Yoán Moncada felt healthy enough to release a single (with accompanying music video) this offseason, so it stands to reason that he’s finally able to put COVID-19 behind him on the field.
Alas, there’s no such thing as a spring autotune-up, so he’s currently out a few days with what the White Sox described as “early spring soreness” in his throwing arm. An immediate spring arm issue for a White Sox third baseman automatically brings to mind the shoulder issue that terminated the Jeff Keppinger era before the halfway point of his three-year deal, but maybe that’s just me.
Otherwise, Moncada said, “I feel strong, I feel good. I am prepared to handle 162-plus games,” while Tony La Russa praised the way his bat looks from both sides. That might ordinarily sound like spring fluff, but Moncada looked otherworldly in 2020, in the sense that he was battling Mercury’s gravitational force with all of his baseball actions. Any return to his normal speed should be noticeable, after which things like bat control return to the fore. Assuming he can throw.
Speaking of COVID-19, José Abreu is due in camp today after undergoing additional antibody testing.
(Update: Abreu will continue to be held out of camp.)
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The White Sox had a number of health issues surface toward the end of the 2020 regular season, with Eloy Jiménez’s foot problem chief among them. Aaron Bummer’s prolonged absence dealt a sneakier blow, if only because the White Sox succeeded without him for a good chunk of the season. He didn’t look nearly as impressive in his two September appearances, and his inefficient inning in Game 3 made four or more outs impossible for Rick Renteria to request.
If nothing else, it served as a reminder that the White Sox bullpen is at its best when Bummer can occasionally go a second inning, even if Garrett Crochet looms as a candidate for medium-to-high-leverage work for an entire season.
Based on Ethan Katz’s initial assessment of his new setup man, it appears that Bummer’s got full life on his stuff.
“I was with Aaron early January in Arizona and I had a great opportunity playing catch with him,” Katz said, “and I’ve caught a lot of baseballs with guys that throw really hard. And that was by far, one of his sinkers he threw me, was the hardest pitch I have ever had to try and catch in my life.”
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By and large, the camera work on spring training webcasts is adequate to the task of seeing the basic outcomes of pitches and swings. It’s not necessarily the greatest for sussing out mechanical changes.
So we may not get to see what Carlos Rodón is working on as he returns to the White Sox in the hopes of some amount of innings on a reliable basis, because you’re going to want to get a look at his front foot.
“He’d get very quad dominant, get in his toe and then he gets very cross-fired and had the issue staying healthy, obviously,” Katz said. “The minute we signed him back we’ve been on the phone, talking, going through that process and once we got here, been able to work hands-on. He’s starting to understand how his lower half is supposed to move more efficiently. And it’s just going to take time. When you’ve done something for a long time it’s hard to get out of that but over time we hope we can tap into things that he hasn’t been able to do.”
You might be able to trace a difference from the center field camera on his follow through, but the work’s probably better viewed from the home plate or dugout views, which might better show where Rodón’s keeping his torso as he strides toward home.
Josh and I discussed on the podcast that this seems like a lot of work in a short time for a late-winter signing. Nevertheless, I wanted to submit this to the written record since it figures to become a subplot when the rotation takes shape.
(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)
I’m really hoping to see a healthy and hot Moncada on the field, like in that pre Covid music video. And Rodón, well, it’s more like praying he can stay healthy.
In James Fegan’s piece today, he noted Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodón worked with Jay Lehr of Pro X Athlete Development over the winter. I’m curious to learn how much work Rodón’s been able to do since the events of October 1 and how his current plan reflects coordination between Katz and any outside trainers Rodón has used this past winter.
Was it necessary to film a music video in the middle of a pandemic? I mean we have seen examples of people being reinfected.
MonicaMG seems to think it was a pre-Covid video shoot. All the comments I’ve heard/read seem to point post-Covid.
I was shaking my head a bit when I first saw it, also, considering his troubles with the virus.
Yeah, I saw the behind the scenes in Moncada’s Instagram stories last off season. Don’t know if they held the release because he tested positive a few weeks later.
Thank you, Monica. Any links/info greatly appreciated.
Sorry, it was in Instagram stories. But I do have some gifs, you know, for uh…internet purposes.
Giolito said on Garfien’s podcast that they recorded it last offseason.
I mean, is this music video really worse than any athletic competition we’ve watched in the last year? Right or wrong, the music, TV, movie, and sports industries are pretty well back to normal when it comes to on camera action. So, while you may be right, I can’t see why we’d single this video out as particularly egregious.
We single it out because he had major issues with Covid.
Oh, I don’t care about the video. Mostly I was showing off my sleuthing. Besides, already happened.
I came expecting a Ken Griffey Jr. “General Soreness” reference. Come on Jim, don’t hold out on us!
