SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The White Sox have not made a decision on a starting pitcher for the first game of the regular season, but both Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito are giving the club plenty to think about this spring.

The White Sox open the season in Detroit on April 8. Their home opener is scheduled for April 12 against the Mariners.

“The most important thing is they both know it can be either one of them, and they are pulling for each other,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said.

Lynn, in his Cactus League debut, gave up three runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings in Chicago's 14-5 loss to Texas on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium. He struck out four. On Tuesday, Giolito allowed one hit and struck out four in three innings against the Brewers. He walked one.

“On Opening Day, there is a certain message you send,” La Russa said. “When you have two guys that deserve the message, it’s a good kind of problem. When you have nobody there, that’s the real problem.”

Lynn was the Opening Day starter for the Rangers in 2020. Giolito earned the nod for the White Sox in each of the last two seasons. Both have let La Russa know that they’ll gladly pitch whenever the manager wants them to pitch.

“We have multiple guys with the ability to do that, and that’s awesome,” Lynn said. “We have a deep staff, so whoever he picks is going to be ready for it. It’s still March. We’ll worry about that in April.”

Lynn gave up back-to-back home runs to Corey Seager and Mitch Garver in the first inning. Garver tagged Lynn for another solo home run in the third. The right-hander is not worried about that, either.

“There was no game plan today,” Lynn said. “Just go out there and get pitches in. The stuff was there for the most part, so I can’t complain.”

Kimbrel throws
Craig Kimbrel was charged with five runs -- four earned -- on two hits in two-thirds of an inning in his Cactus League debut. He hit a batter, walked two and was tagged with the loss.

“Overall, I felt pretty good,” Kimbrel said. “The ball was coming out a little harder than the effort I was putting into it. Today, I was working on direction, getting down the mound, and trying to stay in my pitches. I did that for a couple of batters, and didn’t for a couple of other ones.”

Kimbrel added that he measures his results on how he feels and how the ball is coming out of his hand. It’s not about the statistics.

“Obviously, we want to go out there and go 1-2-3, and sometimes you need a little more than that,” he said. “Sometimes, you need to get to a spot where you hunker down and need to make a pitch. I felt like I had that opportunity and was able to do it.”

Rule change chatter
MLB and the MLBPA have reached an agreement, pending approval by the owners, to implement a handful of rule changes for the 2022 season that include expanded rosters for the first month of the season and the return of the automatic runner at second base during extra innings, according to a report by the New York Post.

La Russa described the automatic runner initiative as “the perfect rule” because it benefits clubs and excites the fans.

The manager was also asked about the two extra roster spots to start the year. According to the report, rosters would return to 26 players on May 2, and teams would not be allowed to carry more than 13 pitchers once rosters revert.

“It’s a valuable help and it’s going to be interesting for all 30 teams to maneuver it,” La Russa said of the reported expanded roster rule. “I think it’s smart to give us some protection."

Contract updates
On Wednesday, the White Sox announced they had agreed to terms on 2022 contracts with these 21 players:

Pitchers: Jason Bilous, Ryan Burr, Dylan Cease ($750,000), Garrett Crochet, Matt Foster, Michael Kopech ($730,000), Jimmy Lambert, José Ruiz, Anderson Severino, Bennett Sousa, and Jonathan Stiever

Catchers: Zack Collins, Yermín Mercedes and Seby Zavala

Infielders: Jake Burger, Romy González, Danny Mendick and Gavin Sheets

Outfielders: Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford and Andrew Vaughn