GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox pitching prospect Norge Vera had questions. Former White Sox All-Star pitcher José Contreras had answers.
The two spent time together last year in the Dominican Republic and in the United States.
Vera asked Contreras — who pitched parts of six seasons with the Sox (2004-09) and won three games during the team’s 2005 postseason run to the World Series title — about life in the majors.
“We talk a lot about his experience,” Vera said through an interpreter Monday. “He told me how his experience was once he got here. I asked him a lot of questions and he was very good at telling me stories that I learned from.
“He’s like a father to me. I learned a lot from him.”
Vera, 21, is ready to put that knowledge gained from his fellow Cuban to use.
“I want to prepare myself the best way that I can because I have pretty lofty goals for this year,” Vera said. “I want to accomplish a lot of things this year. I know that I also need to prepare myself very good because this is probably going to be my longest season.
“I want to be fully ready for when the season starts. I’ve just been taking steps to work on that goal.”
The Sox signed Vera — whose father, Norge Luis Vera, played 17 seasons with Santiago de Cuba in the Cuban Serie Nacional, Cuba’s top league — in February 2021 to a deal that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
MLB Pipeline ranked Vera as the No. 15 international prospect at the time of the signing. The right-hander impressed right away with a fastball clocked in the high 90s for the Dominican League White Sox.
“He’s a very polished kid,” Sox minor-league pitching coordinator Everett Teaford said. “His fastball command is really impressive. You can tell he wants to learn and work, so he’s very mature for his age. Continuing to improve the changeup and trying to make the breaking ball a little bit better will be his next step. He’s got a very nice fastball and we’ll try to build off that.
“After the first couple of outings (for the Dominican League Sox), it was quite evident he could go out there and throw all fastballs and have no problem, so we made sure we tried to push him into being more process-oriented than just game results because he could have thrown it by pretty much everybody. Just continuing to build off the off-speed, that’s really his next step because his fastball command has been very impressive from what we’ve seen.”
Vera went 1-0 and did not allow an earned run in 19 innings for the Dominican League Sox. He struck out 34 and walked five in eight outings (seven starts).
“I’m proud of the consistency that I had,” Vera said. “I was very consistent with my command and my control and my breaking stuff.”
Drill work and increasing the repetition have been focal points this spring.
“It’s just getting him the reps, and getting out there every five to seven days and getting him used to the pro routine will help,” Teaford said. “He’s got the personality that wants to learn and wants to get better. He went and lived with Contreras for a while, so you can tell the drive is there. When you’ve got that, it makes a coach’s life a lot easier.”
Vera is focusing on the steps and process it takes to reach his ultimate goal of the majors.
“My mindset is going to be the same (this season), just try to be as dominant as I can and try to get outs,” Vera said. “I’m going to look for good results. It doesn’t matter what level you are pitching, you have to perform and be true to yourself. And that’s what I’m planning to do.
“I don’t know exactly what level I’m going to start the season, but whatever level it is, I’m planning to go out there and perform.”
