GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Before the conclusion of the 2022 season, Romy Gonzalez asked White Sox teammate Elvis Andrus for a signed bat -- not knowing if the two would be playing together again.

Andrus, the free agent-to-be, happily obliged.

“Elvis is one of my favorite teammates. I learned a lot from him,” Gonzalez told MLB.com on Tuesday. “Our team definitely got better with him joining us. I couldn’t be more happy.”

Gonzalez, 26, had the inside track to start at second base this season before the White Sox brought back Andrus on a one-year, $3 million deal to move from playing shortstop in place of an injured Tim Anderson last season to second. That move puts Gonzalez into a Ben Zobrist-type niche, as described by general manager Rick Hahn, playing all over the field and in competition for that utility man job breaking camp.

There’s no animosity on the part of Gonzalez, who is focused on sharpening his toolset around the diamond.

“I just can control what I can control, my attitude and effort,” Gonzalez said. “But yeah, nothing but good things. Our team definitely got better with Elvis coming back. This is his 15th season. It just goes to show the kind of player he is.

“It doesn’t really change much for me. I had spoken with [manager] Pedro [Grifol]. He really wanted me to work everywhere. I think I can play everywhere pretty well, so yeah, just continue to go about my business, work hard and show what I can do.”

Good work at Camelback
After meeting all of their expectations the last five days, White Sox pitchers had a little break on Tuesday, according to Grifol. 

“They came in, they had a really good meeting, pitching meeting that they got here for that was extremely productive,” Grifol said. “Then they came out and threw and obviously [Dylan] Cease threw his live [BP]. 

“When the pitchers were out of here, I was happy that they got a blow today. Well deserved.”

The pitchers’ early exit allowed Grifol and his staff to put the position players through needed drills, including situational hitting, their first team fundamental in popups and sliding drills. Despite having power throughout their lineup, situational hitting will be important in Grifol’s mind.

“In April, the offense is at times, the weather hurts the offense a little bit,” Grifol said. “And we've got to learn how to win those games. We've got to learn how to win tight games: 2-1, 3-2.

“Obviously as you move forward throughout the season, your bats are not always going to be there. The situational hitting is a part of who we are, and we've got to run produce and that's just a part of our game. I'm looking forward to seeing that become a part of our identity as well.”

Moving on
The White Sox hold José Abreu, one of the top players in franchise history, in the highest esteem and will miss his bat abundantly present in the middle of the order over the past nine seasons. But with Abreu in Houston, the South Siders are focused on their players in Arizona.

“You know he contributes so much, [brought] so much energy,” shortstop Tim Anderson said. “We’re definitely going to miss him. But we’re not going to dwell on him. We open up with him, so we’ll see him. It’s still love, but we got to push towards our goals as well.

“We’re going to miss all of it, but it’s a business. So, we got to continue to keep rolling. You know we’re not going to sit here and talk about Pito all day. We love Pito, but we’re not going to definitely just continue to keep talking about him.”