SOX WIN; MADRIGAL OUT FOR SEASON
White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal had surgery Tuesday to repair the proximal tendon tears in his right hamstring and will be out for the rest of the season, the team announced.
Madrigal is expected to be without restrictions by spring 2022.
He suffered the injury running out a ground ball in a game against the Blue Jays last Wednesday. The Sox said the next day that surgery was a possibility and expected him to miss at least most of the season.
Madrigal batted .305 with two home runs, 10 doubles, four triples, 21 RBI and 30 runs scored in 54 games this season, his second with the Sox. He ranked sixth in the American League in average at the time of the injury and batted .365/.420/.568 in his last 20 games.
Danny Mendick has been the primary replacement in Madrigal’s absence.
“It clears away the uncertainty; he can put it behind him and start fresh,” manager Tony La Russa said.
Madrigal’s was the third long-term injury to a key Sox starting player. Outfielders Eloy Jimenez (torn pectoral muscle) and Luis Robert (strained hip flexor) also are out for extended periods. Jimenez has been out since spring training and started baseball activities at the Sox’ complex in Arizona, the team announced Monday, but will be out till August, at the earliest. There is no timetable for Robert’s return.
Moncada out with sinus infection
Yoan Moncada missed his second consecutive game with a sinus infection and probably won’t play Wednesday, La Russa said. He is day-to-day.
Moncada, second behind Rafael Devers in All-Star voting for AL third basemen, is batting .280/.402/.408 with five homers and 32 RBI.
Leury Garcia played third base for a second straight night and had two singles, raising his slash line to .327/.426/.404 with seven RBI, nine walks and nine runs scored in his last 17 games.
Kopech throws off mound
Right-hander Michael Kopech threw off the bullpen mound to test his hamstring. Kopech hasn’t pitched since May 26 because of a strain.
The Sox must decide whether he can get enough work in bullpens and simulated game action while with the team or whether a stint with a minor-league affiliate is the next course of action.
“Whatever is the next major test, you evaluate how he feels during, after and tomorrow,” La Russa said. “Answer will be tomorrow, but today is a big day.
“He’s a major weapon. [We’ll] be very careful, take as much time as he needs.”
La Russa: ‘We were warned’
Objections to MLB intensifying the enforcement of rules that prohibit applying foreign substances to baseballs in the middle of the season were voiced everywhere, but La Russa suggested everyone should have seen it coming.
“We’ve had enough advance warning that the commissioner, I mean going back, he’s made it really clear,” La Russa said.
La Russa said pitching coach Ethan Katz and the coaching staff discussed foreign substances early in spring training.
“We can just speak here, it hasn’t created any kind of distraction or adjustments,” La Russa said. “But I can’t speak for everybody. MLB sets the rules, and you play by the rules.
“I just think [MLB is] making a statement. I’m sure they’re going to enforce it, and the uncertainty now is exactly how it gets enforced during the game.”