SAN DIEGO -- White Sox manager Pedro Grifol is completely confident that when the time comes, he and his staff will have “a nice roster to work with” for the 2023 season.

“We've got a really good front office that knows what they're doing,” Grifol said. “They know how to assemble clubs.”

• With 'something to prove,' White Sox eye collective edge in '23

Progress toward that assembling didn’t result in anything official getting done for the White Sox during the Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The White Sox weren’t in on the high-end free agents cost-wise, but with those names dropping off the board, they hope work from this week soon produces results.

"Again, as it relates to the White Sox, when the right deal comes along, that’s when we’re going to move,” general manager Rick Hahn said. 

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1. Left field: Hahn chuckled when asked if Oscar Colas would be the team’s starting right fielder if the season started this week, pointing instead to how teams would have to deal with some extremely tough weather if the season began in December. But as the organization's No. 2 prospect and 95th overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, Colas certainly is in play to break camp and likely bring his left-handed bat to the White Sox lineup. 

Gavin Sheets would be listed as the team’s left fielder right now, and while the left-handed power hitter made progress in the outfield defensively, he’s better suited as a first baseman or designated hitter. So, the White Sox are looking for another outfielder, with a left-handed bat being preferable.

2. Second base: Internal options exist with Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa and Leury Garcia. Because of this, the White Sox could focus primarily on adding to the outfield with remaining resources through trade or free agency.

“In the end, it's going to depend upon what's accessible at each,” Hahn said. “If you pool all your resources, does that significantly upgrade your ability at one spot and [make] you feel like the potential difference between the upgrade at the other spot is worth that sacrifice? Or are there equally accessible upgrades so you wind up addressing both? That's a fair way of looking at it.”

3. Catcher: Yasmani Grandal returns for the finale of his four-year, $73 million deal, coming off a rough and injury-altered 2022 campaign. The White Sox also have Seby Zavala and Carlos Pérez for potential backstop work, but they could add a veteran catcher into the mix behind Grandal -- or even more of a regular type of contributor, if the situation aligns.

AWARD WINNERS
Dennis Gilbert, who serves as the special assistant to White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, received the Big B.A.T./Frank Slocum Award for exemplary service and dedication to B.A.T. Marco Paddy was named the international scout of the year, while the White Sox were honored with the 2022 Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence for their top-flight Amateur City Elite youth baseball program.

RULE 5 DRAFT
Right-handed pitcher Nick Avila was selected by the White Sox from the Giants with the 15th pick overall in the Major League phase. Avila, 25, posted a 1.14 ERA, allowed a .206 opponents' batting average and notched 16 saves and 58 strikeouts over 55 1/3 innings and 47 games in 2022 between High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond. Avila is familiar with White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz from their time together in the Giants organization.

“We like the long-term upside, but we would not have made the selection if we didn’t think he had the chance to potentially contribute as most likely a multi-inning reliever for us next season,” Hahn said. “Ethan thinks very highly of him, liked the idea of bringing him in and letting him compete for a spot.”

GM'S BOTTOM LINE
Hahn and the front office remain open-minded in possibly making a significant, roster-changing move, as discussed Monday, though Hahn said the club is not shopping anyone in particular. They would be open-minded to moving young players from their Minor League system -- which is still ranked near the bottom of the league at No. 26 but possesses some up-and-coming players -- should such a move improve the team presently.

“We’ve had some productive conversations both on the trade and the free-agent front,” Hahn said. “Until there’s a deal, it really doesn’t matter. It was a productive week. Lots of conversations, lots of different ideas thrown about.

“If it was going to be more of a trade path, which was my instinct, some of the free-agent things were going to have to resolve themselves before the trade opportunities really presented themselves," added Hahn. "We’ll remain patient. And diligent.”