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White Sox outfielder Jarred Kelenic, in many ways, is emblematic of the Sox’ approach this offseason and the hurdles they’ll face in 2026.

Like many of the Sox’ transactions this offseason, Kelenic is a low-risk, high-upside signing because of his talent and past prospect status. Everson Pereira, Alexander Alberto, Munetaka Murakami, and even veteran left-hander Anthony Kay represent chances for the Sox to bring in players and see if they can tinker their game to maximize their ability.

Kelenic, who signed a minor-league deal with the Sox with an invite to spring training, is not an unfamiliar name in the baseball industry. In 2021, he was a consensus top-five prospect in the sport. After three lackluster seasons in Seattle, he was traded to the Braves in 2023, hitting the nadir of his career last season — he appeared in 24 games and batted .167/.231/.300.

Given the Sox’ hole in right field after non-tendering Mike Tauchman, and Andrew Benintendi likely spending more time at the DH spot, the Sox can offer playing time to Kelenic if he performs in spring training.

“When I started to meet with teams, and I had the conversation with the White Sox, everything that I was already planning on working on was what they were striving for,” Kelenic said. “They wanted to help work on with me.

“That was definitely reassuring just because I felt in our conversations we were on the same page and they had a clear plan of how they were going to help make me the player that I can be.”

The Sox have rebuilt their infrastructure, emphasizing player development and improved communication, creating a more efficient process and shifting many game-planning duties away from their lead coaches.

New hitting coach Derek Shomon will lead the batters. But the team has also hired Tony Medina, who will handle practice designs, handle the group’s batting cage work, and a “lot of stuff behind the scenes really help our hitting department,” according to manager Will Venable.

Kelenic, who lives in Nashville in the offseason, said he’s touched bases with director of hitting Ryan Fuller and hit with him. The two have worked on a toe tap to help Kelenic control his back side and be more on-time at the plate.

“[Fuller’s] somebody that just knows how the swing works and is just an incredible teacher with how he can communicate with players,” Kelenic said.

After going 28-37 in the second half, buoyed by Colson Montgomery’s power surge in the second half, the Sox know growth won’t be linear despite the allure of their young core — catchers Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel, second baseman Chase Meidroth and Montgomery. There are going to be rough patches and slumps that they will have to endure and learn from.

No one knows that peril more than Kelenic, who has carried the weight of expectations from his time with the Mariners. Kelenic even played against a few of the players in the minors. Outside of center fielder Luis Robert Jr., infielder Miguel Vargas and Benintendi, there aren’t many in that clubhouse that understand the burden of expectations while dealing with frustrating results at the plate.

“[The young core] wants to win,” Kelenic said. “They know what it takes to win. At the end of the day, you want to have a good culture in the clubhouse because the culture will outwin the talent any day of the week.

“It’s combining the culture with experience, and with the organization being younger, the exciting part is we are going to be able to hopefully experience some ups and downs together this year and to continue to grow.”

Kelenic was traded to the Braves in the 2023 offseason, allowing him to observe a winning organization. He was teammates with talented players like Ronald Acuna Jr., All-Star Matt Olson and center fielder Michael Harris II. His insight will help the Sox as they almost certainly deal with the league adjusting to them based on their rookie performances.

“Expectations can be a double-edged sword,” Kelenic said. “It’s really how you decide to look at them. They can be a distraction, they can be a motivation, they can be a lot of different things. But I would say understanding expectations and making sure that they are used in a proactive way and in a way that is beneficial for the team and beneficial for the player themselves.”

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