Polo's departure opened up a Glendale roster spot for White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson, who was 0-for-4 in his first AFL game.

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF OCTOBER 31, 2017 White Sox Covey, Polo leave AFL early Scott Merkin, MLB.com Fry to represent White Sox in Fall Stars Game Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com As Bell departs White Sox, Getz praises mentor Scott Merkin, MLB.com VP, assistant GM Buddy Bell leaving White Sox after 14 seasons Mark Strotman, NBC Sports Chicago Buddy Bell leaves White Sox front office after 14 years for hometown Reds Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune Buddy Bell leaves White Sox for position with Reds Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times White Sox assistant GM Buddy Bell joins Reds Scot Gregor, Daily Herald Rick Renteria doesn't need to worry about suffering the same fate on the South Side James Fegan, The Athletic White Sox ready for a long wait on their long-shot power prospect James Fegan, The Athletic White Sox Covey, Polo leave AFL early By Scott Merkin / MLB.com Oct. 30, 2017 CHICAGO -- White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey departed Arizona Fall League competition with Glendale due to right arm fatigue. Covey had a 5.25 ERA over three starts and 12 innings. "There certainly wasn't any reason to push through it this late in the year," White Sox director of player development Chris Getz said. "The point of having him out there to begin with really was because he missed a significant amount of time and we view him as a starter, so it was an opportunity to get some more innings." Covey, a Rule 5 Draft selection from Oakland, finished 0-7 with a 7.71 ERA for the 2017 White Sox. He was limited to 18 games (12 starts) due to a left oblique strain. Outfielder Tito Polo, who was acquired in a trade sending David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Todd Frazier to the Yankees, also left early from the AFL. Polo had a tooth taken out and was going to miss five or six days due to an ensuing infection so the White Sox decided to get his offseason going after 30 at-bats for Glendale. Polo's departure opened up a Glendale roster spot for White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson, who was 0-for-4 in his first AFL game. Fry to represent White Sox in Fall Stars Game AFL's marquee event to be broadcast on MLB Network, MLB.com Saturday at 8 p.m. ET By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com Oct. 30, 2017 For the past quarter-century, the Arizona Fall League has served as a springboard for players to leap up to the big leagues and reach stardom there. Since 2006, the AFL has gathered all of the future stars on one field for the Fall Stars Game. The rosters for this year's edition were announced on Monday and, as usual, they are jam packed with talent. The 12th edition of the Fall Stars Game will take place at Salt River Fields at 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET) on Saturday and will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com. The collection of talent on the East and West teams currently includes a total of 10 members of MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 prospects list. Three of the top 10 prospects will be participating, starting with No. 2 overall prospect Victor Robles of the Nationals, the outfielder on the East squad who just joined the AFL after being on Washington's Division Series roster. Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna, the No. 5 prospect, will be in the opposing outfield, as will Astros prospect Kyle Tucker (No. 7). Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller is the highest-ranked pitching prospect in the AFL, and in the game as a member of the West. His Top 100 counterpart on the East is Yankees lefty Justus Sheffield. The other Top 100 prospects playing in the game are Brewers outfielder Corey Ray on the East, while the West roster has the Indians' Francisco Mejia, the Padres' Luis Urias, Yusniel Diaz of the Dodgers and Michael Chavis from the Red Sox.

