White Sox lefty Anthony Kay recovers from rough start to throw 3 scoreless innings

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It was another one of those starts for White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay. He opened the bottom of the first by loading the bases with Diamondbacks with one out before gutting it out.

Luken Baker struck out swinging and A.J. Vukovich lined out to left. No runs, no harm, no foul.

“I just struggled to get in a groove very early on,” he said near the end of Chicago’s 6-0 win. “But thankfully I was able to settle in and not give up any runs. I was able to lock in during the second inning.”

Final line: Three innings, two hits, no runs, two walks, two whiffs, 51 pitches. A nice spring training outing heading in the right direction.

“I think I was trying to do a little bit too much,” he added. “I was overthrowing a bit. I talked with [Zach] Bove and Bobby [Hearn] in the dugout, and they just settled me down. Just worry about throwing strikes and not trying to be too nasty. Just let them hit it a little bit.”

Keep in mind, Kay hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2023 with the New York Mets. He’s spent most of the last three seasons in Japan. He’s glad to be back.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “Japan is great, but it’s not the big leagues. I’m really excited to be here,” after signing a two-year free-agent contract with the White Sox guaranteeing him at least $12 million.

There was a lot of development in Japan, he added.

“I had to learn to be a starter again. I had to work on my command over there, for sure. I definitely learned a lot about myself and really regained a lot of confidence over there.”

Contract signings

The White Sox signed one-year contracts with 31 of their 32 pre-arbitration eligible players on Friday, renewing the contract of infielder Miguel Vargas when he didn’t come to terms. According to a club spokesman, Vargas was renewed at $805,700.

Among the top paid were pitchers Tyler Gilbert at $900,000, and Shane Smith at $825,900, and infielder Lenyn Sosa at $803,550.

The amounts paid to the remaining signees were not disclosed. All players on the 40-man roster are now signed for the 2026 season.

Here is the remainder of the list:

Pitchers: Alexander Alberto, Prelander Berroa, Sean Burke, Ky Bush, Jonathan Cannon, Duncan Davitt, Brandon Eisert, Wikelman González, Jordan Leasure, Davis Martin, Tanner McDougal, Chris Murphy, Jedixson Páez, David Sandlin, Grant Taylor, Drew Thorpe and Mike Vasil.

Catchers: Korey Lee, Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel.

Infielders: Brooks Baldwin, Curtis Mead, Chase Meidroth Colson Montgomery, and Tanner Murray.

Outfielders: Luisangel Acuña, Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters.

Roster moves

After Friday’s win over the D-backs, the Sox made 10 roster moves as promised beforehand by manager Will Venable.

Optioned to Class AAA Charlotte : RHP Duncan Davitt.

Reassigned to minor-league camp: RHPs Mason Adams, Adisyn Coffey, Tyler Davis, Zach Franklin and Jairo Iriarte, LHP Shane Murphy, C Michael Turner and INFs Tim Elko and Jacob Gonzalez.

With the moves, the White Sox have 57 players remaining in camp: 30 pitchers, five catchers, 11 infielders and 11 outfielders.

Sox 6, Diamondbacks 0

• Sox manager Will Venable said he saw the highlights of Friday’s WBC game from Tokyo where Japan wiped out Chinese Taipei, 13-0, in a match that ended after seven in the Tokyo Dome because of the mercy rule.

White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami drew a walk to open the second inning. Japan loaded the bases for Shohei Ohtani, who thrilled the sellout crowd by hitting a grand slam into the right field bleachers. Japan scored 10 runs in the inning and Murakami scored three runs in the game.

“He’s been in the middle of the action,” Venable said. “I think those guys playing in that atmosphere, they’re all going to benefit from that.”

• Jared Kelenic hit a three-run, fourth inning homer off D-backs right-hander Joe Ross, his first of the spring.

Three Sox relievers combined to shutout what amounted to an Arizona minor league team for the final six innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out five.

• On deck: Sox at Mariners, 2:10 p.m. Saturday, Peoria, CHSN, 1000-AM, Grant Taylor vs. Logan Gilbert.