The White Sox shuffled made a roster move, sending Lance Lynn to the 10-Day Injured List while bringing Danny Mendick back to the big leagues.
A few starts ago, Lance Lynn mentioned he was going to the trainer to “get some work done” in between innings (this was the same start he was thrown out, but I digress). This, combined with his poor start against the Cubs (7 runs in 5 innings – walking 2 and striking out 7) could’ve been a precursor to this stint on the Injured List – better to be safe than sorry.
On the season, Lynn is 10-4 with a 2.59 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, and 3.3 fWAR. He is among the leaders in the American League Cy Young race, battling the likes of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Robbie Ray, and Shohei Ohtani.
Mendick has been up and down from AAA Charlotte all throughout this season. He is hitting .217/.306/.289 with two home runs and a .272 wOBA in the big leagues. In AAA, he has hit .250/.333/.400 with two homers and a .330 wOBA. He will serve as additional insurance as Tim Anderson continues to rest this series as well.
Based on the fact that Danny Mendick took Lynn’s spot, it is likely that Reynaldo Lopez will take Lynn’s next start. In addition, it means that the White Sox do not view this to be a serious injury.
Tony La Russa has already mentioned that due to how the schedule lays out, Lance Lynn is only expected to miss one start.
Based on the schedule, Lynn would be eligible to come back sometime during the series out west against the Oakland Athletics.
Health remains most important over wins. This very well could be a nice “phantom IL” stint to keep Lynn healthy. In addition, Tim Anderson will sit out this Pittsburgh series in order to rest his legs.
A 10-game lead for the White Sox gives them the opportunities to rest their stars. Let’s get this team ready for October.
In other news, Adam Engel will begin a rehab stint when the team heads to Kansas City. He has been battling leg injuries throughout this season. When healthy, he’s hitting .248/.339/.505, so the White Sox would love his bat for the playoffs.
Additionally, Billy Hamilton will be activated tomorrow – look for the White Sox to make a corresponding move for his activation. Hamilton hit just .158/.238/.211 in his rehab stint with Charlotte.
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