Lopez unfazed by his spring numbers

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Cactus League ERA for Reynaldo Lopez reads 10.13 after the White Sox right-hander allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings during a 6-6 tie with the Angels at Camelback Ranch on Monday.

But Lopez, who posted a 1.39 ERA over his final seven regular-season starts last season, understandably isn’t worried about numbers in Arizona.

“Spring Training is for you to get ready for the season, to get all your pitches as sharp as possible,” said Lopez, through interpreter Billy Russo. “That’s my focus.

“I don’t pay attention if my ERA is high or low right now. I know that if you do your work, and if you prepare in the way you need to prepare to have success during the season, the results will be there [at the end of the season] and those results are the ones that matter, not the results here.”

Lopez struck out four and walked two in his second Cactus League start, throwing 34 of his 57 pitches for strikes. He called the outing “a good one,” attacking the strike zone and attacking the hitters.

“My slider was good, curveball was good, changeup was good, fastball was good,” Lopez said. “I felt very comfortable with my fastball today. I felt the same with it my first outing, but it was like a little off with my timing.

“This one was much better. I was commanding my fastball very good and I threw some good sliders too. I’m improving and very excited and encouraged.”

Colome ready for work

Alex Colomé had a quick fifth inning Monday, retiring the Angels on three routine fly balls. The potential White Sox closer usually needs nine or 10 outings in Spring Training to get sharp, but said he feels mentally and physically ready for the season to start.

The right-hander doesn’t necessarily need to pitch in a save situation in Arizona to be ready for the ninth inning, or high-leverage regular-season opportunities.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter when you pitch because you’re just trying to get ready for the season,” said Colome through Russo. “When the season is on, yes, it matters when you pitch because the adrenaline, the innings, is different. But that’s why you do your work here, to prepare for whatever situation arises during the season.”

Roster permutations

White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Monday the team is still deciding whether it will break camp with seven or eight relievers, which also would influence three or four bench players taken. Colome, Nate Jones, Kelvin Herrera and Jace Fry appear to be bullpen certainties, with Ian Hamilton not far behind.

“We’re still allowing these guys to show themselves, albeit they’re trying to get themselves ready for the season,” Renteria said. “Fortunately, we still have, I don’t know, three weeks left of games.

“Once the room clears out a little bit we’ll be able to assess things better. We have a number of good candidates trying to show us what they have. Some guys are showing some success. The action of the pitches and command in the zone is working well. We’ll continue to see how it plays out.”

While results are not crucial, the White Sox are looking at how pitchers perform in Cactus League action. Take Juan Minaya, as an example, who had a miserable April after he broke camp with the team in 2018 but posted a 2.70 ERA over his final 47 games after returning for good on June 14. Minaya, who is out of options, faced six Cubs hitters and didn’t retire any of them Sunday.

“We’ve seen him at his best and when he’s struggled,” said Renteria of Minaya. “Right now, we’d like to get him back on track.

“They’re all working and competing. Hopefully as we get closer to breaking, these guys are settling in more to who they are, and we give them an opportunity to be part of what we are when we move forward.”

They said it

“Just ran into a few speed bumps so everything is kind of getting back on time. Pitches are there. Just kind of getting the body to my midseason form.”

– Hamilton, who makes his Cactus League debut Thursday against the Brewers, after being sidelined by a stomach bug and then a vehicular accident where another car struck one with Hamilton and his fiancée inside.

Up next

It’s back to split-squad action for the White Sox on Tuesday with Cactus League games at Goodyear against the Indians, and at home against the Padres. Both games are at 2:05 p.m. CT. Dylan Cease, the No. 21 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, makes his first Cactus League appearance in Goodyear. Lucas Giolito gets the home start.