Thomas, the greatest slugger in White Sox history, was conducting interviews as part of Comcast SportsNet's coverage for the Sox-Cubs series next week. He will be part of the CSN team for both city series.

Thomas will serve as a pre- and postgame analyst, but he looked like he was still in playing shape.

Thomas joked with manager Ozzie Guillen and coach Joey Cora, who both played with Thomas. Thomas also received a cordial greeting from general manager Ken Williams despite their past strained relations.

Williams has supported the idea of the club honoring Thomas, but Thomas has yet to announce his retirement.

Timeout for Thome: Thursday marks the last time Jim Thome will start as the designated hitter until June 23, as the Sox will play nine consecutive interleague games in National League parks starting Friday night in Milwaukee.

The only consolation for Thome is that he will be able to rest the left heel that has been bothering him since the end of spring training.

"If there is any positive, maybe that is it," Thome said. "But you don't want to look at this as you want to sit to heal up. You want to play."