Reading Room: Jose Abreu managing ankle as cold approaches

If you only looked at the numbers, you might not know that Jose Abreu has been battling a sore ankle this spring.

If you watched him move -- specifically when slowing down around the bag at first -- there's no mistaking that something was bothering him.

But Monday's game signaled an improvement in that area. The Mariners gave him a workout, and although one of the batted balls resulted in his first error of his White Sox career, it doesn't seem like the ankle was to blame. In fact, Abreu had the clearance to take five days off, but was back after two.

The concern is that the ankle issue will linger and will force Abreu into intermittent rests during the season. But manager Robin Ventura doesn’t seem worried, nor does Abreu, who taped his ankles while he played in Cuba. Abreu suspects the soreness stems from using arch supports and said he’s "feeling really good.’’

He's equally optimistic that he'll be able to handle his first blast of cold weather when the team heads to Chicago:

"I've never played in cold weather like that," Abreu said. "But if other people, all the Cubans, all the Latin players, other players can do it, I don't think it will be a problem for me.

"I haven't really asked Alexei [Ramirez] or Dayan [Viciedo], but some of the coaches have talked to me about it. I'm not going to give it too much mind. I'm just going to prepare psychologically and mentally for the cold, to actually enjoy it and do the best I can."

Christian Marrero Reading Room

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