{"id":638508,"date":"2026-03-23T06:16:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T06:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/638508\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T06:16:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T06:16:30","slug":"as-chicago-white-sox-spring-training-wraps-up-heres-what-stood-out-to-manager-will-venable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/638508\/","title":{"rendered":"As Chicago White Sox spring training wraps up, here\u2019s what stood out to manager Will Venable"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Munetaka Murakami showed his opposite-field power Tuesday, hitting a home run<\/a> to left-center against the Athletics at Camelback Ranch.<\/p>\n

Murakami displayed his defense at first base Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds when he fielded a sharp grounder with a 112.4 mph exit velocity hit by star shortstop Elly De La Cruz.<\/p>\n

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Offensively and defensively, the two-time MVP of Nippon Professional Baseball\u2019s Central League continued to adjust to life as a major-leaguer during his first spring training after eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.<\/p>\n

Murakami\u2019s arrival<\/a> was one of the major stories at Sox camp, which wraps up Monday with the Cactus League finale against the Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.<\/p>\n

Manager Will Venable said on Saturday that the Sox as a whole, \u201chave had a great camp and worked extremely hard. We are confident and ready to go.\u201d The regular season begins Thursday at Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

Here are a few items that have stood out to Venable this spring offensively, defensively and on the mound.<\/p>\n

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Offensively<\/p>\n

Everson Pereira<\/a> provided the spark Saturday evening against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark, hitting a two-run home run in the second inning.<\/p>\n

Pereira battled back from an 0-2 count in the fourth inning, drawing a walk to load the bases for Edgar Quero<\/a>. The catcher followed with a two-run single.<\/p>\n

Venable has liked how the Sox haven\u2019t had to rely on just one method of offensive production.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the plate, we asked these guys to understand situations and make contact in certain areas and keep the line moving, look for bunts and whatever it is to have a team offense,\u201d Venable said. \u201cAnd these guys have done a great job of doing their part in different ways, seeing (outfielders) Derek Hill and Tristan Peters with the bunt and stealing bags.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are happy with the way the group has found different ways to attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stolen bases have been a particular weapon. The Sox ranked third in baseball, swiping 43 bases entering Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve asked these guys to do some things, be aggressive on the bases,\u201d Venable said. \u201cThey have done that. Sometimes we\u2019ve made mistakes, but aggressive mistakes, which we like. We feel like overall the group has done a great job with (coach) Jos\u00e9 (Leger) leading the way with the baserunning stuff, these guys have taken advantage of opportunities and they are being aggressive out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might be an aspect to watch in the regular season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we need to be ready to take advantage of opportunities,\u201d Venable said. \u201cPut yourself in a good position with your mindset, your primary lead, your secondary lead to take advantage of opportunities. These guys have been able to go out and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensively<\/p>\n

The Sox had a standard defensive arrangement Saturday against the Reds, with Murakami at first, Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery<\/a> as the second base-shortstop combination and Miguel Vargas at third<\/a>. Quero was behind the plate.<\/p>\n

The outfield consisted of Austin Hays in left, Luisangel Acu\u00f1a as the center fielder and Pereira in right. The Sox slotted Andrew Benintendi as the designated hitter.<\/p>\n

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That alignment could be a familiar option this season.<\/p>\n

But some players have had the chance to get work in at other spots, whether it\u2019s Acu\u00f1a or Meidroth making three appearances apiece at shortstop or Montgomery shifting over to third twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefensively we\u2019ve asked guys to play different positions and they have all looked comfortable doing it,\u201d Venable said. \u201cWe mentioned that\u2019s going to be something that\u2019s part of our program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuing to try to use these last couple of games to get some reps in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitching<\/p>\n

The Sox have stressed getting ahead in the count early, with the goal of two strikes in the first three pitches of an at-bat.<\/p>\n

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The pitching staff entered Sunday with 263 strikeouts in 30 spring games, ranking fifth in baseball. Monday\u2019s scheduled starter Anthony Kay<\/a> has a team-leading 15 strikeouts in 16 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

The control hasn\u2019t always been there for the team, which was tied for sixth in the majors with 126 walks in 262 1\/3 innings. If an opponent gets on, the Sox want to limit the runner being on the go.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the mound, controlling the running game has been a huge part of our program,\u201d Venable said. \u201cObviously throwing strikes, which is something we are still working hard every day to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like where the attention has been focused and where these guys are working. Overall, it\u2019s been productive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Munetaka Murakami showed his opposite-field power Tuesday, hitting a home run to left-center against the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2379],"tags":[1000,10945,124,5,1001,138,49,2561,50,10448,8220,458,10857,4154,843,4,73,2353,286,151,1949,4081,30019,396,2562,998],"class_list":{"0":"post-638508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-andrew-benintendi","9":"tag-anthony-kay","10":"tag-austin-hays","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-chase-meidroth","13":"tag-chicago","14":"tag-chicago-white-sox","15":"tag-chicagowhitesox","16":"tag-cincinnati-reds","17":"tag-colson-montgomery","18":"tag-derek-hill","19":"tag-edgar-quero","20":"tag-everson-pereira","21":"tag-miguel-vargas","22":"tag-milwaukee","23":"tag-mlb","24":"tag-munetaka-murakami","25":"tag-nippon-professional-baseball","26":"tag-sox","27":"tag-spring-training","28":"tag-the-athletics","29":"tag-tokyo-yakult-swallows","30":"tag-tristan-peters","31":"tag-white-sox","32":"tag-whitesox","33":"tag-will-venable"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116277031403818441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}