PHOENIX -- Bryan Ramos estimates that it's been almost since 10 years since his father has seen him play in person, back as a kid in his native Cuba.
He has long since set his parents up with MLB.TV and heard stories about the delirious reaction to his first major league home run last season. Even before passing his US citizenship test last season, Ramos was able to make annual trips to visit his family; a ritual he refers to as his "reset."
But not having his dad in the stands means it's been almost a decade since he's heard his whistle, signaling that he had an urgent in-game correction to relay to his son. For the most part, Ramos sounds as if he's done just fine without such well-intended interruptions. But enough time has passed that he gets a kick out of imagining his dad trying to cut through the buzz of tens of thousands of people to offer a thought on his swing, and Ramos' new citizenship privileges make setting up a trip for his family to visit him in Chicago a realistic proposition.
"Every time I've got the opportunity to go see my family, I'm going to do it," Ramos said. "But if I can have them here around me, it's going to be better, so that's what I'm trying to do."
At present, getting Ramos himself to Chicago seems like it offers enough challenges. He doesn't cut the figure of an injured player, since his lingering right elbow soreness doesn't touch any part of his morning routine in camp until the ball actually reaches his mitt in infield practice, but Ramos' ailment is hindering his odds of making the Opening Day roster. This week is supposed mark his entry into the live batting practice sessions, with the idea that he'll be able to DH in a Cactus League game by the end of this coming weekend.
Still, he's not throwing yet.
"It's way closer," Ramos said of his elbow. "It's almost there."
"It's going to be a matter of whether how he progresses, but we’re hopeful that by the end of camp he can start throwing," said manager Will Venable. "We’re comfortable with the defender he is and know he’ll continue to develop. But for him, it’s really just about being healthy and we want him to have a good six-month season, so he won’t be pushed to do too much before he’s ready.”
To further complicate Ramos' road to the majors, Venable quite candidly declared Miguel Vargas -- touting 20 pounds of added bulk and a remodeled hand load -- to be his primary option at third base to start the year on Monday. It only affirms the complicated math that faced Ramos as he entered camp. Among the many other candidates in the third base mix, both Vargas and Lenyn Sosa are out of minor league options, and veteran infielder Josh Rojas has the biggest guaranteed deal of any position player the White Sox added this winter.
Ramos has one minor league option left, and fewer than 300 career plate appearances at Triple-A, marking him as one of the easier options to install at Charlotte to open the year, where he could certainly improve upon his .263/.339/.416 line at that level. He's also only been taking reps at third base in spring, and the proposition to have him add outfield work to his skill set would similarly be stalled by his right elbow anyway. It closes off an immediate avenue for more at-bats, but long-term, relegating Ramos to third base is threatening him with a good time.
"I love third base," Ramos said. "But if one day for X reason they say, 'Hey can you play the outfield?', then yeah."
A long-term residency at third or left field will require Ramos to hit. White Sox roster needs saw the 22-year-old bounce around to three different levels last season, including a big league debut that all would admit came before he was truly ready. But posting below-average batting lines at each stop led to Ramos tumbling in all prospect rankings after previously being an ESPN top-100 prospect, though he earned a September call-up with a strong finishing kick at Triple-A, and held his own (.703 OPS in 60 PA) in the majors down the stretch.
What outwardly looked like inconsistency, and a pull-heavy approach that will lead to pitchers attacking him away, Ramos viewed as acclimation to the league -- a back-and-forth process.
"I was a step ahead," Ramos said of when he first got to the majors. "Because I could see how they threw and how their pitches moved, but [opposing pitchers] didn't know anything about me. Once I spent more time in the league and they watched me play and knew where my weak points are, they attacked me like that. Now, they do that to me and I do that to them. We know each other."
Late last season, White Sox hitting coordinator Alan Zinter guided Ramos through an adjustment to his lower half movement in his swing. Where he used to rock back on his hips with a big swaying movement before exploding forward to the ball, Ramos was taught to subtly coil on his back leg. The more balanced action produced chase rates during his major league time that Statcast regard as above-average; encouraging for an eager young hitter encountering the highest level of pitching for the first time.
"He went back and he worked his butt off and he looked different," said hitting coach Marcus Thames. "He had more of a sway back, and that makes your eyes move all over the place and can cause some swing decision stuff. With the less amount of movement, we can keep his eyes better in the zone so he can make good decisions. If you make good decisions, you're going to make good, solid contact."
The numbers bear that out, just not the ones that gain attention. Ramos is sitting at a .202/.252/.333 career batting line in 108 major league trips to the plate, but his hard-hit rates and average exit velocities are solidly above-average. In sum, Ramos' 2024 offensive performance might have raised more questions about his ceiling than his readiness, since his bat-speed metrics were middling and he swung and missed in the strike zone more often than league average, and major league pitchers being able to attack him with velocity over the plate would be a hindrance to work around. There are signs of his competence as a major league hitter and some hurdles on his path to stardom, and as he waded through a surprise promotion, a quad strain, a mechanical change and other tumult, the latter took prominence.
But scouts have long seen Ramos as more well-rounded than bursting with unique tools. Steadily across his career he's arrived to new levels at a young age, and treading water for a while before he acclimates to a new challenge is nothing new for his progression.
"When he's in a cage, it sounds different," said Thames, recalling his first encounter with Ramos last spring. "It sounds like a guy who can impact a baseball. For him to get a cup of coffee last year to now seeing how guys are trying to attack him, he's hungry and he competes. When a guy's got some talent and he competes, good things are going to happen for him."
Venable visited Ramos in Miami during the offseason as part of his tour of meeting his new team, and getting a feel for how his charges go about their work. What Ramos might have expected to be a quick hello stretched out into the White Sox manager watching his entire workout, including the batting practice session that followed. Asked if he was tempted to try to put on a show for his direct supervisor, and Ramos was almost perplexed by such a notion.
"They basically know what you're able to do," Ramos said. "You're working in the cage, not trying to hit homers. You've got to do what you've got to do. At the end of the day, they know what you're capable of doing. For me, I don't try to impress nobody. I just try to play my game the best I can."
Besides, if Venable really needed to get his attention about something he was seeing, Ramos is always listening for a whistle.
