The Wild aren’t dead yet.

The day after a 7-3 setback in Tampa Bay, the Wild scored five power play goals, and withstood three injuries to another group of key contributors, to beat the Florida Panthers, 6-4, Friday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla.

Minnesota entered the game nine points from the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, with five teams ahead of them, but after beating the Panthers, they’re 4-0 against the top two teams in the East, sweeping both Boston and Florida this season.

Kirill Kaprizov scored two power play goals, and Ryan Hartman, Brock Faber and Mats Zuccarello each added one for the Wild, tying a team record last achieved in a 6-2 at Nashville on Nov. 29, 2008.

Hartman’s empty-net goal with 11.8 seconds left sealed the victory for Minnesota, which finishes this three-game road trip with an afternoon puck drop Sunday at Carolina.

The Wild started the game without forward Freddy Gaudreau, who suffered an upper body injury in Tampa on Thursday, then lost goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to an upper body injury and center Connor Dewar to a lower body injury in the second period Friday.

Fleury left the game at the same time as Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, who was pulled for Anthony Stolarz with 9:30 left in the second period after giving up Zuccarello’s goal from the high slot. In the first period, Fleury was knocked down by William Lockwood while trying to corral a puck behind his net.

Filip Gustavsson came in and stopped 24 of 27 shots.

Kaprizov opened the scoring when he deflected a pass from Matt Boldy at 2:49 of the first period, then put the Wild up 5-2 with seven seconds left in a power play early in the third period.

But the Panthers, the East’s Stanley Cup entrant last season, didn’t go away quietly. Anton Lundell pulled Florida within two goals when he backhanded a rebound past Gustavsson at 8:05, and Gustav Forsling made it 5-4 just 17 seconds later.

Florida came at Minnesota in waves for the final 7 minutes of the game but Gustavsson made a series of tough saves. Panthers coach Paul Maurice pulled Stolarz with just more than 2 minutes to play. Gustavsson made a sliding glove save to save Minnesota’s lead with 48.2 seconds remaining, and Hartman added an empty netter with 11.8 to seal it.

Before Friday night’s game, Wild coach John Hynes told reporters that Gaudreau’s status had yet to be determined.

“He’s still getting evaluated,” Hynes said. “I think tomorrow, well, he’ll be at the doctor’s again, and then we’ll have maybe a better assessment of when he’ll be back.”

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Sergio Santos always dreamed of playing in the major leagues.

He reached that goal in 2010, pitching for the Chicago White Sox. When his playing career — which included 194 relief appearances during six big-league seasons with the Sox (2010-11), Toronto Blue Jays (2012-14), Los Angeles Dodgers (2015) and New York Yankees (2015) — came to and end, Santos spent a couple of years as a stay-at-home dad and then worked at an MLB youth academy.

A little later, an opportunity arrived to join the Yankees system.

“My biggest fear was like, ‘Man, I did this grind for 15, 16 years and am I really going to want to sit through games again as a manager?’ ” Santos said during a video conference call Friday. “And within a couple of days, I knew this is exactly what I was built for.

“The way my career kind of happened from shortstop to converted pitcher, it makes a whole lot of sense as a manager because I’m able to relate to every single person in that dugout because I’ve been in that position.”

After two seasons managing in the Yankees organization — including 2023 for Class A Hudson Valley — Santos will bring that knowledge back to the Sox as the skipper of the team’s Double-A affiliate Birmingham.

“Anyone who knows Sergio knows he brings a lot of energy to the table, which I think is always welcomed,” director of player development Paul Janish said. “I’m excited for him. I know he’s excited to be back in an organization that he has some affection for because of having played here.”

Santos had a 3.29 ERA and 31 saves in 119 games with the Sox. He said he had “nothing but the fondest memories of Chicago, the fans.”

“In the back of my mind, there was always a hope I could get back with the White Sox,” Santos said.

The Sox announced the addition of Santos on Friday, along with their entire 2024 player development staff and assignments. Janish, hired in November, is in his first year overseeing the organization’s minor-league operations and player development system.

“The overall mission statement is trying to accumulate as many good people as we can that are into making the players better over the course of time,” Janish said.

Santos joins Justin Jirschele (Triple-A Charlotte), Guillermo Quiroz (Class A Winston-Salem), Patrick Leyland (Class A Kannapolis) and Danny González (Arizona Complex League Sox) as managers in the team’s minor-league system. Jirschele, Quiroz, Leyland and González each return to their managerial posts from last season.

Winston-Salem’s staff includes bench coach Darius Day, a Simeon graduate who was a member of the Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program.

