Jose Abreu’s locker, second from the door of the White Sox clubhouse at Camelback Ranch, is still flanked by fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada’s and Luis Robert’s, who now share the space.
The space would be better served by the presence of Abreu, who showed them how to act like a big leaguer when they were breaking in. They’re on their own now.
“It’s going to feel strange, for sure, not having him here,” Robert said through a translator. “Especially in my case, he was here the whole time that I’ve been here. It’s going to be weird, different, but I’m going to still try to put in play all the stuff that he taught me and of course going to try to improve myself.”
Which was work hard every day, and if the results aren’t there, keep working.
When Robert heard that Abreu signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the World Series champion Astros after spending the first nine seasons of his career with the White Sox, a perfect deal at seemingly the perfect place where he may finally know what it feels like to win a playoff series, Robert congratulated him.
‘‘ ‘That’s good,’ ’’ Robert told him. “That was a decision about what was best for him, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“That’s part of the business,” Moncada said of this Cuban disconnection in the clubhouse. “That decision wasn’t in our hands. I’m very thankful for all the help he gave me and gave this team.
“We would like to have him here but that’s how it is. He did a lot of good things for us and we are going to miss him.”
Kopech sharp
Manager Pedro Grifol was “really excited” about Michael Kopech’s bullpen session Sunday.
“Commanded the strike zone,” Grifol said. “Was strong. He’s in a good spot physically, mentally. Today was a really good day for him.”
Healthy so far
The Sox got through the first five days with no injuries.
“Knock on wood,” Grifol said. “That’s a big part of this thing, a huge part of this thing. We’re going to hopefully have communication, feedback from [players] will allow us to be proactive instead of reactive. That’s a really important message in this camp. Let’s get ahead of these things so we can nip them in the bud a little bit.”
First full squad
Monday is the first full squad day, although almost the entire team was in camp Sunday with the exception of Oscar Colas and Hanser Alberto. Grifol prides himself on being a communicator, but “those big speeches” often heard on such days aren’t his thing.
“They last about 15-20 minutes [in players’ minds],” Grifol said.
Grifol’s camp is based in large part on knowing what players want and he in turn has seen high energy and effort.
“Feedback is really important,” he said. “I’ve told them all, you need to give me feedback. You have to give our staff feedback. We’re only going to get better if we get the feedback from you guys. This is about them, this is not about [the coaching staff].”
