In an almost unbelievable twist, the hamstring injuries continue to bite the White Sox’s roster depth.
The team announced prior to tonight’s series opener in Pittsburgh, outfielder Adam Engel was placed back on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 20th) with a strained right hamstring. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte as the corresponding move.
Engel was slashing .241/.313/.552 (7-for-29) with three home runs, four RBI and five runs scored in just 10 games this season. While playing in consecutive games just once during his two weeks on the roster, Engel’s healthy stint didn’t last very long. The unfortunate news today signals the continuation of his battle against issues with his right hamstring dating back to spring training.
The Sox will once again to turn to Triple-A outfielder Luis Gonzalez to add some padding to an extremely thin outfield corps. The 26-year-old is currently hitting .195/.302/.341 (16-for-82) with three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored and five stolen bases in 24 games with Charlotte – not great considering Truist Field is a hitter friendly park. He was also briefly with the Sox earlier in the season when he made his only appearance as a defensive replacement on April 29th vs. Detroit. The outfielder made his major-league debut last season, and is 0-for-1 with a run scored in four career games.
This seemingly brings the Sox back to square one in trying to fill their outfield holes. Engel becomes the fifth outfielder to land on the IL, joining the likes of Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Adam Eaton, and Billy Hamilton. As for hamstring injuries, this is now the fourth ongoing occurrence with Eaton, Nick Madrigal, and Michael Kopech all suffering problems of varying levels of severity.
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The 2021 Sox are definitely hamstrung!