Before this week’s four-game series against Detroit gets underway, White Sox GM Rick Hahn met with the media and provided several updates regarding players like Adam Engel, Dane Dunning, and Nick Madrigal.
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Adam Engel headed to injured list; outfielder Luis Gonzalez promoted
The White Sox placed outfielder Adam Engel on the injured list ahead of tonight’s game. Hahn says that Engel may have come into contact with someone who has been infected with COVID-19, though he has not tested positive himself. Major League Baseball is reportedly involved in contract tracing and they don’t see a risk to any other players and staff at this time.
As part of a corresponding move, the team purchased the contract of outfielder Luis Gonzalez from the Schaumburg training facility. Gonzalez, 24, is currently ranked as the team’s 13th overall prospect and has no major league experience. He is a career .269/.344/.412 hitter over three seasons in the White Sox system. Juan Minaya’s No. 37 will now belong to him.
It’s not clear how much action Gonzalez will see, especially since he is a left-handed hitter like Nomar Mazara. Engel’s right-handed bat will be missed for the time being as he was hitting .263/.317/.500 with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI, and seven runs scored over 14 games this season.
The White Sox 40-man roster remains at 40.
Dane Dunning is Wednesday night’s probable starter against Detroit’s Casey Mize
Though nothing is official regarding Dane Dunning just yet, Hahn said in his press conference that “we’ll probably have a pretty good pitching matchup between some young guys” on Wednesday night.
Dunning, 25, is ranked as the White Sox’s eighth overall prospect. He was originally drafted by the Nationals in the first round of the 2016 MLB draft before coming to the South Side as a piece of the Adam Eaton deal. The right-hander has a career 17-13 record with a 2.74 ERA and 300 strikeouts over 266 innings in the minors.
This news pairs nicely with that from Detroit earlier today. The Tigers announced that Casey Mize, their first overall draft pick from the 2018 MLB draft, will start on the opposing side on Wednesday. Mize, the team’s second overall prospect, started 26 games in the minors and went 8-4 with a 2.71 ERA and 120 strikeouts over 123 innings.
This will no doubt be a must-watch game for multiple reasons. Keep your schedule free.
Nick Madrigal on track to return before end of August
Hahn says that second baseman Nick Madrigal has resumed all baseball activities and will return to the Schaumburg training facility soon. He is still on target to be back on the field before the end of the month.
As you’ll recall, Madrigal (separated shoulder) injured himself on a slide in Milwaukee where it initially looked like his wrist would be the cause for concern. It was an unfortunate blow after the 2018 first-rounder got off to a decent start, hitting .294/.333/.294 (5-for-18) over the first five games of his career.
If anything good came out of this injury, it was Danny Mendick showing us what he can do with regular playing time. He has unquestionably softened the blow at second base and proved to us that he will be an important part of this team moving forward.
Miscellaneous
Here are some other random quotes and updates from today’s press conference, courtesy of the White Sox beat writers.
Not mentioned above were pitchers Reynaldo Lopez and Carlos Rodon. Hahn said that he still expects Lopez to be ready by the end of the month while Rodon’s absence may be prolonged into the first week of September.
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Maybe Hahn is thinking about another Tatis trade