With Engel down again, White Sox have 5 outfielders on IL
When Nick Madrigal and his hit-filled bat were lost for the season with a torn hamstring two weeks ago, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn raised the caution flag on yet another leg injury.
"We don't have any conclusions yet, but it's an extremely fair question and one that quite frankly we're spending a lot of time on internally," Hahn said. "Out of fairness, it's important to note that we've seen an increase of such injuries throughout the game. It's not just a White Sox problem per se.
"There also is the element of bad luck or bad clustered luck of these things piling on top of each other. Those may be the explanations but quite frankly, neither of them are particularly satisfying to us internally. We have had numerous conversations on this topic with (Sox vice president) Kenny (Williams), with (chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf), Jerry with both of us, with our sports performance people in different fields, both internally and externally to try to get to some sort of explanation."
More meetings are likely coming - when Hahn isn't busy looking for outfield help on the trade market.
Before Tuesday night's game at Pittsburgh, the White Sox put Adam Engel back on the injured list with a strained right hamstring. He was activated from the IL on June 6 after missing over two months with the same injury.
The Sox called up Luis Gonzalez from Class AAA Charlotte to take Engel's roster spot.
"Disappointing for him and for us," manager Tony La Russa said of Engel, who hit .241 with 3 home runs and 4 RBI in 10 games with the White Sox. "He's come back with a bang, done a lot of really good things. He's such a gamer and he plays so hard. Just hoping he gets well, the sooner the better. But just take whatever time he needs."
With Engel back on the shelf, the White Sox now have five outfielders on the IL. Eloy Jimenez (ruptured pectoral tendon), Luis Robert (torn hip flexor), Adam Eaton (hamstring) and Billy Hamilton (oblique strain) are also out.
"I think you look back at some point, but it's not just us," La Russa said. "You just look around, you saw Minnesota just lost their center fielder (Byron Buxton) again. I mean, everybody's taking hits. You've just got to be strong and like I said, we have deep depth and then we have depth.
"You just don't allow the team to dwell on 'what if.' You deal with what you have, it's what we have, not what we don't have. We've got (Lucas) Giolito pitching and I like our lineup, so just go play. But like I say, we've been hit hard but everybody's been hit hard."
Engel is on the 10-day IL, but La Russa said he had fluid drained from the hamstring and is likely to be out longer term.
Gonzalez, who appeared in one game with the Sox as a defensive replacement on April 29, was batting .195 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games for Charlotte.