2 "It's an honor to come here and be recognized as one of the best here," Ray said. "It's an honor and a testament to the hard work I've put in and hopefully I'm an MLB All-Star one day. "You play against the talent and you admire because guys are really good so just to play against the guys and play with the guys and pick their brains. Hopefully I can take something from that game that will make me a better baseball player." This kind of game isn't new for eight of the participants. That group played in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in Miami this past July. In addition to Top 100 players Robles, Acuna, Tucker, Mejia (he also went in 2016) and Ray, Orioles lefty Tanner Scott, Astros first baseman Yordan Alvarez and Padres first baseman Josh Naylor played in that super-prospect game. Including Scottt, Alvarez and Naylor, there are 28 additional prospects not on the Top 100 list who are on their individual team's Top 30, helping to make the game one-stop shopping for prospect fans. "My first reaction was shocked," said Braden Bishop, No. 5 on the Mariners' Top 30. "I think anytime you can put yourself in this league alone, it's an honor. But then when you get named to something like that it definitely takes you back for a second. I'm honored and I think it's going to be a great experience." Fans have the opportunity to add even more talent to both rosters via the Fall League Final 2 Vote. Three players have been nominated for the East and West. The East choices are Billy McKinney and Estevan Florial from the Yankees (Florial would give the game one more Top 100 and Futures Game player), as well as Angels first baseman Matt Thaiss. Options for the West are Indians first baseman Bobby Bradley, Royals shortstop Nicky Lopez and Rangers outfielder Yanio Perez. Voting concludes at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. This slightly different fall classic has a strong track record of predicting big league success. One Dodgers prospect who homered in last year's Fall Stars Game is currently playing in the World Series and is almost certainly going to be the National League Rookie of the Year. Yep, that would be Cody Bellinger. The 2015 edition of the game featured Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, while current Major League stars like Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager played in the game in As Bell departs White Sox, Getz praises mentor Director of player development describes impact of guidance By Scott Merkin / MLB.com Oct. 30, 2017 CHICAGO -- It was difficult for Buddy Bell to contain his excitement after helping to bring on Chris Getz as the White Sox director of player development on Oct. 24, A little more than one year later, it's equally difficult for Getz to put into words the personal guidance provided by Bell, who is departing the White Sox to join the Reds as vice president and senior advisor to general manager and president of baseball operations Dick Williams. "I've learned so much. I probably don't even know how much I learned," Getz said of Bell. "Just how he kind of operated. "Player development certainly presents its challenges. He really helped and kind of maneuvering, working through these things and helping these players along. Hopefully I've acquired some of those skills and kind of continue to make those impressions he certainly had an ability to do." Bell, 66, spent 14 years with the White Sox and served the last five as vice president/assistant general manager. He spoke during a Monday conference call about asking White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf permission to talk to other teams about 10 days ago, and explained how Reinsdorf gave him until Oct. 31 to follow that path. Once the Reds expressed interest and the graduate of Moeller High School in Cincinnati had a chance to go home, he didn't need to talk to anybody else. That desire to talk to other teams came in part from Getz's excellence in his role. "This guy is phenomenal," said Bell of Getz. "He's very smart, he's got a great feel for players and staff, and I just felt like this is a good time for me to kind of maybe possibly go someplace else. "First of all, I have obviously mixed emotions about leaving the White Sox. I'll always have a little bit of that in me. I always have since I first joined the White Sox in This is kind of weird for me leaving them, but I felt like this is a great time to do that." The White Sox announced no plans exist to replace Bell at this time. Reinsdorf also issued a statement through the team about Bell's departure and his valued contributions.

3 "Buddy Bell has influenced the careers of literally thousands of professional baseball players through his passion for coaching and player development," Reinsdorf said. "He has left a long-lasting mark on the White Sox organization, our Minor League staff and players throughout our system. "There is absolutely no way to thank him enough for all he has done and his years of devotion to this organization and to making our Minor Leaguers better as players and as people. We personally wish him nothing but success and fulfillment as he returns home to the city of Cincinnati and a Reds organization that very appropriately carries a great deal of meaning and pride for the entire Bell family." Getz stands as one of those individuals influenced by Bell, both as a White Sox player and a fellow member of the front office. "He's going to have a positive impact on you. It's just the person that he is," Getz said. "Getting to know him when I was a player here, I was always impressed and then having the ability to work with him here in the past year has been invaluable. From a professional standpoint, personal standpoint, he's just a great person." VP, assistant GM Buddy Bell leaving White Sox after 14 seasons By Mark Strotman / NBC Sports Chicago Oct. 30, 2017 Vice president and assistant to the general manager Buddy Bell is leaving the White Sox after 14 seasons. Bell, 66, will return to Cincinnati as a senior advisor to GM and president of baseball operations Dick Williams. Bell spent the last five seasons in his current role with the White Sox, and was the director of player development for three seasons before that. Buddy Bell has influenced the careers of literally thousands of professional baseball players through his passion for coaching and player development. He has left a long-lasting mark on the White Sox organization, our minor league staff and players throughout our system. There is absolutely no way to thank him enough for all he has done and his years of devotion to this organization and to making our minor leaguers better as players and as people," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "We personally wish him nothing but success and fulfillment as he returns home to the city of Cincinnati and a Reds organization that very appropriately carries a great deal of meaning and pride for the entire Bell family. Bell was a five-time All-Star, won six Gold Gloves and played four of his 18 MLB seasons with the Reds. The White Sox announced they have no plans to fill the vacancy at this time. Buddy Bell leaves White Sox front office after 14 years for hometown Reds By Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune Oct. 30, 2017 Buddy Bell, who spent the last 14 seasons in the White Sox's front office, left the organization Monday to take a position with his hometown Reds. For the last five years, Bell served as the Sox's vice president and assistant general manager to Rick Hahn. Bell oversaw the team's player-development system and assisted in major-league roster decisions. Bell, 66, was named the Reds' senior advisor to GM and president of baseball operations Dick Williams. During his stint with the Sox, Bell served as the director of minor-league instruction as well as director of player development before being promoted to VP and assistant GM on Nov. 2, "Buddy Bell has influenced the careers of literally thousands of professional baseball players through his passion for coaching and player development," Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "He has left a long-lasting mark on the White Sox organization, our minor league staff and players throughout our system. There is absolutely no way to thank him enough for all he has done and his years of devotion to this organization." After graduating from Moeller High School in Cincinnati and attending Xavier and Miami (Ohio), Bell played 18 seasons in the majors from with the Indians, Rangers, Reds and Astros and was named to five All-Star teams. He also managed for nine seasons with the Tigers, Rockies and Royals. The Sox said they have no plans to replace Bell at this time.