“Being in that culture and being around those guys that kind of helped drive the passion of the game of baseball for me was something I admired for a very long time,” Day said.

Day appeared in 169 minor-league games mostly as an outfielder after being selected by the Texas Rangers in the 23rd round of the 2014 draft. He returned to the area with the ACE program and is set to make his professional coaching debut.

“It was very clear very quickly his passion for helping players,” Janish said.

Day is most looking forward to “getting back to the grind” in the role with the Dash.

“Just getting back to that structure, that everyday grind, everyday process of helping guys and trying to figure out what makes them go,” Day said.

“Being in the system now, it’s kind of surreal for me. I never thought I would be in this position, let alone in a jersey or uniform again. I’m just excited about the opportunity to be part of it.”

Here’s the full list of Friday’s announcement.

Player development staff

Director of Player Development: Paul Janish
Director of Minor League Administration: Kathy Potoski
Assistant Director, Baseball Operations: Graham Harboe
Manager, Player Development/International Operations: Grant Flick
Assistant, Player Development/Video: Jack Larimer
Manager, Player Development Latin America Operations: Louis Silverio
Manager, International Player Development/Education: Erin Santana

Player development instructors/rovers

Field Coordinator: Doug Sisson
Assistant Field Coordinator: Justin Jirschele
Pitching Coordinator: Matt Zaleski
Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Curt Hasler
Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Donnie Veal
Pitching Advisor: J.R. Perdew
Hitting Coordinator: Alan Zinter
Assistant Hitting Coordinator: Danny Santin
Infield Coordinator: Ryan Newman
Catching Coordinator: Julio Mosquera
Assistant Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator: Mike Daniel
Rehab Pitching Coach: Hiram Burgos
Hitting Initiatives: Devin DeYoung
Biomechanist: Jason Hashimoto

Medical staff

Medical Coordinator: Scott Takao
Physical Therapy Coordinator: Brooks Klein
Performance Coordinator: Gage Crosgrove
Assistant Performance Coordinator: Sergio Rojas
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Katie Stone
Physical Therapist: Evan Jurjevic
Sports Psychologist: Dr. Rob Seifer

Arizona operations

Facility Manager: Joe Lachcik
Minor League Clubhouse Manager: Dan Flood
Assistant Minor League Clubhouse Manager: Bryant Biasotti

Triple-A Charlotte

Manager: Justin Jirschele
Pitching Coach: R.C. Lichtenstein
Hitting Coach: Cam Seitzer
Bench Coach: Pat Listach
Trainer: Hyeon Kim
Performance Coach: George Timke

Double-A Birmingham

Manager: Sergio Santos
Pitching Coach: John Ely
Hitting Coach: Nicky Delmonico
Bench Coach: Ángel Rosario
Trainer: Carson Wooten
Performance Coach: Juan Maldonado

Class A Winston-Salem

Manager: Guillermo Quiroz
Pitching Coach: John Kovalik
Hitting Coach: Jim Rickon
Bench Coach: Darius Day
Trainer: A.J. Smith
Performance Coach: Logan Jones

Class A Kannapolis

Manager: Patrick Leyland
Pitching Coach: Blake Hickman
Hitting Coach: Charlie Romero
Bench Coach: Daniel Milwee
Trainer: Chaerin Yeom
Performance Coach: Donovan Clark

Arizona Complex League White Sox

Manager: Daniel González
Pitching Coach: Jacob Dorris
Hitting Coach: Gerardo Olivares
Assistant Hitting Coach: Mike Gellinger
Development Coach: Nausel Cabrera
Trainer: Jeremy Kneebusch
Performance: Siera Weathers

Dominican Republic Academy/DSL White Sox

Field Coordinator: Julio Bruno
Manager, Complex Operations: Wellington Morrobel
Manager, Administration: Carolina Santos
Manager: Anthony Núñez
Pitching Coach: José Brito
Assistant Pitching Coach: Stolmy Pimentel
Infield Coach: Guillermo Reyes
Assistant Hitting Coach/Catching Coach: Moisés Núñez
Coach: Ángel González
Trainer: Gustavo De La Cruz
Assistant Trainer: Estarlin Rosario
Performance Coach: Fran Batista
Assistant Performance Coach: Carlos Javier
Video Coordinator: Miguel Perez
Lead Educator: Pablo Frías
Education Assistant: Luis Villar

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A new Chicago White Sox ballpark in the South Loop is only a figment of someone’s imagination right now.

