So far, so good for White Sox rookie Jose Abreu

It's been a good spring for Cuban import Jose Abreu.

The White Sox rookie first baseman is hitting .308 with two home runs, 9 RBIs and an .838 OPS so far in Cactus League play. Maybe those numbers aren't eye-popping, but they are solid -- better than those put up by some of Abreu's more established teammates.

Abreu's contact rate has been respectable. He's struck out just six times in 40 plate appearances, or once every 6.7 at-bats. If that translates into the regular season, we can certainly live with that in the middle of the order -- especially if it's coupled with solid run production. I've watched a few at-bats on television, and Abreu's swing and approach look good to me.

In Abreu's first at-bat on Wednesday, he struck out on a check swing against Angels' left-hander Tyler Skaggs. In his second at-bat, Abreu took Skaggs deep on the first pitch he saw. That makes me hopeful he can make adjustments quickly.

In this 2014 season, Abreu is the great unknown for the Sox. The United States is new to him, and he is new to us. He's yet to play a regular-season game on American soil, and we have no idea how good he will be. If you asked me to predict what his season totals will be, I would struggle to even hazard a guess.

But I will say that Abreu seems to have the mental approach and work ethic to succeed. In fact, Sox brass had to tell him to back off his workout plan because he was working too hard. I'm anxious to see how Abreu will fare once the games begin for real in less than two weeks.

Here's a good article from mlb.com that discusses Abreu's transition to the United States and to Major League Baseball. In particular, I like this quote:

"The pitchers have more velocity and more control, but you adjust to them," Abreu said. "This is a game of adjustments and that might be the hardest part. That's why it's important you have a clear head and understand what you are doing at the plate and what they are trying to do to you."

Indeed, it is a game of constant adjustments. I think this guy gets it. I'm cautiously optimistic. 

White Sox option Josh Phegley, Andre Rienzo to Triple-A

Up until now, all the roster moves the White Sox had made this spring were obvious ones. Every few days, you'd see news of guys you knew weren't going to make the club being reassigned to minor league camp.

But with just 12 days remaining until the home opener, the first significant decisions of the spring were made on Wednesday as catcher Josh Phegley and pitcher Andre Rienzo were optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.

For better or for worse, the Sox have decided to give it another go with Tyler Flowers as their starting catcher. Manager Robin Ventura named Flowers the starter on Sunday, and that gave Phegley a pretty good idea his season would be starting in Charlotte. He seems to be taking it pretty well, though.

“I believe I'm a starter and I can be a front-line starter in the big leagues, but there just needs to be some improvement,” Phegley told the Chicago Tribune's Colleen Kane. “And I think sitting, catching every four, five days, I don't think that’s going to do me any justice. I want to play every day, and I'd like to help this club. It's everyone's goal to be a big leaguer. I want to be a starter, and going to Charlotte and playing every day is going to help my game out, so I'm all for it.”

That's the approach Phegley needs. This is a big year for him. Unlike Flowers -- who is who he is at this point -- I think Phegley still has some upside in his game both offensively and defensively. But at age 26, he's moving into an area where he's not going to be considered a prospect anymore. He needs to make that step forward and prove he can be a starting catcher in the big leagues, and he needs to do it soon.

With Phegley headed to the minors, that leaves Rule 5 draft pick Adrian Nieto and Hector Gimenez in camp competing for the backup catching role. I'll bet Nieto sticks, because the Sox would have to offer him back to the Washington Nationals if he doesn't. At age 24, Nieto could develop into a useful player, whereas the 31-year-old Gimenez is nothing more than a career minor leaguer.

Rienzo made 10 starts for the Sox at the end of 2013, but as expected, top prospect Erik Johnson and free-agent acquisition Felipe Paulino have pushed Rienzo out of the starting rotation. I thought Rienzo had a shot at sticking in the big leagues as a long reliever, but perhaps Sox brass sees him as a pitcher who needs to stay stretched out as a starter, so that he can be called up and step into the rotation in the event the team has an injury to one of its starting pitchers.

In other moves, pitcher Eric Surkamp was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Pitchers Chris Beck and Cody Winiarski and infielder Andy Wilkins were reassigned to minor league camp. All of those moves were expected.

Wondering what the Tigers will do at shortstop

Free agent SS Stephen Drew

Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias will begin the season on the disabled list and could miss significant time with stress fractures in both of his shins.