4 Fall news: The Sox announced outfielder Tito Polo (dental issue) and right-hander Dylan Covey (arm fatigue) have been shut down from Arizona Fall League play. Polo hit.267 with a team-leading four stolen bases in seven games with the Glendale Desert Dogs. Covey went 1-1 with a 5.67 ERA in three starts. Outfielder Charlie Tilson replaced Polo on the roster and went 0-for-4 in his debut Saturday. Meanwhile, pitcher Jace Fry was named to the AFL's Fall Star Game. The left-hander has a 3.60 ERA and eight strikeouts in five relief appearances for the Desert Dogs. Still raking: Eloy Jimenez just keeps hitting in the Dominican Winter League. The Sox's top-ranked prospect, acquired in the trade that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs, ripped a two-run double in the first inning of Gigantes del Cibao's 2-1 victory over Leones del Escogido on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. The outfielder is hitting.378 with a league-leading three homers and 13 RBIs. Buddy Bell leaves White Sox for position with Reds Buddy Bell, who spent the last 14 years with the White Sox, was hired by the Reds as a vice president and senior advisor on Monday. By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times Oct. 30, 2017 Buddy Bell, the White Sox vice president/assistant general manager the last five years, was hired by the Reds as a vice president and senior adviser to the general manager Monday morning. The move is a homecoming for Bell, who graduated from Moeller High School and attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and played four of his 18 seasons in the majors with the Reds from 1985 to He also served the organization as a coach. From Jose Canseco to J.J. Watt, everyone thinks MLB balls are juiced Houston Astros amp up an already-powerful offense in postseason Bell, 66, who assisted with major-league roster and staffing decisions and amateur and special scouting and oversaw player development, spent 14 seasons in the Sox baseball operations department. He was director of player development from 2009 to The Sox have no plans to replace Bell at this time. Buddy Bell has influenced the careers of literally thousands of professional baseball players through his passion for coaching and player development, Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. He has left a long-lasting mark on the White Sox organization, our minor-league staff and players throughout our system. There is absolutely no way to thank him enough for all he has done and his years of devotion to this organization and to making our minor-leaguers better as players and as people. We personally wish him nothing but success and fulfillment as he returns home to the city of Cincinnati and a Reds organization that very appropriately carries a great deal of meaning and pride for the entire Bell family. Bell, a five-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner, is the son of former Reds star Gus Bell. White Sox assistant GM Buddy Bell joins Reds By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald Oct. 30, 2017 Buddy Bell is going back home. A part of the Chicago White Sox's front office for 14 years, the past five as assistant to general manager Rick Hahn, Bell is returning to his native Cincinnati as senior adviser to Reds GM Dick Williams. Bell, 66, worked in player development for the Sox from and "Buddy Bell has influenced the careers of literally thousands of professional baseball players through his passion for coaching and player development," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "He has left a long-lasting mark on the White Sox organization, our minor-league staff and players throughout our system. There is absolutely no way to thank him enough for all he has done and his years of devotion to this organization and to making our minor leaguers better as players and as people.

