GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The return of right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw on a Minor League deal on Saturday brings the number of players in White Sox camp to a robust total of 70.

Thirty of those players are non-roster invitees, including Shaw. But manager Pedro Grifol looks at that large group as representative of this year's Spring Training as a whole and the specific building of a team culture.

¡°Be ready to compete. That¡¯s what it tells us,¡± Grifol said. ¡°I¡¯ve never been a part of one with 70 guys but I¡¯ve seen 70-plus in camp with other teams before. It¡¯s just a number.

¡°We have six fields out there, we¡¯ve got a half field. We have an area for everybody and we got a ton of cages. Like I said, 70 just tells the story of this camp.¡±

Shaw, 36, enters 2024 with 791 career appearances, the third-most among active pitchers. The right-hander has goals of reaching 800 appearances, 1,000 appearances and maybe, if he pitches long enough, challenging Jesse Orosco¡¯s Major League record of 1,252 games. Shaw appeared in 18 games during September (and one day in October) alone, posting a 0.92 ERA in 19 2/3 innings during that run.

A good mix of experienced hurlers and young arms are competing in Chicago's bullpen, but Grifol won¡¯t even talk about roster construction less than one week into camp.

¡°It¡¯s a question I¡¯ll probably answer three or four weeks from now,¡± Grifol said. ¡°We are not even thinking about the roster right now. We are thinking about competition. We are thinking about guys going out there and proving to us these are the guys we want to go to Chicago.

¡°We¡¯ve got some guys who have been around and who know how to do this thing. Then you got some young guys with some power stuff. There¡¯s a little mix of everything here and it¡¯s a really good problem to have. Competition never hurts anybody. As a matter of fact, it makes you better. But as far as building a roster right now or a bullpen, I¡¯m not close to even thinking about it.¡±

Whether Grifol is thinking about it or not, there are quite a few players who clearly are veritable locks for the White Sox Opening Day roster. In this competitive world, the White Sox are looking for guys who want to play their style of baseball during the Cactus League.

¡°Fast: We want to play fast. And there¡¯s a lot of things that go into that word,¡± Grifol said. ¡°They know what we¡¯ve been talking about. They understand what we¡¯re looking for and the style that we want to play.

¡°Competition is based around our style of baseball. We¡¯re not going to deviate from this. This is who we are and this is how we want to play. And that¡¯s part of the competition. You¡¯re either buying in or you¡¯re not. And if you¡¯re not, the train is leaving the station. You might not be on it, you¡¯re probably not going to be on it.¡±