Ricky Henderson was also (in)famous for this.
But it’s a contained soreness!
The Sox are already having a better preseason than the Twins.
Though this is concerning.
Fuller statement:
Kind of confusing. I think they’re saying if he had it in January he might still test positive on a PCR because of dead virus (something that can happen after you’re no longer infectious).
I’m not sure I’m following how having antibodies confirms this hypothesis though. Wouldn’t he also have antibodies if he was presently infected? I don’t know for sure–can anyone shed any light?
My best guess is that he had it in January but wasn’t tested. If he has the antibodies, that means the COVID case isn’t active. But somebody who tests positive in January can still shed the virus months after recovering, so the CDC advises against retesting within 90 days because of the risk of false positives.
However, if he never got tested, MLB doesn’t have a documented case to work with, so his intake positive test is treated as a new/active case.
Jake Burger down 50 lbs, can he send me the link to his trainer and or workout regimen …. good lord.
That video of him rounding first was the first time I’ve ever seen video or picture of Burger and thought, “that guy could play 3B.”
he has always supposedly had a great arm so if the lateral movement and foot quickness is there no reason to rule it out yet
Hell, that version of Burger looks like he could play right field.
….hmmmmmmm
When concession stands return, might they offer the Jake Burger?
Impossible
Impossible™ burgers are pretty good.
I saw Rodon pitch in 2018 and it was so obvious that he was in his toe. I was screaming from the stands “HE’S IN HIS TOE!!!!” to anyone who would listen. “Quad dominant! Quad dominant!” I sobbed, as they dragged me off. You should’ve listened, Coop.
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This made me laugh unreasonably hard
I laughed hard at lunch time and laughed hard again just now several hours later knowing what was coming. vanillablue is a comedy alchemist who has taken a topic I thought had no humor in it (Rodón’s struggles) and turned it into comic gold. I think the site should send anyone who gets 30 likes on a comment an envelope of coasters.
Yoan Moncada is out for two days with soreness from throwing a baseball. He is a baseball player, he plays baseball, right? I’m the one who should be out 2 days after throwing a baseball.
I read this, and now I am worried.
He’s on the field doing drills today. Just not throwing.
Charlotte says it’s on track to host Opening Day at 30% capacity.
Todd Steverson hired by the front office to work on scouting assignments
This generally pleases me. Although I think Menechino is a step up, Steverson was certainly better than other hitting coaches we’ve had. I’m glad to see the org didn’t burn that bridge for no reason.
I want to float a very weird idea.
There is a chance that Yoan’s arm is hurt in a way that he can play through but can’t handle third base this season (or possibly at all).
This would hurt his value a lot, obviously,
If it’s a Micker Adolfo type surgery issue, that limits him to DH and we can spend a long time talking about that later.
But there’s a chance that he just can’t play 3B (or RF) going forward. That would suck because Yoan’s defense at 3B has moved into the Gold Glove discussion territory and would probably keep improving if he were healthy.
And Nick Madrigal is of course considered a future Gold Glove at 2B.
Famously, Nick Madrigal didn’t play SS in college because he was on an Oregon State team that had the collegiate equivalent of Andrelton Simmons already at the position. But he was hypothetically considered a short stop prospect at draft time.
He rocketed through the Sox system, and we already had TA, so Nicky wasn’t given much time to practice at SS in the minors. Many scouts also said that his arm was fringey for the position and his size limited some of his range.
But it’s still generally agreed that Madrigal could play short stop if we needed him to. What he can’t play, because he doesn’t have the arm, is 3B.
So, hypothetically, what if we moved Yoan back to 2B? We would also then have to move Madrigal to SS, which means moving Tim Anderson to 3B.
———
And that brings me to the big question: could TA be really good at 3B?
Like, when I think about his skill set I have to consider that he might be Matt Chapman like at the position. His biggest issue with SS is range, which wouldn’t be a problem at third. He has a cannon arm, and lighting reaction speeds.
Tim could play super deep in the hole because his arm is good enough to handle those throws. He loves a good charging throwing play.
And playing that deep would allow Madrigal to play slightly closer to second base, which is the same ideal positioning that allowed Marcus Semien to become a good defensive shortstop in Oakland. (It would also help Madrigal’s arm strength issues on the margins).
I’m not sure saying I think our ideal defense is Timmy at 3rd and Yoan at 2nd. But now that I’ve thought it out I can’t help but wonder if it would work.
I think he took the day off because his arm was a little sore.
Nope, his arm is clearly shot and he’ll never play third base again.
If Yoan Moncada was moving like he was fighting Mercury’s gravitational pull, roughly 1/3 that of Earth’s, wouldn’t he look superhuman?