Infield defense has been a weakness for the Tigers the past couple years, but they appeared to have upgraded this offseason by moving Miguel Cabrera from third base to first base, trading first baseman Prince Fielder to Texas for second baseman Ian Kinsler, moving on from Jhonny Peralta and installing Iglesias full time at short, and deciding to give prospect Nick Castellanos a shot at third base.

The key to this whole plan was Iglesias, who is a plus-plus defender at the most important position on the infield, and who would likely help cover up for some of the inconsistencies Castellanos has defensively. But Iglesias is not available to the Tigers now, so what is their Plan B?

The internal options aren't favorable. They acquired utilityman Steve Lombardozzi from the Washington Nationals in the Doug Fister deal this offseason, but I don't think shortstop is Lombardozzi's best position. He could play there in a pinch, but his main value is his ability to play multiple positions, and I wouldn't want him as a full-time shortstop.

Another option is Danny Worth, who has split time between the Tigers and Triple-A every year since 2010. Worth is an organizational depth kind of player, another guy you probably wouldn't want playing every day. He hit just .223 at the Triple-A level last year, and has never played more than 80 games at shortstop in a single season. He's also a nonroster invitee this year, which means he'd have to get added to the 40-man roster if he makes the club. It's unlikely he'll be Detroit's answer.

The Tigers also have youngsters Hernan Perez and Eugenio Suarez, who have been getting playing time in spring games in Iglesias' absence. Suarez has a good defensive reputation, but he's never played a game above Double-A, where he hit .253 last season. If I had to take a guess, he's not ready to make the jump to the big leagues.

That leaves Perez, who has played more second base since getting in 124 games at shortstop in Single-A as a 19-year-old in 2010. He was on Detroit's postseason roster last year and was used as a pinch runner. He has the potential to steal some bases, but he can't hit a lick. His .197/.217/.227 line in 71 major league at-bats last year probably doesn't inspire much confidence.

I wouldn't want any of these four guys as my starting shortstop. I think Detroit has to do something, especially with pitcher Max Scherzer, designated hitter Victor Martinez and right fielder Torii Hunter all in the last year of their contracts. There has to be urgency to win now, and Tigers brass can't afford to let this season swirl down the toilet because of a sinkhole at shortstop.

You have to believe Detroit is going to make a play for shortstop Stephen Drew, who is still a free agent. Drew is not as good as Iglesias with the leather, but he's at least above average. He's not dynamic with the bat by any means -- he hit .253 with 13 home runs for the Boston Red Sox last year -- but that would be much better production than anything the Tigers could hope to get out of guys like Lombardozzi, Worth or Perez.

I don't know what shortstops might be available in a trade. Longtime Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins has already said he won't waive his no-trade rights to go to Detroit. Maybe the Tigers have a trade option I'm not aware of. But, if no deal can be struck, don't they have to sign Drew? It just seems like an obvious fit.

Here's a look at the first of my two fantasy teams

Manny Machado

I'll be participating in two fantasy baseball leagues this summer. In addition to talking about actual baseball, I plan to post about fantasy baseball from time to time once the regular season begins. I'll talk about the progress of my own teams, and hopefully hand out some decent advice to readers of this blog.

I was nowhere near a computer last night and therefore unable to participate in the draft for the first league I'm in. This is my first year in this keeper league, where I inherited a last place team. I did have the first pick in the draft, and the league commissioner selected a team for me based upon player rankings. Here is my roster:

C: Jason Castro
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Ian Kinsler:
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
3B: Manny Machado
LF: Starling Marte 
CF: Michael Bourn
RF: Josh Reddick
DH: Matt Kemp

BN: Domonic Brown
BN: Aramis Ramirez
BN: Daniel Murphy
BN: Todd Frazier
BN: Alexei Ramirez

SP: Jordan Zimmermann
SP: David Price
SP: Gerrit Cole
SP: Mike Minor
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Dan Straily

RP: Steve Cishek
RP: Addison Reed
RP: Joaquin Benoit
RP: Mark Melancon

The league allows owners to keep four guys from the previous year's team. My four were Tulowitzki, Machado, Fielder and Zimmermann.

Zimmermann was the easiest choice. I can see why last year's owner finished last. His relief pitching was terrible, and Francisco Liriano was his second-best starter. I figured I had to keep one pitcher, and Zimmermann was the only guy on that roster I liked.

