The White Sox placed infielder Danny Mendick on the 60-day injured list with a torn ACL, the team announced. Infielder Lenyn Sosa will have his contract selected from Double-A as he joins the active roster. In other moves, Adam Engel was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring, and Gavin Sheets has been recalled from Triple-A. Eloy Jimenez was also moved to the 60-day injured list.
Mendick was having a bit of a breakout season, at least through 31 games, slashing .289/.343/.443 over 106 plate appearances. That’s not really enough playing time to call it a true “breakout,” but Mendick was nevertheless filling an important void for the White Sox at shortstop while Tim Anderson was out. There was at least the possibility that Mendick would take over at second base now that Anderson returned. Josh Harrison and Leury Garci have been splitting time at the keystone, but Harrison has produced just a 79 wRC+ while Garcia has produced an even more abysmal 25 wRC+.
To take over at second, the White Sox could turn to promoted prospect Lenyn Sosa from Double-A, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Sosa has played all over the infield in the minors for the White Sox. He was Chicago’s 11th-ranked prospect, per Baseball America, ranked 21st by MLB.com and 14th by FanGraphs. Sosa has seen his stock rise this season with his power as he has posted a .197 ISO on the year. He is not a big tools player, but he’s nonetheless posted an impressive .331/.384/.549 line in 289 plate appearances in Double-A this season. If he can continue to produce, Sosa could solve the White Sox's issues at the keystone. That’s a lot to expect of a 22-year-old without Triple-A experience, however.
Sheets returns to the big league roster, stationed in right field for Thursday’s game. In Triple-A, he appeared in nine games, slashing .270/.308/.541. That kind of production in the bigs would keep Sheets in the lineup. Right field has been a collective effort this season for the White Sox, with Sheets, Engel, AJ Pollock, Adam Haseley and Andrew Vaughn all getting starts. Nobody has started more than four consecutive games in right field this season, with Vaughn reaching that mark just once.
Engel had started the past three games in right, but he now heads to the injured list. The 30-year-old has slashed .240/.297/.349 over 158 plate appearances, good for just an 86 wRC+. Engel has long been considered a solid defensive outfielder, which is where he adds his value. That’s been no less true this season when he’s posted 5 DRS across the three outfield spots.
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