This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- Strength up the middle of the diamond has been a mantra preached by White Sox general manager Chris Getz during this latest rebuild.
In fact, Getz stressed the message again during his 21-minute media session Friday at Rate Field. That idea is one strong reason for Luis Robert Jr. not only staying with the team after the July 31 Trade Deadline but very likely having his $20 million club option picked up for 2026. It helps having a five-tool talent in center field.
Their search for the shortstop/second baseman combination is ongoing, with Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Lenyn Sosa, Curtis Mead, and a plethora of prospects serving as viable candidates. Eventually, Getz and company hope to have a tandem as perfect fitting as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and shortstop Juan Uribe from the 2005 World Series champions.
Neither player was exactly a household name, with Uribe coming from the Rockies in a Dec. 2, 2003, trade for Aaron Miles. Iguchi joined the team as a free agent from Japan on Jan. 27, 2005, with general manager Ken Williams seeing Iguchi on tape and believing he was the player to help complete a title puzzle.
Iguchi proved Williams right.
“At the time, it was a new process,” Iguchi told MLB.com, through translator David Yamamoto, during the 20-year reunion at Rate Field on the weekend of July 11. “There weren’t many Japanese players coming over like now. I had a representative that told me multiple teams were interested but the White Sox were the team that offered second base, and I felt they were the best fit.
“Obviously, I came here to try to win the most I can. I was notified Ozzie Guillen was a very precise manager, and it felt like a really good fit for me. To win a World Series, it’s quite an accomplishment. I came here with the intention of trying to win.”
There were four seasons in Japan where Iguchi, who played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, knocked out 20 home runs or more. While he hit 15 in ’05 and 18 in ’06, Iguchi quickly realized power was not going to be his calling card to help the White Sox.
His responsibilities were focused on solid defense at second and hitting behind Scott Podsednik after the leadoff man reached base and frequently swiped second. Of course, Iguchi’s go-ahead three-run home run off David Wells in Game 2 of a three-game ’05 ALDS sweep of Boston will never be forgotten.
The same can be said for Uribe’s diving catch in the stands down the left-field line in Houston for the second out of the bottom of the ninth inning during a 1-0 Game 4 victory within the World Series sweep. Many White Sox fans will argue it’s the best play of its ilk made by a shortstop, even better than Derek Jeter’s similar regular-season catch for the Yankees in ’04.
“Every time I think about it, or I watch that play on TV, I even ask myself, ‘How did I do that?’” said Uribe through interpreter Billy Russo. “That’s something that the game called you to do. It’s the adrenaline, the moment of the game. You aren’t thinking about anything else but making plays and trying to get outs.
“I’m not thinking about jumping into the stands and catching the ball, something that just happens in the moment. It’s just now how the game developed in that moment. I know that [Derek] Jeter play was great and he has all my admiration, and he was a great baseball player. But it’s the same thing: He made that catch just because of the adrenaline of the game, the intensity of the game.”
Aaron Rowand anchored center for the ’05 team, while A.J. Pierzynski did the same behind the plate. Getz has Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel featured at catcher, giving him the start of what he hopes is a consistently winning combination.
“You look around the league at the teams that are at the top continuously, and it's because they have the depth and not just a 26-man roster,” Getz said. “It’s got to be much deeper than that, and in this rebuild, it’s about acquiring the talent however you can and continue to develop those guys and create as many options as you can.
“When you are strong up the middle, you are in a good position to win baseball games. We’ll continue to add around those players. We have plenty of guys who are playing well and continue to add to this group.”