I'm always a little reluctant on Tulowitzki. He always seems to have injuries, but he's still the best offensive shortstop in the game. It's hard not to keep him if you have the chance.

I kept Machado because third base is a hard position to fill. Even though he's coming off an injury and may not be ready to start the season, I feel like he's a good fantasy option over the long haul. At least I have Ramirez and Frazier as backups at third base to get me by in the short run.

Finally, I had to decide whether to keep Fielder or Josh Hamilton as my fourth guy. I chose Fielder because I think he will thrive in hitter-friendly Texas, and Hamilton hasn't been healthy this spring. I was already keeping a couple health risks in Tulowitzki and Machado, and didn't want to take another one.

At first glance, it looks like right field and relief pitching will be my two weaknesses. Reddick, who was chosen for me in the 21st round, is my only option in right field. Once Machado is healthy, I might be looking to deal one of my third basemen to fill that spot.

As for relief pitching, well, closing situations are always so fluid. Things change quickly, and if you're on top of things, you can sometimes find some good options for your team on waivers. We'll see.

I have another draft next Sunday. It's not a keeper league, and I'll actually be able to go to the draft. I'll post the results and my thoughts on it in this space next week.

Injury-riddled Braves sign pitcher Ervin Santana

It's been a bad week for the Atlanta Braves and their starting pitchers.

Kris Medlen, Atlanta's best pitcher and projected Opening Day starter, left a spring training start on Sunday while holding his right elbow. Preliminary tests showed ligament damage, and it's possible Medlen will be looking at his second Tommy John surgery in less than four years.

Then on Monday, Brandon Beachy could not finish his spring training outing because of continuing problems with his surgically repaired right elbow. Beachy has started just 18 games over the last two seasons and his suffered multiple setbacks in his recovery after surgery in 2012.

I haven't even mentioned Mike Minor yet. The left-hander won 13 games for Atlanta last season, but he's yet to pitch this spring because of a shoulder problem.

The Braves are staring down the possibility that 60 percent of their starting rotation will be on the disabled list when the season opens. Julio Teheran, a 14-game winner last year, and fifth starter Alex Wood are the last two men standing. Former White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia is in camp as a nonroster invitee. Another former Sox, Gavin Floyd, is on Atlanta's roster, but he is not expected to pitch until May as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

The situation is obviously getting a little worrisome in Atlanta, so the Braves acted Wednesday, signing Ervin Santana to a one-year contract worth $14.1 million. The right-hander, who went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA in 32 starts with Kansas City last year, was the last major free-agent pitcher available.

It's no secret I'm not a fan of Santana. As recently as two years ago, his ERA was over 5. His 2013 performance with the Royals was a career year, and I wouldn't expect him to repeat that. It seems a lot of GMs felt the same way, and that's why the 31-year-old right-hander went unsigned halfway into March.

Also, the Braves have to give Kansas City a first-round draft pick -- in this case the No. 26 selection -- as compensations for signing Santana. Atlanta is paying a hefty price here, not just the $14.1 million but the draft pick as well.

You might go so far as to say the Braves are panicking in the wake of their recent injuries. I can understand their thinking, though. They won their division last year, and they obviously feel they are a contender again this season. But the house may crumble if they enter April with the corpse of Freddy Garcia as their No. 3 starter. That would be a scary proposition indeed.

Atlanta is counting on Santana to ride to its rescue. That's not a comfortable position to be in, but it's probably better than relying on Garcia or throwing some untested rookies into the fire.

Chris Sale's strong outing alleviates bogus 'concerns'

I had to laugh Monday when I read news stories about the White Sox naming Chris Sale their starting pitcher for Opening Day. As if there were another pitcher on the roster under consideration.

That decision might be the easiest one Sox manager Robin Ventura has to make all season. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Sale made his third start of the spring Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers and turned in 4.1 dominant innings. He retired 13 of the 15 hitters he faced and allowed just a pair of two-out singles. He struck out three and walked none.

I was relieved to hear Sale pitched well, not because I was worried about him, but because it was obnoxious to hear the bogus "concerns" other people had when Sale got knocked around in his second outing against the San Diego Padres last week.

In that game, Sale allowed six earned runs over 2.2 innings and struggled to get command of his breaking ball. Sale hadn't thrown his slider at all in his first outing of the spring, so it stands to reason he had difficulty with that pitch the first time he threw it in game situations this year.

