Time for White Sox' Micah Johnson to get second chance?

The Chicago White Sox have trouble scoring runs, and second baseman Carlos Sanchez was batting .169 heading into Wednesday night's game against Toronto.

Micah Johnson, who opened the season as the Sox' starter at second before being demoted for his defensive shortcomings, was 4-for-6 with Class AAA Charlotte Tuesday night, the fourth time he's had multiple hits in the last seven games.

Johnson, who was not in the Knights' starting lineup Wednesday, is batting .309 with 17 stolen bases in 47 games.

Is it time for the Sox to give Johnson another shot?

"Micah's swinging the bat real well, playing solid defense there and certainly is a viable option to help us here, as we said at the time when we sent him out," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "We fully expected at some point Micah to return. We've got a pretty good idea of what he would add to the roster if and when he does return."

In 27 games with the Sox, Johnson batted .270. Defense was the issue as Johnson made 3 errors and was never quite up to speed.

Sanchez has been a much better defensive second baseman since coming up from Charlotte on May 15 and replacing Johnson in the starting lineup.

"Micah is hitting well down there, but you also get Sanchy, he knocked in a run (Tuesday) night and swung the bat fairly well," manager Robin Ventura said. "You have to be able to play defense and that's what Sanchy was brought here to do, and he's done that part. It's not like putting blame on anybody or anything like that. He's done what he's supposed to do.

"Would (Sanchez) want to hit better? Absolutely. Do we want him to do that? Absolutely. I think he will do that. But moving forward, you're looking at what kind of pieces you can move around to kind of shake things up."

According to Hahn, Johnson's defensive work at second base has improved since he's been at Charlotte.

"It's been solid," Hahn said. "Absolutely."

Star search:

If the White Sox opt to trade Jeff Samardzija, look for Erik Johnson to take his spot in the starting rotation.

In 15 games (14 starts) with Class AAA Charlotte this season, Johnson is 7-5 with a 2.86 ERA. The right-hander leads the International League with 96 strikeouts.

Johnson, a second-round pick in the 2011 draft out of Cal-Berkeley, had a big season at Charlotte in '13 and was 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 5 starts with the Sox at the end of the season.

The 25-year-old pitcher was in the White Sox' rotation to open the 2014 season, but he was optioned to Charlotte after going 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA.

Johnson missed the last two weeks of the year with shoulder inflammation, and his confidence was always missing.

Now, he is going to start the Class AAA All-Star Game on July 15, and Johnson is back on the Sox' radar.

"He's having a great year," GM Rick Hahn said. "On one level, you're really happy for the kid because obviously he struggled and it sort of got away from him a little bit in '14. Now, not only has it come back, but arguably it's come back at a level beyond even where he was in '12 and '13. So we're very happy for him.

"It (All-Star Game) is a well deserved accomplishment and it obviously puts us in a nice position going forward of having some pitching depth who can also play a role here in the second half if need be."

Second suspension:

Relief pitcher Javy Guerra, who was in the White Sox' bullpen at the start of the season, has been suspended 50 games without pay for a second positive test for a drug of abuse.

Major-League Baseball announced Guerra's immediate suspension on Wednesday.

Guerra, who was at Class AAA Charlotte, pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings for the Sox and was designated for assignment on May 5.