Palka determined not to be 'dead weight' with Chicago White Sox
Daniel Palka picked up where he left off Friday night, going 0-for-4 in his return to the Chicago White Sox.
Optioned to Class AAA Charlotte on April 17, Palka was sent down after opening the season with 1 hit in 35 at-bats.
It was a curious decline.
Claimed off waivers from the Twins in November 2017, Palka came from out of nowhere last season and tied for first among American League rookies with 27 home runs while ranking third with 67 RBI.
His slow start with the bat this year was mystifying, but Palka did hit well at Charlotte, slashing .271/.374/.548 with 13 doubles, 16 homers and 42 RBI in 59 games.
"I was in a good spot down there," he said. "Everything felt in sync again. Consistency was there. Pitch recognition. A little clean up with the mechanics. It all came together for me."
Palka completely understood why the Sox demoted him less than a month into the season, and he didn't mope about returning to the minor leagues.
"You can't sit there and dwell on something that's not working out," Palka said. "This is my livelihood. I want to help the team win. Being kind of dead weight during that span was frustrating for me. Ultimately, all I wanted to do was to contribute to wins."
Now that he is back, Palka is not likely to return to his former position, right field.
He was the White Sox's designated hitter Friday against Minnesota, and Palka looks forward to playing first base. He played 11 games at first with Charlotte.
"I'm really comfortable there," he said. "I played there a lot in the past and when I got traded to the Twins (in 2015), we had like 20 first basemen, so there wasn't really a need for me there. I've been kind of waiting to work myself back there, because it is a position I like."
Jose Abreu and Yonder Alonso split first base duties over the first three months of the season. The Sox designated Alonso for assignment Friday, so Abreu is going to get the bulk of the playing time at first ahead of Palka and Zack Collins, who also is going to get playing time at catcher.
"Zack and Palky, they're out here working extremely hard with (bench/infield coach) Joe (McEwing)," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "They're still going to be able to give (Abreu) an opportunity to be spelled, hopefully day (game) after night, things of that nature. And probably multiple games as well.
"We'll use the schedule to our advantage to see when we can get (Abreu) off his feet a little bit. To be honest, he fights me all the time about days off, but we know that when we do give them to him he's refreshed."