It was yet another example of spring training being about getting ready for the season, as opposed to being about achieving optimal results. Established guys who already know they are coming north with the team don't need to concern themselves with statistics. A pitcher can work on a specific pitch during a given outing, and if he happens to get shelled, then so be it. It's a means to an end in terms of refining that pitch so it will be effective when the results begin to matter in three weeks.

A pitcher who will not be missed

Even as pitcher Zach Stewart languished through a miserable 6-14 season last year at Triple-A Charlotte, I was always somewhat (irrationally) fearful the White Sox would recall him and and give him a few starts at the big league level at the end of the season.

That fear is gone now after the Sox on Monday traded Stewart to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations. Thank goodness that guy is gone -- hopefully for good.

Stewart went 3-7 with a 6.14 ERA in 28 appearances (9 starts) with the Sox over a two-year period. He was last seen in a White Sox uniform on June 18, 2012, when he gave up six runs, nine hits and four home runs in a 12-3 loss to a Cubs team that would go on to lose 101 games.

Six days later, Stewart and Brent Lillibridge were traded to the Boston Red Sox for third baseman Kevin Youkilis. Naturally, Stewart did nothing to impress in Boston. He was traded to Pittsburgh in November 2012, placed on waivers and later picked up by the Sox once more in January of 2013.

Ugh. I guess somebody had to pitch at Charlotte last year. At least Stewart never got back to the bigs in Chicago. This is one pitcher I hope we never see in the Sox organization again.

Random White Sox thoughts for this week

Unfortunately, there haven't been too many spring training games on TV yet, so it's hard to get a good feel for how players have looked so far.

But, in looking over the box scores from this week, the White Sox player who has stood out the most has been center fielder Adam Eaton.

We said earlier this week that spring training numbers mean nothing, and they don't. But it's worth noting Eaton has played well thus far, reaching base in 10 of his first 14 plate appearances. He's 6 for 10 and has also drawn two walks and been hit by a pitch twice in five spring games.

Barring injury, Eaton will be leading off and playing center field when the Sox open March 31. Both the leadoff spot and center field have been a revolving door for the Sox over the past several seasons, so it would be huge if Eaton plays well enough to lock down those two roles.

De Aza on the block?

There's been some talk this spring about the Sox possibly trading second baseman Gordon Beckham. I doubt that will happen. If there's a trade to be made before the team breaks camp, it might involve outfielder Alejandro De Aza.

De Aza has been the Sox' leadoff hitter and center fielder the past couple years, but he's going to be supplanted by Eaton. The question is whether the Sox want to hold on to De Aza and platoon him in left field with Dayan Viciedo, or ship him elsewhere.

Rumor has it the Twins might be interested in De Aza, who will make $4.25 million this season and has a movable contract. The Sox would probably rather not pay De Aza that money to be a part-time player, especially when Jordan Danks can serve as a fourth outfielder for cheaper.

Some of this depends on how much the Sox still believe in Viciedo, who has been a disappointment both with the bat and in the field. However, Viciedo is still only 24, so there may be some untapped upside. De Aza, on the other hand, is what he is -- an league average 29-year-old outfielder.

For a rebuilding team like the Sox, it makes more sense to hang on to the younger guy with upside and see what happens.

Bad fundamentals

The White Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 in a spring game Friday, but there was a brutal defensive play that drew the ire of manager Robin Ventura and his staff.

Catcher Tyler Flowers was charged with an error when he threw to second base to try to cut down a steal attempt by Cincinnati's Brayan Pena. Neither Beckham nor shortstop Alexei Ramirez covered the bag. The ball sailed into center field, and Pena easily advanced to third.

This is the kind of garbage we saw way too much of last season. Poor defense was huge factor in the Sox' 99-loss disaster in 2013. Ventura says he addressed this mistake immediately. Good, because these kind of errors are inexcusable for veteran players.

It's about time

Reports indicate reliever Ronald Belisario has finally cleared up his visa problems and is scheduled to report to Sox camp. It's about time, now that Opening Day is just over three weeks away.

The Sox bullpen depth could be tested early in the season. Both Nate Jones (glute) and Matt Lindstrom (oblique) have yet to pitch in a spring game due to nagging injuries, and obviously, Belisario hasn't been around. In addition, reliever Daniel Webb has been away from the team due to a death in the family.

The battle for the closer's job has yet to materialize, because the none of the players involved in the competition have been on the mound.