Madrigal: 'No setbacks' in shoulder recovery

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Nick Madrigal made his 2021 Cactus League debut on Monday, going 0-for-2 and playing second for five innings in an 8-0 White Sox loss to the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch.

Madrigal, who hit .340 during his Major League debut season in 2020, had October surgery to repair a separated left shoulder he sustained on a slide into third during an Aug. 4 contest in Milwaukee. He figured to be close to 100 percent healthy at the start of Spring Training and ready for the start of the ’21 season, as he told MLB.com in January.

Monday’s effort was part of that plan.

“There’s been no setbacks at all,” said Madrigal, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 3 White Sox prospect. “If anything, I’m ahead of schedule in their eyes. I’ve been progressing really well from the strength side of it to mobility. I’m taking as many reps as the other guys out there in practice with swings, feeling really good at this point.

“It was great to be out there. I was looking forward to this all offseason, for this moment, and it’s been a lot of hard work -- not only myself, but the training room and their staff and a lot of people to be thankful for that brought me to this point.”

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Playing in front of fans also was a big moment for Madrigal, who doesn’t feel he needs a great deal more Cactus League reps to be regular-season ready.

“Within these next couple of games, I feel ready,” Madrigal said. “I feel like my timing’s coming back. My legs feel good at this point.

“They’re feeling strong. I’m not getting too sore. I think tomorrow will be a big tell, how my body reacts to today’s game. But I don’t feel I’m far off at all. Maybe one or two more games and I feel like I’m ready to go.”

Kopech returns to game action
Michael Kopech will follow Lance Lynn to the mound during Tuesday’s game against the Padres at Camelback Ranch, marking the No. 2 White Sox prospect’s first game appearance almost one year to the date of facing the Rangers last season in Arizona on March 10.

“Just writing his name in is a huge plus for the day,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “If you try to put yourself in his shoes, he's been out, he's feeling good, he's getting his first 1 o'clock assignment.

“He's going to have to work hard to control his emotions and maintain his concentration. If he slips here or there, he's just human. But the fact he's going out there healthy and has worked hard to keep his delivery consistent makes us very excited to watch him.”

Kopech, 24, elected not to pitch during the abbreviated 2020 season. He last pitched in a big league game on Sept. 5, 2018, against Detroit before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The right-hander will open the 2021 season working from the White Sox bullpen.

Third to first

• Monday’s lineup had an Opening Day feel to it. Yasmani Grandal was the only projected starter who was missing, with the catcher still working his way back from a right knee issue. Luis Robert hit second Monday, with Yoán Moncada at cleanup and Eloy Jiménez fifth, but the team managed only three hits in seven innings.

• Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks also are scheduled to throw behind Lynn and Kopech in Tuesday’s contest.

• Madrigal had no issue with the “Mr. 3,000” T-shirts White Sox teammates produced with his face and name on them, made after Madrigal talked about getting to 3,000 hits as a career goal during a recent podcast appearance.

“I’m not big on thinking negative and saying no, but there’s only a select few people that do that,” Madrigal said. “I know it’s going to take a lot of luck, a lot of years, God willing.

“But it’s one of those things my teammates were just joking with me about. I didn’t get mad at all, I thought it was funny. But I think the whole thing is kind of a misunderstanding, if you ask me.”

He said it
“Our staff will be trained to respectfully talk to our fans in the ballpark and reminding them of the policies that will need to be in place. Because the last thing we want to do is have any sort of outbreak where we can't have fans in stands. We've come this far. We want to make sure we keep this rolling.” -- Brooks Boyer, White Sox senior vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer, on ballpark policies being enforced with fans being in the stands for Chicago baseball teams in 2021