But at least the news Wednesday that the Sox are in “serious talks” to build a downtown stadium in the area known as “the 78″ near Clark Street and Roosevelt Road gave us something to talk about besides the Justin Fields-versus-Caleb Williams debate during a down time for our local sports teams.

With no SoxFest on tap and no big-name signings to get fans excited about the season, the leak of the ballpark rumor provided the Sox with front-page news on another cold, dreary day in January.

Nothing wrong with that.

Who doesn’t want to dream of a beautiful new ballpark with a skyline view and surrounding bars and restaurants to go to before and after games? It’s what the Sox should’ve done in the mid-1980s when they held the state hostage for public funding for what was then called new Comiskey Park.

Instead we got an unlovable structure ridiculed by fans for its steep upper deck, a moat separating the field from the bleachers and a lack of entertainment options anywhere near the park. The “Ball Mall” was the popular nickname after it opened in 1991.

“When people came out for that first opening day, they were in awe of the place,” Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told the Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein in 1999. “But now the stadium is a popular thing to attack. Look, I thought people wanted unobstructed views and wide aisles. I guessed wrong.

“People wanted a more homey feeling. But I really believe that if we had built Camden Yards instead, I would have been massacred. People wanted a modern park.”

Oops.

In a rare mea culpa, Reinsdorf eventually agreed to a series of renovations that included removing eight rows and 6,600 seats from the upper deck and a canopy-style roof to replace the flat one over the 13 highest rows. A sports bar/restaurant was constructed across the street. The moat was filled in with new bleacher seating. The Sox even allowed tailgating.

Once renovated, “The Cell” grew on fans, at least those who didn’t have to sit in the upper deck. It wasn’t as beloved as old Comiskey Park but it was fine. Still, the only time outside opening day that the ballpark was typically filled was when the Sox were in the midst of a winning season or playing the Cubs in the City Series.

Now comes another mea culpa from Reinsdorf — an admission that what’s now called Guaranteed Rate Field is obsolete after only 33 years. Reinsdorf wouldn’t say that, of course, but by making a new ballpark a priority, it’s obvious he “guessed wrong” about the one at 35th Street and Shields Avenue.

After the Sun-Times broke the news about new stadium talks between the Sox and the city, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Sox released a statement Thursday.

“Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity,” the statement read. “The partnership between the City and the team goes back more than a century and the Johnson administration is committed to continuing this dialogue moving forward.”

The idea the Sox will remain competitive in Chicago “in perpetuity” suggests they are competitive now. Anyone following the team’s downward spiral since the 2022 postseason, including its uninspiring offseason this winter, knows that’s a joke.

But for the sake of argument, let’s assume the Sox intend to compete in the near future. Would a ballpark in the South Loop help bring in fans who generally have avoided going to Sox Park over the last couple of decades?

If they build it, will they come?

Only if a new ballpark comes with a new owner.

It goes without saying that Reinsdorf’s popularity among Sox fans is lower than the sewer system under Lower Wacker Drive. But Reinsdorf, who turns 88 in February, said in September that he had no intention of selling the Sox.

“Friends of mine have said, ‘Why don’t you sell? Why don’t you get out?’” he said. “My answer always has been, ‘I like what I’m doing, as bad as it is, and what else would I do?’

“I’m a boring guy. I don’t play golf. I don’t play bridge. And I want to make it better before I go.”

Evidence of Reinsdorf making the Sox better is harder to find than the owner of the gun who fired bullets that hit two fans last summer in the Guaranteed Rate Field bleachers. The payroll is going down, and the organization’s strange infatuation with bringing in former Kansas City Royals personnel has reached a crescendo.

A new South Loop ballpark sounds cool, but it would not be a panacea for the Sox’s attendance problems, just as the new Comiskey Park wasn’t after that new ballpark smell wore off following the first few seasons. Traffic jams on the Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways won’t make it any easier to get to, and taking the “L” at night is much scarier now than it was prepandemic.

Even in the highly unlikely event the Sox would pay most of the tab, what would happen to the soon-to-be white elephant in Bridgeport that Illinois taxpayers helped pay for? Will the Sox ever explain why they need to leave after all those renovations?

At least the Sox should acknowledge the current ballpark, the last one built before the “retro” parks such as Camden Yards, was an architectural mistake.

“I talk to fans a lot, and they tell me they don’t like the ambience,” Reinsdorf told Greenstein in 1999 during another Sox rebuild. “But what people really want is something better in the uniforms.”

That statement rings true 25 years later.

Maybe the Sox need to work on that before talking about a new ballpark.

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