What had previously been discussed by Tony La Russa was made official today by the White Sox organization:
Luis Robert is back on the South Side.
Robert will return after suffering a complete tear of his right hip flexor on May 2. Before then, he had hit .316/.359/.461 in 25 games while playing an excellent center field.
In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned Gavin Sheets back to AAA Charlotte. Sheets, who had an insane slash line of .244/.340/.600 (.900 OPS) through his first 14 games, had been struggling a bit recently. In his last 15 games (10 starts), Sheets was hitting just .205/.239/.364 (.603 OPS). We will likely see Sheets again in the near future because he put up some impressive at-bats during his time on the South Side.
Because the White Sox’ 40-man roster was full and Luis Robert was on the 60-Day Injured List, the White Sox needed to make room on the 40-man roster to add Robert. As a result, Luis Gonzalez was released from the organization. Gonzalez, hit .250/.455/.500 in 11 plate appearances in the big leagues this season. In Charlotte, he had been hitting .241/.352/.423 before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that requires surgery.
However, if you’re a big Luis Gonzalez fan, don’t worry too much – this is likely a Tyler Johnson situation. Johnson, if you remember, had Tommy John Surgery and was released by the organization during the Trade Deadline. He has since been re-signed to a minor league deal. This move was a numbers game more than anything else to make room on the 40-man roster.
The White Sox got one step closer today to a fully healthy lineup. With Robert re-joining the lineup and slotting into center field, the lineup should look something like this:
- Tim Anderson – SS
- Yoan Moncada – 3B
- Jose Abreu – 1B
- Eloy Jimenez – DH
- Andrew Vaughn – LF
- Luis Robert – CF
- Brian Goodwin/Adam Engel – RF
- Cesar Hernandez – 2B
- Seby Zavala/Zack Collins – C
One last hurdle remains: get Yasmani Grandal back and healthy. But, according to reports, he seems close.
Until his return, welcome back to Chicago, Luis Robert!
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