GLENDALE, Ariz. — While the White Sox stand pat, at least for now and perhaps longer than you might like, the AL Central gets better around them.
Carlos Correa’s addition to the Twins was a stunning attention grabber, and the Sox clubhouse took notice. And while the presence of a $35 million a year shortstop, arguably the best in the game, doesn’t make the Twins the Sox’ equal on paper — pitching still rules — it makes the defending AL Central Division champion Sox’ work a little more challenging 19 more times this season.
“Definitely a shock,” Keuchel, a former teammate of Correa said.
“He took that leadership role and ran with it is nothing short of one of the best players on the field if not the league. He’s going to make an immediate impact.”
The Sox see improvement not just from the Twins, but from all four division rivals.
“There’s different dynamics in the Central,” Sox closer Hendriks said. “The Twins made some moves to get better. Detroit’s done the same thing. We’ve done the same thing.”
“The Central will be more competitive,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said.
The Sox have added Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly to the bullpen and replaced Cesar Hernandez with Josh Harrison at second base. If Sox players want to see general manager Rick Hahn add another starting pitcher such as Sean Manaea in a trade or left-handed hitting outfielder Michael Conforto in a dwindling free-agent market, they’re not saying publicly.
“You’re going to get in trouble as a player if you try to play GM,” Hendriks said. “We’re not going to request a player, it’s not going to end well. You take what you can. But I do know when you make moves in the middle of the season it can completely change the attitude in the clubhouse. But in the offseason you let it play as it is.”
The Sox right now have enough to win the Central. They might not have enough to beat the Dodgers in the World Series, though. But they could be in a better position to assess that before the July 31 trade deadline.
“Sure, there’s always moves you can make but you run out the first 80 games and say, ‘OK we have deficiencies here or there let’s see what we can address and push the needle the most,’ ” Hendriks said. “From all the conversations we’ve had with the front office, this is our time, this is our window.
“Our job is to get ready for the season and it’s theirs, too, whether it’s with the current guys we got or a couple different pieces they add. You trust in them to have the interest of winning a championship.”
Hendriks knows this: When he was on the Blue Jays in 2015, Troy Tulowitzki, David Price and LaTroy Hawkins were added at the deadline and the clubhouse was floating on air.
“We walked in that day and you would have thought we hadn’t lost a game all year and we were a .500 team,” he said.
Hendriks also said any addition would have to fit in. He likes that the Sox front office checks with players about how targeted players would mesh in the clubhouse.
“It’s refreshing knowing they actually [care] about the clubhouse vibe,” Hendriks said. “You can have the best lineup in the world but if they don’t mesh well you’re never going to win. A championship team will always be a team of champions.”
Correa will fit in with the Twins and make them better but he is “just one more guy we have to get out,” Keuchel said. “But we have a really good staff and I’ll take our guys against anybody.
“It’s going to be a competitive division. There are going to be two or three teams at the end that are going to duke it out but I like our chances.”