Chicago White Sox: Exclusive interview with Nate Jones

Part one: Jones’ takeaways from last season, and outlook for this season

Q: You had a very successful start to the 2018 season before the injury. What are some of your takeaways from last season?
A: I’d say some of the takeaways are continuing pitching good when I’m healthy, and that’s the key. I got to learn more about myself, more about my body, and how my arm reacts differently in some situations, and that I better grasp how to take care of it, and how to stay in front of that. I’d say that’s one big takeaway for me, and that’s why I’m out here early, to continue that, and to give myself the best chance to be healthy all year.

Q: The White Sox have added a couple of relievers to the mix this offseason. What are your thoughts on some of the new additions?
A: That is great that they added some veteran leadership, especially (Kelvin) Herrera, who has been to the postseason quite a bit with the Royals. That is an area where we were kind of lacking, veteran leadership, this coming season, and I think that the front office knew that too, and that’s why they brought those guys in who have an impressive résumé with them. I’m excited about it, and it just makes us better as a team and as a bullpen and will help us moving forward to our main goal, which is to win championships.

Q:  What do you anticipate your role to be heading into the 2019 season?
A: A lot of those questions and answers kind of shake themselves out during Spring Training, it’s always a good competition, but if I were to guess right now, I would have to guess that my role would be kind of the same, where I would pitch in the 7th, 8th, or 9th, and between the guys that we’ve added, we have a lot of versatility, and we have a lot of guys who can step up, and that’s going to be a plus for us, the versatility of everybody, and being able to pitch in those higher-leverage situations.

This is just an educated guess, but I know that Ricky (Renteria) really enjoys the versatility of the guys, and being able to mix-and-match. Maybe there are some guys coming up in the seventh that I do well against, and maybe the next night, I’ll come up in the eighth, or something like that. I think there’s going to be some mixing and matching, and a lot of just trying to get the guys up there, no matter what inning it is in the game, Ricky’s got the guys to do that.