Abreu: 'We really can do damage right now'

José Abreu didn’t need to see a 21-hit outburst from the White Sox during Saturday’s 11-5 victory over the Royals to know he was part of an elite offense.

In fact, Abreu and veteran designated hitter Edwin Encarnación were having this same conversation last weekend.

“Just the talent we have. The difference that this lineup makes when you compare it with our lineup three to four years ago,” said Abreu through interpreter Billy Russo in a recent conversation with MLB.com. “It’s a completely different lineup. We really can do damage right now.

“Pitchers have to be very careful when they are pitching against us. From 1 to 9, we can do damage. It’s definitely a good feeling. It’s definitely a good thing to be part of this lineup and to have other guys who can contribute. Together, we are a very, very good lineup.”

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For the better part of his six years with the White Sox, Abreu has been the top producer in the batting order. He has 3,191 career plate appearances as the club’s No. 3 hitter and 537 at the cleanup spot. Abreu has 214 combined plate appearances in other lineup positions.

There might come a time when Abreu, with his 180 career home runs and 614 RBIs, gets moved around given Chicago’s young offensive talents developing quickly. But he’s fine with wherever manager Rick Renteria places him.

“What matters is just to be in the lineup, just to see my name in the lineup and to have the chance to play,” said Abreu, 33, who stayed with the White Sox via a three-year, $50 million free-agent deal. “It would be an easy adjustment if Ricky decided to put me at a different spot in the lineup. With the talent we have, it would be an easy fit, an easy transition for me.

“That’s my spot right now [hitting third]. I’m just glad to be there and part of this lineup. I’m very grateful with the White Sox to have me back, and it’s an exciting time to be with this team with the talent that we have, because we know -- everybody knows -- we are good. We are going to do good things.”

Special mound moments
Codi Heuer would have liked to keep the baseball from his first career save, recorded Saturday night after allowing one run over 1 1/3 innings against the Royals. The only problem was the team couldn’t find it.

“I don't know where that went. But yeah, it was good,” said the rookie with a laugh during a Sunday Zoom session. “Hopefully, there will be many more to come so I won't have to worry about it. I'll get the second one.”

Heuer struck out Jorge Soler and Nick Heath during his first move into higher-leverage relief work. His outing came in support of fellow rookie Matt Foster, who picked up his first career victory in his first career appearance after throwing a scoreless fifth, including a strikeout of Ryan McBroom on a high fastball.

Foster received his baseball, the lineup card, and the traditional beer shower in honor of that win, though he had no clue about it while he was pitching.

“It was awesome,” Foster said. “I took it the same way every other time I came out of the bullpen. It was a little different with nobody being in the stands, but I still was pumped and excited to get out there and go to work. I was running on adrenaline.”

Garcia, Mazara updates
Leury García was held out of Sunday’s series finale after being given some personal time, per Renteria. García, who started at shortstop Saturday with Tim Anderson on the 10-day injured list, had four hits and reached base six times.

“He's had a loss in his family, so we'll leave it at that,” Renteria said. “I just gave him a day today to kind of settle in with his own thoughts. I'm sure everybody understands.”

Right fielder Nomar Mazara continues to make progress working at the team’s Schaumburg, Ill., alternate training site. The left-handed hitter has been on the injured list since the start of the season for undisclosed reasons.

“He feels good,” Renteria said. “He's got to go through another day of work today and we'll see where he's at.

“Maybe we'll have some update by the end of the day, if not early tomorrow. But right now, he's moving along very well, and from what it sounds like -- I've been texting him -- he says he's feeling really good in the work. So hopefully he's nearing his time.”

He said it
“I haven’t really played with [Luis] Robert a ton, but every day is just something else that he does that’s just spectacular. The guy never stops being amazing.” -- Foster, on the White Sox rookie center fielder