5 "We personally wish him nothing but success and fulfillment as he returns home to the city of Cincinnati and a Reds organization that very appropriately carries a great deal of meaning and pride for the entire Bell family." Bell played for the Reds from His father, Gus, played for Cincinnati from and Buddy Bell's son, David, managed in the Reds' system following a 12-year playing career in the majors. Tilson update: After missing the entire season with a fractured foot and ankle, center fielder Charlie Tilson was feeling good enough to participate in the White Sox's instructional league in early October. "It's baseball," Tilson said. "You spend so much time in the cage and it's tough to really simulate in-game competition. Laying off a couple of pitches, fouling a couple of pitches off, getting down two strikes, those type of things bring back familiar feelings you haven't been in touch with for a while." Tilson was able to test his right ankle in instructional league games, and he's healthy enough to continue playing in the Arizona Fall League. A New Trier High School product, Tilson replaces Tito Polo (dental issue) on the Glendale Desert Dogs AFL roster. Jimenez update: When he visited the White Sox in September, top outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez was oozing with confidence. "I truly believe I can play here right now," he said. "I don't want to be just another player. I want to be the best player." Acquired from the Cubs in the July 13 Jose Quintana trade, the 20-year-old Jimenez continues to show how good he is in the Dominican winter league. Playing for Gigantes del Cibao, Jimenez leads the league in home runs (3) and RBI (13) while batting.378 in 11 games. Rick Renteria doesn't need to worry about suffering the same fate on the South Side By James Fegan / The Athletic Oct. 29, 2017 The White Sox had a rebuilding season in All that time White Sox players, coaches and executives spent not talking about team meetings to jumpstart the club out of a losing streak, and not focusing on closer controversies nor discussing who will make the playoff roster, they spoke about manager Rick Renteria, and the team culture, and how the vision for how the franchise will be successful in the future is in place. By the end of the year, I was concerned I had written this story too many times already, but in my defense, general manager Rick Hahn kept talking about it. We ve seen it time and again over the course of the season, Hahn said at the end of the season. Whether it s his ability to create a culture where every man on that roster feels important and understands the expectations of how we want the game played, to his ability to teach a guy. Whether you ve seen him on TV a number of times, going up to guys in the dugout in-game to have that conversation, or stuff that happens before or after a ballgame in private. His baseball knowledge, his work ethic, the amount of time he spends to get it right, the pride he takes in being a White Sox and the shared vision we have for what we ultimately, as an organization, from [owner Jerry Reinsdorf], [vice president Kenny Williams], myself and Ricky want this thing to look like over the coming years. I don t think any of us around here have any doubt that he s absolutely the right guy. Hahn brought it up again, albeit without being so verbose, at instructional league, where Renteria had been flown out to address players some more than two years away from sniffing the majors under the best of circumstances on the White Sox's team culture. Just like running hard to first base every time the alpha and omega of examples provided of Renteria's conquest of the Sox clubhouse and culture this can all feel a bit repetitive and forced, but it's doing us a bit of service right now to clear away confusion and speculation before it takes rise.

6 Coaching carnage is expected this time of year, but it's been a little intense so far this season, with Joe Maddon's Cubs excising the majority of his assistants after their third-straight NLCS, and the Nationals, Red Sox and Yankees purging well-renowned managers after objectively successful seasons. Which brings us to Joe Girardi. With 11 years of managing experience, 52 games of playoff experience, a World Series ring, 10 straight winning seasons, a reputation for data-friendliness extensive enough to earn derisive jokes for managing by the binder he keeps in the dugout, and even a Chicago connection to top it all off, the former Yankees manager is someone who would qualify as a get hire. If he had been available as last season was ending, when the Sox were turning the page on the Robin Ventura era, there would have been significant outside clamoring for them to pursue the Peoria, Illinois native, even if a highly competitive bidding process is not how the Sox have typically found their skippers. It was just three seasons ago that the Cubs pushed Renteria himself aside for a get hire of their own, and there are those suggesting now the Sox should do the same; I've seen just a little bit of it. I would expect that group to stay pretty small. The White Sox won't tell us exactly when Michael Kopech will be called up, or what level Luis Robert will start at in 2018, but they've made it clear that they are pretty happy with their coaching staff. Despite the organizational emphasis on loyalty and continuity, it's not like the White Sox are always the picture of inactivity. Nick Capra and Curt Hasler were added from minor league development roles to the staff last offseason to accommodate a young roster that needed the extra guiding hands, and more changes could come when the Sox transition back to a win-now atmosphere. Yet beyond bench coach Joe McEwing possibly needing to be replaced with all the managerial interviews he's doing, the White Sox don't figure to make much news on the