GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers prepared for the 2025 season Wednesday on opposite ends of the Camelback Ranch complex, just like any other spring training since 2009.
But this year the Dodgers had a tent erected outside the ballpark to accommodate the dozens of Japanese reporters on hand to chronicle the springs of Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and the defending world champions.
There was no need for the Sox to make similar provisions on their side for the usual suspects who showed up for Day 1 of Sox camp. The “dirty dozen” media members on hand Wednesday included a couple of Chicago Tribune reporters, only two from the five Chicago news stations and none from their flagship radio station.
It was no big surprise. Just business as usual for a club that knows it needs to sneak up on everyone to gain the kind of attention afforded most major-league teams.
The Dodgers might be sharing their space but are not on anyone’s minds.
“The only time you think about that side is when you drive in, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I forget we’re connected,’” Sox starter Davis Martin said. “There are a lot of things we need to do in our building, and we can’t look past that.”
Still, it’s like Hollywood on one side of the Ranch and Bedford Park on the other.
”It is cool to see those guys,” Martin said. “You’re still a baseball fan at heart, and those guys are really good. I still keep in contact with (Michael) Kopech and some of those guys over there. They’re the best in baseball. They proved that last year, and there’s something to be said about what they do and how they go about their business.
“If you do see them, I’d go pick Michael’s brain and see how they’re doing things. But all in all, we just need to focus on our building and figure out what we need to do.”
There is much to do and six weeks to get it done. But fortunately for Sox management, the players — young and anonymous for the most part — already understand where they are as the new season begins.
Coming off a record-setting 121-loss season, expectations are exceedingly low for the Sox entering 2025, and winning back fans figures to be a tall task given general manager Chris Getz’s lack of free-agent spending this offseason.
Winning games, especially early in the season, will be the only way to change the perception of the Sox, who are projected to lose 100-plus games once again.
The departure of ace Garrett Crochet and probable trade of Luis Robert by the end of spring training means the Sox will be on a star search this camp. Kyle Teel, Jonathan Cannon, Sean Burke, Noah Schultz, Chase Meidroth and a few others are in the mix, hoping to use camp as an opportunity to bring hope to the South Side.
With 21 starts under his belt, Cannon is the only returning starter with more than 10. Martin, who came up in 2022 before being derailed by Tommy John surgery in 2023, made 10 starts in the second half of last season. Those two and Burke, who posted a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings, will be counted on to at least keep the Sox in games, which are likely to be low-scoring affairs in the first month because of the schedule.
The Sox won’t play in a warm-weather city until a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif., from April 25-27 to take on the Athletics in their temporary home. For a Sox team that will rely on its young pitching to have any chance at respectability, “cold” equals “good” in late March and April.
The record the Sox set last year won’t soon go away, but many of those 63 players who spent part of the season in Chicago are gone. The survivors and a bunch of new kids can start the season fresh and unencumbered by the disastrous way the last one played out.
“The vibe is good, a lot of new faces in here,” Cannon said. “Everyone is kind of excited to turn the page after last season. I think we were able to end on a little of a good note with some wins there the last couple of weeks and build some momentum into this spring.”
What did the survivors learn from being in the spotlight in September for all the wrong reasons?
“Just what it means to be a professional,” Cannon replied. “Being able to come in and go about your business with a lot of noise going on, especially at the end. There were some things we wanted to avoid.”
They failed to avoid what mattered most, but at least they avoided setting the record on the final homestand with the surprising three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, when many Sox fans outwardly cheered for the Angels to get a chance to witness history.
It was a small victory in the overall scheme of things, but a victory nonetheless. If the Sox bring that kind of “not in our house” attitude into 2025, perhaps they can surprise some of the experts. Coincidentally they begin the season with a three-game home series against the Angels, with opening day March 27.
Getz acknowledged the strangeness of the Sox training at the same complex as the world champion Dodgers, making for a “haves and have-nots” narrative unlike any other in the Cactus or Grapefruit leagues.
Getz noted “there’s a lot of different ways to go about building an organization, (and) they’ve done a great job within the parameters that they have.
“With that being said, it’s a great opportunity to be matched up at a facility with a team that won the World Series to have something to aim toward. How are we going to beat them? How can we compete? The Dodgers have been a very successful organization. With that being said, we know what we need to do, and we’re setting out to do that.”
Spending on free agents obviously would help. But with that being said, Getz knew when he accepted the job in 2023 that a full-scale rebuild was his only option.
Now we’ll see if the addition of some talented new prospects, along with the growth of some current ones, can get the franchise moving in the right direction. Ignoring the magic number — 121— won’t be easy. But Martin said he was able to put it in the rearview mirror as soon as he got back home to Texas.
“It was pretty easy to get it out of your head,” he said. “At least where I’m from, in the South, once baseball is over it’s football season, and no one talks about it. My family and my wife asked me about it. They were part of it because it affected everyone.
“But you learn from it, and we’ll be better off for it.”
