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Well-traveled Gardeck is getting closer to big league shot

It was just finding my own identity on the mound, and I spent the entire offseason before that getting healthy and working on mechanics.

SCOTTSDALE — One of the biggest decisions of Ian Gardeck’s life didn’t turn out as hoped — and he has absolutely no regrets. In fact, he thinks the move is a big part of the reason he’s here in big league camp.

The Chicago White Sox chose Gardeck, then a hard-throwing right-hander at Angelina College, in the eighth round of the 2011 draft. It wasn’t a bad spot for a JC pitcher, but Gardeck had heard from teams eyeing him in rounds three through five, and when Chicago’s offer came up short, he chose to transfer to Alabama.