Nate Jones entered camp as the favorite to take over as the White Sox closer. A mid-February glute strain threatened to complicate matters, but the right-hander now appears to be back on track.
Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports that Jones threw his third bullpen session of the spring on Wednesday and experienced no lingering discomfort in his backside. “It’s completely gone,” Jones said of the glute strain. “They just want to take it as slow as possible because we still have playing time in the spring. That’s why we have increased it just a little at a time. ... We’re still doing fine and once we start playing the games I think I’ll be right where I need to be.”
Jones, 28, owns a cool 3.31 career ERA and 154 strikeouts in 149 2/3 major league innings.
The White Sox traded former closer Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks in December.
