Chicago White Sox's Delmonico dealing with broken hand
Chicago White Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico knew it wasn't a good sign when he couldn't pull the batting glove off his right hand.
Delmonico took a pitch off the hand in the second inning of Friday's 12-5 loss to the Texas Rangers and immediately dropped to the dirt.
"When they finally took the batting glove off, it was like a golf ball on my hand," Delmonico said.
The Sox later announced Delmonico had fractured the third metacarpal bone and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. On Saturday, the Sox placed Delmonico on the 10-day disabled list.
The team called up right-hander Dylan Covey and infielder Jose Rondon from Triple-A Charlotte, which also fills the hole left behind by starting pitcher Carson Fulmer, who was sent to Charlotte following Friday's rough outing.
Delmonico had been hitting .224 with 1 home run and 7 RBI in 135 plate appearances this season.
"It was tough yesterday going in getting X-rays and seeing the look on the doctor's face when he told me," Delmonico, wearing a cast on his hand, said before Saturday's game. "I've been hit all over my body with pitches, and I've never really gotten hit in the hand like that before."
White Sox manager Rick Renteria felt Delmonico had a consistent approach at the plate before the injury, though he was not as "crisp as he was in the past."
"This break will give him an opportunity to take a step back and see where he was at going into this particular injury and maybe make some adjustments," Renteria said.
Working out the kinks:
Manager Rick Renteria's message to Carson Fulmer following his demotion to Triple-A was clear: This isn't the end of the road for the 24-year-old.
Renteria fully expects Fulmer to work on some things and make his way back to the big-league club.
"The guys have identified things they want him to clean up," Renteria said Saturday. "I think he'll take it in, go down there, and if we're correct in the way his personality and his makeup is, he'll go down there and work and put himself on a good track to get back."
Renteria said pitching coach Don Cooper has been working with Fulmer to slow things down and control his emotions. Fulmer has an 8.07 ERA in 32⅓ innings this season. On Friday, he allowed 8 earned runs in 2-plus innings.
Another chance:
Dylan Covey, 26, made 1 start (April 28) for the White Sox. He went 6 innings and allowed 4 earned runs against the Kansas City Royals. He also pitched in 18 games for the Sox last season, making 12 starts. He was 0-7 with a 7.71 ERA in 2017.
"I know this level now after spending some time here last year," he said. "I just need to go out there and not change anything that I've been doing in my past few outings."
Covey was 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 7 starts this season at Charlotte.
Before Saturday's game, manager Rick Renteria did not specify whether the Sox would use Covey as a starter or out of the bullpen.
Rondon, 24, will make his return after a brief stint with the Sox earlier this month in which he went 3-for-13 over six games.
Rodon rehab:
White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon made his first rehab start Saturday at Class-A Kannapolis. Rodon has been on the disabled list since having surgery to relieve shoulder bursitis. He last pitched for the Sox on Sept. 2, 2017.
The 25-year-old left-hander worked 5 innings Saturday, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run, striking out six and walking none.
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