Up and down day for White Sox's Fulmer

When you see a player packing his bag in the White Sox's clubhouse, it's usually a bad sign.

Carson Fulmer was an exception Monday.

"I did what I needed to do," he said.

With a roster spot temporarily open and a need for a fresh arm in the bullpen, the White Sox recalled Fulmer from Class AAA Charlotte Monday morning.

After pitching a solid 3 innings of relief in a 5-1 loss to the Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 draft packed up his belongings and headed back to the minor leagues.

"We were going to give him an opportunity to come in here and help us out," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "It was to get him in and get him back. Continue to have him work on the things he's doing. It's obviously working. He looked very, very good today.

"We're extremely ecstatic about how he looked today."

Why did the White Sox send Fulmer back if he looked so good?

They need the roster spot for Ervin Santana, who is expected to be added Tuesday and start against Tampa Bay.

They also need Fulmer to rest after the 25-year-old threw 47 pitches while allowing 1 run in 3 innings.

Fulmer can come back up in 10 days, or sooner if there is an injury.

Either way, he is going to return to the Sox in the near future after his sharp stint Monday.

"It's where everyone wants to be," said Fulmer, who was 5-7 with a 6.68 ERA for the Sox over parts of the past three seasons. "I've gone through some ups and downs in my career. I needed to spend some time this offseason figuring some stuff out. I've been throwing ball really well since late spring.

"I think I'm a big part of this whole rebuild. I've had a lot of experience at this level, for the most part, and I'm starting to learn a lot of stuff. It's all a learning experience. The more innings I have under my belt, the more comfortable I'm going to continue to be. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back up here."

Welcome back:

Avisail Garcia seemed to be angry with the White Sox on Sunday.

"I was surprised," he told Tampa Bay reporters about being non-tendered by the Sox after the 2018 season. "I did my best. I played hurt. I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe I was too expensive for them. I don't know."

Returning to Guaranteed Rate Field Monday for the first time since being cut loose by the White Sox, Garcia softened his stance.

"Just happy to be back here," he said. "I love the fans in Chicago so I'm just happy to be here. A lot of memories."

Garcia played for the Sox from 2013-18. This highlight was 2017, when he finished second in the American League with a .330 batting average.

"He gave us everything he had all the time that he was here with us," manager Rick Renteria said. "He respected, I thought, playing the game a certain way. He was always, I thought, a good teammate with everybody. Everybody enjoyed being around him. It's nice to see him back."

Last year, hamstring and knee injuries limited Garcia to 93 games. He hit a career high 19 home runs but posted a poor slash line (.236/.281/.438).

"I played hard the whole season last year," Garcia said. "I take pride in that. Even when I was hurt, I did my best. So it is what it is.

"In baseball, sometimes things go good and sometimes it goes bad. I'm just happy. I've got a lot of memories in Chicago. I went to the All-Star Game here for the first time, my kids were born here. So, I got a lot of memories here, walking the street, walking here to the ballpark. It's just special."