’s in a much better place today. With spring training approaching, they believe they have a group poised to build on the progress it showed last season.

“I think we’re going to make a meaningful step forward,” Getz said.

Venable, an All-Star with the TinCaps at the start of his career, also feels momentum building.

“It’s significant,” Venable said. “And the way that we feel about it and the way that people talk about it, it’s real and it’s something that I think we’re excited about.”

Getz and Venable spoke Thursday ahead of this weekend’s fan festival. They were at a Boys & Girls Club a few blocks from Rate Field where the White Sox donated $125,000 for a visual and performing arts space. They’ll soon be in Glendale, Arizona, for spring training, with pitchers and catchers starting workouts Feb. 10.

The White Sox have three straight 100-loss seasons since finishing 81-81 in 2022. They went 60-102 and finished last in the AL Central in Venable’s first season. But that was a 19-game improvement from 2024, when they were 41-121 and shattered the franchise record for losses.

With a promising group of young players that includes shortstop Colson Montgomery, catcher Kyle Teel and infielder Chase Meidroth, they think they are ready to take another step forward.

The White Sox made a series of moves in the offseason they hope will help them get to another level, most notably signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami and trading center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets. They got speedy infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley in that deal.

Chicago used some of the payroll flexibility it gained in the Robert trade to sign right-hander Seranthony Domínguez to a $20-million, two-year contract. Domínguez, 31, debuted with Philadelphia in 2018. He has 40 saves and a 3.50 ERA in 322 games with the Phillies, Baltimore and Toronto.

Ramirez set to stay

with Guardians

José Ramírez has had two consistent goals throughout this major league career – playing for one team and winning a World Series.

Ramírez’s seven-year, $175 million contract extension with the Cleveland Guardians likely accomplishes that first goal.

“It’s important to me to say that this is the organization that gave me a chance,” Ramírez said through an interpreter. “There’s a lot of discussion about why this contract happened, but for me it’s important to be in Cleveland. This is where my family is and where I look forward to completing my career.”

The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played his entire 13-year career in Cleveland. He A seven-time AL All-Star, he had a career-high 44 stolen bases last season and became the fourth player in MLB history with multiple seasons of at least 30 home runs and 40 steals. He hit .283 batting average with a career-long 21-game hit streak. He also became the first player in franchise history to amass at least 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases last season.

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