White Sox agree to terms with Yolmer Sanchez

The White Sox are bringing back a fan favorite.

According to multiple reports, they have agreed to terms with Gold Glove-winning second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a minor league deal.

The San Francisco Giants released him last week.

Sanchez won a Gold Glove with the Sox last season, but the team non-tendered him during the offseason. He then signed with San Francisco, only to have a back injury keep him off the Giants' Opening Day roster.

The switch-hitting Sanchez, who played the last six seasons on the South Side after making his big-league debut in 2014, slashed .252/.318/.321 while appearing in 149 games last season. He had not played for the Giants this season, having spent the last month at the team's alternate training site in Sacramento.

Former first-round pick Nick Madrigal replaced Sanchez in the White Sox starting lineup this season, but he injured his left shoulder in his fifth major league game. Madrigal could be back before the end of the month.

Rehabbing at the White Sox's alternate training site in Schaumburg, Madrigal hit a long ball off the scoreboard on Monday.

"From what we're reading and from what I've been told, he's coming along very, very well," manager Ricky Renteria said.

Danny Mendick has filled in for the injured Madrigal. The White Sox could benefit from more infield depth after Leury Garcia injured his thumb, an injury that is expected to cause him to miss the rest of the regular season.

Believing in Encarnacion: Edwin Encarnacion entered Tuesday night's series opener against Pittsburgh with just 11 hits in 69 at-bats, slashing .159/.237/.362. Half of his 4 home runs came in one game against the Tigers last week. His manager still believes the 37-year-old DH has plenty of good swings in him.

"I think you can see if a guy is really dragging, if that barrel is not working through the zone as it should," Renteria said. "For him, it's just a matter of a little sync, of timing."

Encarnacion has 418 career homers.

"I would say between 90 to 110, 115 at-bats, you'll start to see a spike," Renteria said. "The reason I believe that it's still capable of happening is because the quick twitch is still there."