GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Michael Kopech enters the 2024 season 20 pounds lighter and with the memories of a dismal ’23 campaign in the rearview mirror.
“Clean slate is a good way to describe it,” Kopech told a group of reporters Thursday at Camelback Ranch. “Last year, as a team, we had plenty of woes. As an individual, I had just as many.
“I’m excited to come in feeling healthy, ready to go, ready to compete, ready to build a new culture within the team. It’s something we are all pretty fixated on. Kind of a fresh start.”
At 27, Kopech begins his seventh big league season with the White Sox. The right-handed hurler only has played in parts of four of those due to Tommy John surgery costing him 2019 and his decision to sit out during the pandemic-shortened campaign of ‘20.
He’s an ideal player for a reporter to cover, being low-key but forthright and willing to talk about the good and bad times of his career. There were good times in 2023, with Kopech allowing one hit with 10 strikeouts over eight innings against the Royals on May 19 and following that up with seven scoreless at Cleveland on May 24, including two hits given up and nine strikeouts.
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But his second half was forgettable, posting an 8.10 ERA over 14 appearances (11 starts). Kopech came to the White Sox from Boston in the 2016 Chris Sale deal as one of the best pitching prospects in the game, and now he’s ready to fulfill lofty expectations in ’24.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the pressure of what people expect from me that’s something I’m trying to live up to. It’s more so what I expect of myself,” Kopech said. “I have capabilities that I haven’t shown at this level yet and there’s still that edge that I want to be able to provide to the team and help the team compete to win a championship. And in order to do that, I need to live up to my potential.
“So, that’s something that’s very much a focus of mine. … A big part of having a bounce-back year is understanding what you’re putting behind you. We don’t want to dwell on last year, but at the same time, we need to learn from the mistakes that were going on. To recognize those and address those and to not go back to those I think is important.”
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Being healthy also is important. Kopech had a cyst removed from his right knee in late September 2023 after having his right meniscus repaired to end his ’22 effort in September. The cyst had bothered him all year, but he’s in a good spot now.
“If you look at his body, and you look at the shape he's in, how strong he is and how lean he is, you realize that it was affecting him a little bit,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “He's strong, he's mentally strong.”
“Right now, I feel like I’m able to move well, [the] ball is coming out well,” Kopech said. “I’m getting into positions [that were] difficult to get into the past couple of years. My movement patterns are cleaned up. I’m excited to see how that translates to the mound.”
Thirty starts would be the basic 2024 goal for Kopech, who made a career-high 27 starts in ’23 to go with his career-best 134 strikeouts over 129 1/3 innings. But the main target for Kopech is team directed, working to get everyone prepared and working together for what they hope is a winning season.
“There’s not a whole lot of pressure on us because there’s not a whole lot of expectations on us,” Kopech said. “We have the ability to impress a lot easier than people might expect.”
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Dylan Cease might not finish ’24 as part of the White Sox, with their
projected Opening Day starter continuing to be a top trade target. But it sounds as if Chicago will never leave his mind.
“It’s a super clean big city,” Cease said. “Some big cities you feel like everything is on top of each other, while Chicago is just spread out.
“In summer, it’s perfect. Food is great. Museums, all kinds of stuff to do. The Art Museum is awesome. Chicago is a great city.”
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson might be wise to use Cease as a spokesperson.
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• Right-hander Davis Martin will begin throwing bullpens on Monday in his ongoing recovery from Tommy John surgery. The new father made 14 appearances (nine starts) in 2022.
• White Sox general manager Chris Getz continues looking for ways to improve the team.
“We’re still in a period where there are players that are still out there, some free agents that haven’t signed, and discussions from a trade standpoint, as well,” Getz said. “Still fielding phone calls from agents and other teams, and we’ll look to improve. That won’t stop.”
• Caitlin Clark
is amazing, having transcended the sports world like few other individuals in the last two or three decades. Congratulations to Clark on the new scoring record and for comporting herself as a role model and a champion.
• The weather is perfect in Arizona. Make the trip to Spring Training.
• Former White Sox players Zach Putnam and Josh Phegley
will be at Camelback Ranch this weekend as coaches for Michigan’s baseball team when the Wolverines play four against Western Michigan.
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• “It’s all I’ve ever known was pennants. We won the division every year since I got called up, which was pretty crazy. And honestly, not a lot of those years were we picked to win the division. There was a chip on our shoulder every year over there. We knew what we had. And I think there’s a group of people over here that know this division is wide open and we can go take that.” -- Michael Soroka on the winning mindset brought over from Atlanta
• “I’ll keep that in house now. Wait until we get into games and you guys can make your own opinions from there. I’ve been working on various things. Had a talk with [senior advisor to pitching Brian] Bannister before last season ended about some stuff to take into the offseason. I look forward to showing that.” -- Garrett Crochet on his repertoire change as a starter
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