Col¨¢s confident in '25 turnaround for himself, White Sox

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Oscar Colás delivered an upbeat personal message to White Sox manager Will Venable and his staff when the left-handed hitter met with them earlier this Spring Training.

¡°I told them I think this year is going to be my year,¡± said Col¨¢s through interpreter Billy Russo. ¡°And not just for me, but for the team in general.

¡°This is a young team, with a lot of talent, and everybody is willing to do what it takes to do better and help the team. I think that¡¯s the big picture of this team right now.¡±

Things have not gone as planned for Col¨¢s, 26, since he joined the White Sox via a $2.7 million bonus as part of the 2022 intentional free agent class. He has a .223/.271/.309 slash line, with five homers and 23 RBIs over 301 plate appearances covering the past two seasons.

A fair chance has been given to Col¨¢s with the White Sox, by his own estimation. He simply hasn¡¯t performed up to the expected level, so he changed up his offseason work to alter that course.

¡°I wasn¡¯t in the right weight. I was a little heavier than I wanted to be,¡± said Col¨¢s regarding the changes he made after the conclusion of the ¡®24 season. ¡°Heavier than when I started the season, but with my personal trainer, Nicole, she had a good program for me and we were able to accomplish the goals that we have for the new season. That¡¯s why I feel much better right now.¡±

Manager Will Venable added: ¡°He was driving two-plus hours each way for his workouts, which I thought was really impressive. So just to be around him a little bit and understand his commitment was cool.¡±

Venable met with Col¨¢s during an offseason Florida excursion, watching his workouts and then having dinner with his family. Col¨¢s can play both corner outfield spots, but the White Sox have five experienced outfielders on the roster making guaranteed money, so he has also been working at first base.

¡°I¡¯m as comfortable as I feel playing the outfield,¡± Col¨¢s said. ¡°The main thing is I want to earn a spot and I want to help the team. To me, it doesn¡¯t matter what position I play. I can even play shortstop if they need me to.¡±

Venable added: ¡°Well, I'm not sure shortstop is going to be the spot, but love that he's willing to do that. Any way that he can get on there, I know that he'll try. We just appreciate that effort and that willingness to contribute in any way possible."

Martin's road debut

For about 10 minutes Tuesday, Davis Martin thought he might be at the wrong venue.

Martin arrived before even the clubhouse personnel, but quickly realized Salt River Fields was the right locale for his first career Cactus League road start. He made quick work of the Rockies, throwing 13 of his 18 pitches for strikes and striking out two in two scoreless innings.

¡°Just being aggressive in the zone,¡± Martin said. ¡°We talked about setups with the catcher being more centrally located in the plate, especially early in counts to make sure that we're attacking early, attacking through the heart of the plate and then expanding off late. [Matt] Thaiss had a great setup back there and everything was working really well today."

The 28-year-old posted a 4.32 ERA over 11 games (10 starts) after coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2024. Now, he could be in line as the White Sox Opening Day starter for 2025.

¡°It'd be a great honor and that would be awesome,¡± Martin said. ¡°But my job is to take care of my business one day at a time. It's 33 starts.

¡°If you have two good starts in a row, your first two, you can't just cash in the next 31 as it's going to be great. I've got to continue to work hard. I've got to continue to push myself and do the things that I need to do to get better and be ready to go. If it works out, it works out."

Birthday greetings

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf celebrated his 89th birthday on Tuesday.

¡°We¡¯ve talked baseball, we¡¯ve talked life,¡± said Venable of his relationship with Reinsdorf. ¡°Certainly probably talked to him the most during the interview process, had some time with him there.

¡°Really good to get some insight into his plan for this, how he views the game. The only interaction I¡¯ve had with him has been great.¡±