P¨¦rez, White Sox believe in '25 turnaround: 'We don't care what the people say'

GLENDALE, Ariz. ¨C There was quite a bit of attention emanating from Martín Pérez's first Cactus League start with the White Sox on Thursday, but it had very little to do with the southpaw¡¯s two scoreless innings.

Instead, it centered on P¨¦rez¡¯s post-start comments concerning the 2025 White Sox and what almost everyone would consider an extraordinarily surprising prediction.

"People think we are not contenders, but we are going to be contenders,¡± P¨¦rez said confidently. ¡°We are here for a reason. We don¡¯t have a lot of names or superstars, but what we got is what we got and we gotta go out there and compete with the players we have. It doesn¡¯t matter how many superstars you have.

"We don¡¯t care what the people say. We just have to focus on our team and go out there and perform. Do what we have to do to win the game at the end of the night.¡±

Let¡¯s take a look at P¨¦rez¡¯s outlook from an objective point of view.

The White Sox finished with 121 losses in 2024, setting a single-season record for losses in the Modern Era (since 1901). They traded away their top pitcher, Garrett Crochet -- albeit for a solid four-player return -- and there are virtually no untradeable veteran players for general manager Chris Getz in Year Two of this latest rebuild. That group includes top offensive force Luis Robert Jr., who has this current year at $15 million and club options at $20 million for ¡®26 and ¡®27 with a $2 million buyout in either year left on his contract.

As this organization develops and a Minor League system featuring six players in MLB Pipeline¡¯s most recent Top 100 consistently sends players to the Majors, the team is set up away from contention in the immediate future. Now, let¡¯s examine P¨¦rez¡¯s comments from a White Sox player¡¯s viewpoint.

Nobody on the roster is coming into the ¡®25 season to lose, regardless of the dire forecasts from the outside. And no player worth the signature on his contract would accept any attitude short of what was expressed by P¨¦rez.

"I believe that we are going to try to win every game,¡± catcher Korey Lee said. ¡°That¡¯s kind of our baseline right now: You are going to come in and try to win every single game and not listen to anything that¡¯s going on in years past. We are going to go out and compete our [butts] off. We are special, man.

"Baseball comes in all different shapes and sizes. You have years like we had last year, but you flip the page and it¡¯s a new year, new players, new coaches and it¡¯s going to be really really exciting for us this year.¡±

Cactus League results certainly don¡¯t dictate the year ahead, but the White Sox opened play in Arizona under new manager Will Venable by winning once in their first seven games and scoring just 19 runs combined. On Saturday in Peoria, the White Sox claimed an 18-9 victory over the Mariners while hitting four home runs.

Not exactly a harbinger of a turnaround, just as the 1-6 open wasn¡¯t indicative of trouble, especially when individual progression is just as much a Spring Training focus. Contending ultimately might morph into a better overall direction for the White Sox, who would need a 45-game improvement to match the win total of either the '24 Wild Card Royals and Tigers, who each won 86. They are searching for a team identity, something they frequently talk about together.

"One thing I¡¯m trying to tell my teammates: 'Hey, nobody believes in us. That first person who has to believe is us,¡¯¡± P¨¦rez said. ¡°If we believe, we are going to be fine because I know winning is hard, but when you play together, good things are going to happen. We are doing everything together, and that comes from our manager and the coaches. They are really helping and pushing us.¡±

"It¡¯s kind of what we are building here during Spring Training, just seeing what we need to do day in and day out to be able to win ballgames,¡± right-hander Drew Thorpe said. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us are counting ourselves out. Obviously anyone can win on any given day and that¡¯s our mindset going in. We want to be really good.¡±

"Really good" could become "really improved."

As for ¡®You gotta believe?¡¯ It rings true within this group.

¡°It could happen this year. It could happen next year,¡± Lee said. ¡°I¡¯m fortunate to be a part of it.¡±

¡°This is what we got and we believe in this talent,¡± P¨¦rez¡¯ said. ¡°We have to believe no matter what.¡±