White Sox Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day DL

The White Sox announced today that outfielder Avisail Garcia is headed back to the 10-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. That’s the same essential injury that forced him out of action for much of the first half of the season.

To take the open spot on the active roster, the Chicago organization has promoted Ryan LaMarre. The outfielder was acquired recently in a waiver claim from the division-rival Twins, who had designated him for assignment.

The news is rather disappointing for Garcia, who had been on fire at the plate since being activated. In 17 games since his return to the roster in late June, he carried a .333/.347/.783 slash with eight home runs. Though that stretch also included just two walks to go with 17 strikeouts, Garcia showed last year that he can be quite productive even when carrying a marginal walk rate.

It now seems reasonable to presume that Garcia won’t really factor in this summer’s trade deadline build-up. Questions about the sustainability of his hitting, poorly graded glovework, and nagging hamstring problems already posed questions. Now, though the team hasn’t ruled out a return before the end of the month, it’s especially hard to imagine a trade coming together.

Garcia is earning $6.7MM this year and remains eligible for one more season of arbitration, which obviously reduces any urgency to work out a trade this summer. Certainly, the rebuilding South Siders could try to deal him next winter or instead decide to pursue an extension. Garcia, after all, is just 27 years old. Of course, his age, earnings to date, and proximity to free agency also leave him with a fair bit of leverage. There has been no clear indication to date whether a long-term deal is a serious consideration for the club.