Chicago-born Uribe Jr. follows dad to White Sox
CHICAGO — Juan Uribe Sr. has nothing in opposition to any of the opposite six groups he performed for over 16 years within the Major Leagues, producing 199 dwelling runs and two World Series championships.
But he needed his son to conform to phrases with the White Sox and be a part of their group. That dream formally got here true on Monday, because the White Sox introduced Juan Uribe Jr. ($200,000) as a part of their seven-player worldwide free-agent class.
The remainder of this group contains right-handed pitchers Luis Reyes ($700,000) and Denny Lima ($10,000), outfielders Abraham Núñez ($700,000) and Albert Alberto ($50,000) and infielders D’Angelo Tejada ($350,000), and Rafael Álvarez ($350,000) from the White Sox signing pool set at $5,284,000. Marco Paddy, the White Sox particular assistant to the final supervisor in command of worldwide scouting, mentioned there’s extra to come back for this explicit class throughout a Zoom on Monday.
“Absolutely. In the next few days, we’re going to concentrate our efforts on signing some guys in Venezuela. That class is going to be productive also,” Paddy mentioned. “Coming back from the Christmas break, you have to make sure that everybody is healthy and everybody is ready to go.”
Reyes, 17, is rated by MLB Pipeline because the No. 4 worldwide pitching prospect and No. 41 total. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, performed for the Miami Miracles journey staff in a number of U.S. tournaments and Perfect Game occasions from 2020-21. He’s the lone Top 50 worldwide prospect signed by the White Sox, but it surely’s Uribe who has the best identify recognition.
It was Uribe Sr. who was the architect of one of the vital well-known performs in White Sox historical past. The shortstop fielded Orlando Palmeiro’s gradual curler up the center and threw to first baseman Paul Konerko for the ultimate out in finishing a 1-0, Game 4 victory over Houston and sealing the four-game sweep within the 2005 World Series.
Now, Uribe Sr. is growing younger expertise on the Juan Uribe Academy in Nizao, D.R. His son performed on the Uribe complicated, as did Alberto, a 16-year-old right-handed-hitting outfielder.
“In my academy, we are like a family. All the kids there are like my kids,” mentioned Uribe Sr. by way of interpreter Billy Russo on Monday evening. “I am going there with them, I play with them, I eat with them — I eat the identical type of meals that they eat — we do all the identical stuff, all collectively.
“They go to school there. They do everything they need to do there. Alberto is just one of them, like my son. I take a lot of pride in that because we are like a family. I like to be inclusive with all of them. I like to be part of their routines.”
Núñez, 16, is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound outfielder who bats left-handed and throws right-handed out of Santo Domingo. He is the son of former Major League outfielder Abraham Núñez, who performed for the Marlins (2002, ’04) and the Royals (2004). But Uribe Jr., 16, was born in Chicago, forming this White Sox bond actually at delivery and resulting in this connection, regardless of sturdy curiosity from different groups, in response to the younger second baseman.
“My dad was the one that made sure that I would go to the best place or the best organization. This worked out well,” Uribe Jr. mentioned by way of Russo. “But positively a really emotional second for my household. A really joyful second for all of us. I’m simply glad and really proud to be part of the White Sox.
“I wanted to do something similar to what Vladdy Jr. did. He was born in Canada, and now he’s playing for the Blue Jays. I wanted to do something like that.”
Of course, there’s just one Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Uribe Jr. is simply starting his profession. Someday he hopes to contribute to the White Sox ultimately, similar to his father.
“Being in Chicago and being with the White Sox is like being a part of a family,” Uribe Sr. mentioned. “You want your son to be in a good place, the right place. I’m proud of the player that he is and the player he’s going to become and how he’s going to represent the Chicago White Sox.”
