Past meets future: Veteran Andrus excited about Sosa

DENVER -- The White Sox suffered what manager Pedro Grifol called “the toughest loss of the year” on Wednesday against the Cubs, when reliever Gregory Santos surrendered a walk-off, three-run homer to Christopher Morel after entering the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead.

Following an off-day and a flight to Colorado, the White Sox suffered their worst defeat of the season, by scoring margin, in a 14-1 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field on Friday night.

It’s been that kind of year for the South Siders.

The melancholic malaise of a lost season hung over a somber postgame visitors' clubhouse. But while it remains uncertain, there is a future for the White Sox.

A prospect whom the organization hopes will be part of that future was called up from Triple-A Charlotte prior to the game, and while the Rockies put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard, there was the unmistakable sight of the past meeting the future on the middle infield for Chicago.

Lenyn Sosa, the club’s No. 16 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was slotted into the starting lineup at second base after Elvis Andrus moved to shortstop in the wake of Tim Anderson’s five-game suspension.

The 15-year Venezuelan veteran hit leadoff and the 23-year-old Venezuelan rookie batted ninth. The former took the first pitch of the game from Colorado starter Peter Lambert -- brother of White Sox reliever Jimmy Lambert -- and drove it over the wall in left-center field for the 100th home run of his career.

The latter entered the game trying to prove his mettle at the big league level after struggling in two short stints earlier this season but raking at Triple-A, where he slugged .507 with 17 homers in 71 games.

The former likely won’t be wearing a White Sox uniform much longer. The latter hopes he’ll be wearing one for many years to come.

“It means a lot, man,” Andrus said of reaching the century mark for career homers. “It took me a little longer, but that’s one of the things I’ll be really proud of.”

It may have taken him “a little longer” in the bigger scheme of things, but he wasted no time Friday night. Neither did Sosa, who is in some ways an Andrus protégé. The box score will show an 0-for-3 beside Sosa’s name, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

In the third inning, Sosa smashed a Lambert slider to deep center field with an exit velocity of 106.9 mph. Brenton Doyle made a nice running catch. In the fifth, Sosa hit a laser to right, this one with an exit velocity of 105.9 mph. It landed in the outstretched glove of Charlie Blackmon, who also made a nice running grab.

Andrus was watching carefully from the on-deck circle.

“He crushed [those] balls,” Andrus said. “And defensively, he’s an everyday player. So if he can do that consistently, he’s gonna be an everyday guy.”

Now in the twilight of his career, which has included two All-Star selections, 42 postseason games and a pair of World Series appearances with the Rangers, Andrus knows what it takes to be consistently productive at the Major League level.

“I’ve been talking to [Sosa] a lot since last year [when he made his MLB debut],” Andrus said. “I got to the league when I was 20, so I can understand what’s going through his mind. … It’s not about just being in the big leagues, it’s about staying. For you to be able to play for years here, you have to produce.”

Sosa said that this time feels different. After hitting .114 over his first 11 Major League games last year, and .122 in 22 games over two prior stints in 2023, he’s brought a mindset that produced two well-struck balls on an otherwise forgettable night for the White Sox.

“I feel more comfortable, more calm, especially at home plate,” he said through interpreter Billy Russo. “I’ve been trying to swing at pitches in the strike zone and attack the mistakes pitchers make here -- there aren’t many, but I try to take advantage of those mistakes.”

Sosa may just be getting started, but Andrus has been around long enough to know when someone has a bright future in this game.

If Sosa could look ahead 15 years and find that he’s where Andrus was tonight -- becoming one of 213 players to reach 2,000 career hits and 100 career homers -- and that Andrus’ past truly became Sosa’s future, he’d have had himself a great Major League career.

Andrus can see it.

“I love him, man,” Andrus said. “The sky’s the limit for him.”