Chicago White Sox players to watch this season

State of play: Enter new manager Pedro Grifol, a former bench coach from Kansas City. The no-name coach doesn't stoke the fan base, but as long as he doesn't fall asleep in the dugout, he's an upgrade.

• Plus, most of the club is back, including Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and a pretty stellar starting rotation featuring Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease.

He gone: Jose Abreu. Abreu is just one player, but Sox fans are sour that the All-Star bolted for Houston.

New arrivals: Andrew Benintendi will start in left field, while former Padres pitcher Mike Clevinger replaces Johnny Cueto.

Pick to click: Assuming he's fully recovered from knee surgery, pitcher Michael Kopech should shine on the mound.

Surprise: Elvis Andrus is back.

The bottom line: The Sox just need to get that swagger back that defined them in 2021. Losing La Russa may be enough to jump-start this team to live up to expectations.