A Chicago White Sox team coming off the worst season in history and the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers are unlikely spring training cohabitants at Camelback Ranch.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers prepared for the 2025 season Wednesday on opposite ends of the Camelback Ranch complex, just like any other spring training since 2009.
But this year the Dodgers had a tent erected outside the ballpark to accommodate the dozens of Japanese reporters on hand to chronicle the springs of Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and the defending world champions.
There was no need for the Sox to make similar provisions on their side for the usual suspects who showed up for Day 1 of Sox camp. The “dirty dozen” media members on hand Wednesday included a couple of Chicago Tribune reporters, only two from the five Chicago news stations and none from their flagship radio station.
It was no big surprise. Just business as usual for a club that knows it needs to sneak up on everyone to gain the kind of attention afforded most major-league teams.
The Dodgers might be sharing their space but are not on anyone’s minds.
“The only time you think about that side is when you drive in, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I forget we’re connected,’” Sox starter Davis Martin said. “There are a lot of things we need to do in our building, and we can’t look past that.”
Still, it’s like Hollywood on one side of the Ranch and Bedford Park on the other.
”It is cool to see those guys,” Martin said. “You’re still a baseball fan at heart, and those guys are really good. I still keep in contact with (Michael) Kopech and some of those guys over there. They’re the best in baseball. They proved that last year, and there’s something to be said about what they do and how they go about their business.
“If you do see them, I’d go pick Michael’s brain and see how they’re doing things. But all in all, we just need to focus on our building and figure out what we need to do.”
There is much to do and six weeks to get it done. But fortunately for Sox management, the players — young and anonymous for the most part — already understand where they are as the new season begins.
Coming off a record-setting 121-loss season, expectations are exceedingly low for the Sox entering 2025, and winning back fans figures to be a tall task given general manager Chris Getz’s lack of free-agent spending this offseason.
Winning games, especially early in the season, will be the only way to change the perception of the Sox, who are projected to lose 100-plus games once again.
The departure of ace Garrett Crochet and probable trade of Luis Robert by the end of spring training means the Sox will be on a star search this camp. Kyle Teel, Jonathan Cannon, Sean Burke, Noah Schultz, Chase Meidroth and a few others are in the mix, hoping to use camp as an opportunity to bring hope to the South Side.
With 21 starts under his belt, Cannon is the only returning starter with more than 10. Martin, who came up in 2022 before being derailed by Tommy John surgery in 2023, made 10 starts in the second half of last season. Those two and Burke, who posted a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings, will be counted on to at least keep the Sox in games, which are likely to be low-scoring affairs in the first month because of the schedule.
The Sox won’t play in a warm-weather city until a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif., from April 25-27 to take on the Athletics in their temporary home. For a Sox team that will rely on its young pitching to have any chance at respectability, “cold” equals “good” in late March and April.
The record the Sox set last year won’t soon go away, but many of those 63 players who spent part of the season in Chicago are gone. The survivors and a bunch of new kids can start the season fresh and unencumbered by the disastrous way the last one played out.
“The vibe is good, a lot of new faces in here,” Cannon said. “Everyone is kind of excited to turn the page after last season. I think we were able to end on a little of a good note with some wins there the last couple of weeks and build some momentum into this spring.”
What did the survivors learn from being in the spotlight in September for all the wrong reasons?
“Just what it means to be a professional,” Cannon replied. “Being able to come in and go about your business with a lot of noise going on, especially at the end. There were some things we wanted to avoid.”
They failed to avoid what mattered most, but at least they avoided setting the record on the final homestand with the surprising three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, when many Sox fans outwardly cheered for the Angels to get a chance to witness history.
It was a small victory in the overall scheme of things, but a victory nonetheless. If the Sox bring that kind of “not in our house” attitude into 2025, perhaps they can surprise some of the experts. Coincidentally they begin the season with a three-game home series against the Angels, with opening day March 27.
Getz acknowledged the strangeness of the Sox training at the same complex as the world champion Dodgers, making for a “haves and have-nots” narrative unlike any other in the Cactus or Grapefruit leagues.
Getz noted “there’s a lot of different ways to go about building an organization, (and) they’ve done a great job within the parameters that they have.
“With that being said, it’s a great opportunity to be matched up at a facility with a team that won the World Series to have something to aim toward. How are we going to beat them? How can we compete? The Dodgers have been a very successful organization. With that being said, we know what we need to do, and we’re setting out to do that.”
Spending on free agents obviously would help. But with that being said, Getz knew when he accepted the job in 2023 that a full-scale rebuild was his only option.
Now we’ll see if the addition of some talented new prospects, along with the growth of some current ones, can get the franchise moving in the right direction. Ignoring the magic number — 121— won’t be easy. But Martin said he was able to put it in the rearview mirror as soon as he got back home to Texas.
“It was pretty easy to get it out of your head,” he said. “At least where I’m from, in the South, once baseball is over it’s football season, and no one talks about it. My family and my wife asked me about it. They were part of it because it affected everyone.
“But you learn from it, and we’ll be better off for it.”
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