CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal could miss the rest of the season after tearing his right hamstring, putting another key player on the team's injured list.
Madrigal was helped off the field after he tried to beat out a grounder in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's 6-2 loss to Toronto. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft had been rounding into form of late, batting .365 (27 for 74) with two homers and 10 RBIs in his last 20 games.
“The only positive I can think of is that we’ve proven how we’re going to handle it, which is play as hard as we can and as good as we can with the guys that we have,” manager Tony La Russa said.
The 24-year-old Madrigal has a proximal tear of his right hamstring, and White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said the team is exploring options for treatment. Rest and rehabilitation is one option, but Madrigal also could be headed for season-ending surgery.
“Regardless of which path we're on, he'll be inactive for a minimum of six weeks,” Hahn said.
Madrigal was placed on the 60-day IL before Thursday's 5-2 victory over Toronto, and veteran outfielder Brian Goodwin was promoted from Triple-A Charlotte. Goodwin can play all three outfield spots, a big plus for the White Sox with utilityman Leury García sharing second with Danny Mendick while Madrigal is out.
Despite dealing with a steady stream of injuries, the White Sox lead the AL Central by a season-high 4 1/2 games over Cleveland.
Left fielder Eloy Jiménez ruptured his left pectoral tendon during spring training, and center fielder Luis Robert tore his right hip flexor last month. Right-hander Michael Kopech is on the IL with a strained left hamstring. Outfielder Adam Engel was activated Sunday after missing the start of the season with a strained right hamstring.
“What we're dealing with here is a first-place team that has overcome numerous challenges already this season,” Hahn said. “We've seen various guys step up with the opportunities they've been provided over the first 10 weeks or so of this season, and over the next several weeks we're going to have more opportunities for other players internally.”
The good news for the White Sox is Kopech is on his way back, and the team remains optimistic about Jiménez and Robert returning at some point this year.
Hahn said Kopech is going to start throwing bullpens “in the coming days” and could be headed for a simulated game. Depending on how those go, he could go out on a rehab assignment or just go back on the active roster.
Jiménez and Robert are “progressing well,” Hahn said.
“Each of them are deep into phase one and closing in on getting ready for part two, which is the clearance and resumption of baseball activities,” Hahn said.
Hahn said the team should know more about the plan for Madrigal within the next week. How the club feels about the possibility of Madrigal, Jimenez and Robert returning this season will affect how it addresses the July 30 trade deadline.
In the meantime, the White Sox are having internal discussions about the team's health issues, particularly hamstring and leg injuries.
“Out of fairness, it's important to note we've seen an increase of such injuries throughout the game. It's not just a White Sox problem per se,” Hahn said. “There also is the element of bad luck or bad cluster luck of these things piling on top of each other. Those may be the explanations, but quite frankly, neither of them are particularly satisfying to us internally.”
___
Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