coaching front this fall. They look like a team that's already long settled the direction of its leadership going forward. White Sox ready for a long wait on their long-shot power prospect By James Fegan / The Athletic Oct. 30, 2017 We've run a lot of White Sox prospect profiles in the past eight months. A lot of words have been spent on a lot of guys who won't make it, some who might not even come close. The justification for doing so is that these players are part of the White Sox's future plans until they are not. How and why they succeed or fail will ultimately be informative for the prospects that come after them. But most importantly, fans just have a voracious appetite for this stuff. Even with that, I still hesitate to put a spotlight and thus place expectations on the White Sox's 2017 eighth-round draft pick, first baseman Sam Abbott, a player in a uniquely early spot in his development path thanks to split focus on a standout water polo career (he was a three-time Washington high school water polo MVP). Ultimately, the White Sox put that spotlight on Abbott when they used a pick in the first 10 rounds on him, but they acknowledged the long path ahead on draft night. It's going to be a long process for Sam, White Sox amateur scouting director Nick Hostetler said. He's going to be a two-year rookie ball guy. He's new to baseball, he wasn't on the circuit. He wasn't an Area Codes guy. This is going to take some time, there's going to be some patience, but this is one of those high-risk, high-rewards where if this hits, it's a story good enough for a movie. The first snippet of rookie ball for the still-18-year-old Abbott provided an expectedly harsh transition, as he hit.225/.344/.275 with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate in 31 games in the Arizona League this year. No trace of the light-tower power that piqued the interest of Jim Thome, a special assistant to general manager Rick Hahn, in Abbott's pre-draft batting practice sessions showed up during actual games. Of course, this is not a new development. Abbott had just one home run in the regular season of his senior year of high school, as his.600 slugging percentage was mostly propped up by a.438 batting average. The strike0ut-to-walk ratio he's flashed as a professional is actually encouraging given how raw he is, but the impact power he needs to make his profile work is all scouting projection. Kind of everything, Abbot said when asked what he was working on at instructional league, where he will likely be an annual visitor for a while. I m trying to get more direct to the ball. I had a few flaws in my swing. I m working on that to iron it out. Also defensively trying to move my feet a little more. Get better positioning. Basically just body positioning. That s

7 the biggest thing. If I can get my body in the best position I can be, I ll be good. If I can get that consistently day-in and day-out, that s what I strive to do. Even under the ideal developmental path, where Abbott spends two seasons in rookie ball, his power emerges and he dominates age-appropriate competition offensively, and eventually moves smoothly through A-ball, getting promoted level-by-level, year-to-year, he's still easily five years away or more. That long of a path allows for hiccups and roadblocks along the way, and being slotted in at first base means the White Sox will have to be not just moderately successful in making him a major league hitter, but overwhelmingly. Beyond being enormous (he's listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds but I could easily be sold on him being larger), Abbott very much reads as 18 years old. He has very far to go, but a very long time to get there. He was over-the-moon excited to be even in the spring training version of a major league clubhouse and still jazzed by the dream come true of being a professional ballplayer, but not unfamiliar with the idea that it could mean the game kicks his butt for a little as he learns and adjusts. Baseball is the hardest sport in the world, Abbott said. If you can t stay mentally prepared every day, it s hard. It s a process day-in and day-out. It s month after month and game and season to season. It s the work to put in now and then next year and the year after that will pay dividends later on in my career. I completely buy into it. I m just doing the best I can every single day and whatever happens, it happens. I control what I can control. Two years ago we could have had the same discussion about Corey Zangari. The White Sox took the massive 6-foot-4, 240-pound high school first baseman in the sixth round of the 2015 draft with the promise of big, raw power if he was allowed a long time to develop. After a rude welcome to Low-A in his first opportunity as a 19-year-old, and Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss all of the 2017 season, he's barely discussed among the White Sox's neverending glut of prospects. Yet he's still just 20 years old and by all accounts spent his time on the sidelines working out and losing weight. The first sight that greeted me as I walked up to a game on the Oakland A's backfields was Zangari lifting a massive home run over a chainlink fence in left field. He's still far away, and it's still unknown whether he'll ever even make it to Double- A, but he's still around, and he still has potential. It wouldn't be the worst thing for us to treat Abbott similarly. Despite the second-day-of-the-draft level of excitement the Sox have for him, his progress also figures to be slow, and rarely linear, and may warrant only annual check-ins rather than daily reviews of his box score. Only a fool would pencil him, or Zangari, into a future Sox lineup at this point with any certainty, but the Sox believe if they stack enough of these guys in their system, eventually they'll have themselves a star.