New faces eager to join 'the wizardry going on' with South Siders

BOSTON – The excitement that the White Sox came into Fenway Park with was quickly erased in a 14-2 blowout loss in Tuesday night’s series opener.

Enjoying the fruits that the Trade Deadline blossomed for the club, the ever-excited bunch saw the host Red Sox offense open with fury, scoring six runs in the first inning against starter Davis Martin to pace the victory.

“Pretty good spanking we took,” manager Will Venable said postgame. “Obviously, the first inning there with Davis, couldn’t find it there, made an adjustment which worked for him, settled in nicely ... but got to figure out a way to be on top of that early.”

With a three-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, the White Sox pulled into Boston on Tuesday with some new faces in tow, courtesy of a busy Trade Deadline which saw them add an additional three players on Monday, after acquiring All-Star starter Luis Castillo in a deal with the Mariners over the weekend.

To a man, each of the new faces on the roster were well aware that they were walking into something special and they are all hoping to inject their own bit of alchemy to what has been a magical season thus far on the South Side.

“I’m super excited to be here,” said catcher Joey Bart, now on his third team of the season after being dealt from Pittsburgh to Atlanta in mid-June. “It seems like, from the outside looking in, a lot of fun, a lot of energy. It’s a team that brings a lot of energy every day and is in a great position. I’m excited to bring what I bring and keep winning.”

“I admired it from afar,” added center fielder Brenton Doyle, who joins the club from Colorado, where he earned two Gold Glove Awards. “I thought they were having so much fun out there and the energy was off the charts. I’m glad to be a part of it. It’s hard to miss. Whether it’s the wizardry going on or everyone always having a blast in the dugout.”

It has been five seasons since Chicago went to the postseason and the last three seasons saw them rack up over 300 losses.

Behind a hyped-up youth brigade, they are back in the playoff mix and because of that, the front office decided that this run was worthwhile enough to roll the dice, much to the pleasure of Venable.

“Really exciting Deadline,” said the White Sox bench boss. “First of all, I’m so appreciative that the front office sees enough in our team to go out and get us four new players who are going to help us win more games. They’re all going to play big roles on the team and I’m excited to get them onboarded here.”

Doyle and Bart immediately saw action, both in the starting lineup, with Venable making note that he expects to use both when the team faces a left-handed starter.

A two-time Gold Glover, Doyle flashed his defensive prowess in the second inning, going into the center field triangle to track down a Willson Contreras flyball before firing a strike to second base to erase Wilyer Abreu, tagging from first base.

Doyle was replaced in the sixth inning by Sam Antonacci after going 1-for-2 at the plate with a fourth-inning single.

Bart was 0-for-3 with a walk in his White Sox debut, but was solid in his first action behind the dish.

“He was great,” Martin said of the team’s newest backstop. “We had some good conversations pregame. We had some great conversations in the middle of it. I think that’s kind of when you get closer to those guys, is when things aren’t so well, when your stuff is hitting the fan. … We really started to find each other and he did a really good job of slowing the game down, coming out and talking to me, making the adjustments on the fly. It was really good.”

The White Sox also added two new pitchers – reliever Huascar Brazobán and Castillo – who are ready to get rolling as well and add their own bit of magic to the mix. Castillo is lined up as the club’s starter in Thursday’s series finale at Fenway.

“This is the sixth time that I’ve been traded, so nothing new for me,” said Castillo, a three-time All-Star, through translator Billy Russo. “Different team, different jersey, but the same energy. I could see that this was a team that liked to fight, liked to compete. It’s a bunch of kids and they're hungry to win.”

“I was excited because I knew how this team was playing,” noted Brazobán, via Russo. “And also it was special because I have a cousin in the organization [RHP Prelander Berroa]. I’m glad to be here.”

The new hurlers will also provide the club with some much-needed veteran experience, with the 36-year-old Brazobán now in his fifth Major League season, and Castillo in his 10th season.

Both also come to the table with valuable – albeit limited – postseason experience.

“It means a lot,” said Venable of his new vets. “Guys have been in tough spots before and know how to navigate tough situations and have tons of experience throughout this league over a number of years.”

The postseason run is officially on for the White Sox, and these moves should prove invaluable, especially as they face three .500-or-better playoff contenders over their next five series.

“They all come with great reputations,” Venable said. “We’re really excited about not only what they can do on the field, but what they can add to the clubhouse.”