10:55pm: Manager Rick Renteria announced that Madrigal’s dealing with a jammed shoulder, Fegan relays.
9:27pm: The White Sox suffered a pair of potentially alarming injuries in their game against the Brewers on Tuesday, per tweets from James Fegan of The Athletic and Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and second baseman Nick Madrigal departed early with left shoulder problems. The team will reevaluate both players Wednesday.
Encarnacion was one of several key offseason pickups for the White Sox, who signed him to a one-year, $12MM deal in free agency. At the time, they surely expected the eight-time 30-home run hitter to continue as a powerful force in their uniform. That hasn’t happened in the early going, as the 37-year-old has slashed an unimposing .200/.250/.300 with one homer in his first 33 plate appearances this season. That’s obviously not a large enough sample size to pass judgment, however, and there’s plenty of time for Encarnacion to get on track if he’s healthy enough to do so. Chicago replaced him with Zack Collins on Tuesday.
Madrigal, meanwhile, was only in his fifth major league game before he exited. The recently promoted 23-year-old, who’s regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects, got off to a .294/.333//.294 start in 18 PA prior to his injury. Chicago called on Danny Mendick to fill in for Madrigal at the keystone.
Dang. What are the odds
The same as the entire Mets infield getting injured in the same game
Encarnacion deals with injuries every year. He still manages his 30 homers though.
That’s his “wing” arm though, he can’t hit dingers without doing the Edwing.
So Edwin is hitting like Ed Wynn.
Well played
Ed win. Philly lose.
Fred Gwynne
I know. He used to be a hitting Munster.
He always seems to slump then go on a crazy tear each and every season. Then again, hitters with his profile almost always come to the South Side to kill their careers (Todd Frazier, Adam Dunn, Nick Swisher, Adam LaRoche, etc.)
I was hoping EE could break that trend, time will only tell but he hasn’t looked impressive at any point of this short season so far, at least in my view.
If Madrigal is forced to miss significant time then that will be a real bummer. The game hasn’t looked too big for him, as he’s honestly played pretty great in his short time since being called-up. His glove has shown up as advertised as he has provided us with much better defensive-ability up the middle—especially so when you compare him to who he has taken over for in Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick (he has been awful). Madrigal’s speed & quickness have stood out and he seems to just have a natural “feel” for playing 2nd base. He’s had a play or two where his inexperience reared it’s head but as a whole, I’ve been more than pleased with him both at the plate and in the field. I really hope he recovers quickly. We don’t have another hitter like him on our roster.
Hopefully it’s not serious for Madrigal, this could be the first time for him striking out more than walking.
This on top of the Carlos Rodon departure last night in Milwaukee which was also shoulder related. Brewers not likely to shoulder the blame. Meanwhile, White Sox fans might need one to cry on.
I don’t get it
They are witty shoulder references.
7 and 4 start. Hopefully the injuries aren’t serious because the White Sox are on a roll!
It’s time for a new training staff.
Whatever they are doing to keep players in shape and ready isn’t working.
I’m sure part of it is what the players weren’t doing that they should’ve been doing.
2 nice comebacks against a scrappy Brewer squad! Madrigal’s situation looked more than minor, but crossing fingers. EE hope ok for humane reasons, but okay to be ”cautious” with IL stint and let better DH options get the ABs to take his job.
CWS: I believe you meant, ‘against a crappy Brewer team…..’. That is without Cain and Braun.
…and at 3/31, also without Christian Yelich.
@Dogbone
If you’re going to troll, at least get it right. You forgot their best player, Yelich. Apparently I can troll on the Sox better than you can.
Very lame, Dogbone.
One should retire and the other one is a bust waiting to happen.
How is Madrigal a bust?
Ronald Torreyes OPS was higher than .628.
Your nuts
He means HOF bust. Take it easy batter up it’s a little too early for that.
Don’t be such a Mendick.
Wow, amazing that you can tell a bust after just five games, one if which he left early. That’s a keen eye you got there. I was under the apparently foolish impression that most rookies take a while to adjust to big league pitching and that five games is an awful small sample size. Guess I was wrong.
@hyraxwithaflamethrower
Especially when one of those five games he got 4 hits. Maybe batter up thought because he slid awkwardly and got injured, he will be a bust.
Yeah, that’s really strange considering he almost had a 5 for 5 game the other night and made some key defensive plays.
… but let’s go with the guy who clearly doesn’t watch the games and just scours box-scores.
lol
Encarnacion should retire? Did you look at his stats last year?
This is whack to the max, but Robert, Eloy, and Giolito seem fine.
Not too concerned about the loss of EE. Collins needs at bats, and it could be fun to see Mercedes in the lineup once in a while.
Madrigal missing time right now is bad since Anderson is out , too, and the Sox don’t have much infield depth. But it’s not the end of the world.
The injuries/opt outs of starting pitchers — Kopech, Lopez, Rodon, Lambert — is much more concerning. Obviously, the White Sox aren’t alone in that situation, but it still sucks.
Agree with everything here Oddvark. I would love to see Collins/Mercedes (and probably Grandal/McCann) share the DH for a bit, and I am worried about the MI and SP injuries. Mendick and Garcia up the middle can work for a week or so but not indefinitely.
I almost had to put these words out there in the universe, but Detwiler has looked great so far, so I would guess they give him another shot.
*hate, not had.
Why would you jinx Detwiler?!?!
In seriousness, yeah, he’s been a pleasant surprise, one of the few on that staff so far, unfortunately.
From a jays fan Edwin has always started slow so dont worry. Just look at his month by month numbers. He take 3-4 weeks
I noticed that. Glad to hear confirmation of it from someone who has watched him for many years and is totally familiar with his game.
I’m not all that worried. Edwin seems like a guy who doesn’t let little injuries keep him from playing. Plus, I’m not too hung up on his quiet production through the early part of the season. He’s going to get his and as long as he’s ready to go for the playoffs, we’re fine.
… yep. I said it.
If the playoffs started today, the White Sox would be in…under the old rules.
Jammed shoulder is a lot better than a broken or fractured wrist. Matter of fact the last time he broke his wrist was on a slide in college. He should be back after a short rehab. Mercedes needs to be given the opportunity to DH. I understand Collins needs ABs, but Mercedes track record in AAA the last couple of years has been impressive. He has pop.
Sox have shown zero interest in giving Mercedes a shot. Don’t think that changes now.
Eh, they called him up and got him an at-bat the other night when we were ahead by a bit.
Wouldn’t shock me if EE is placed on IL, and team goes with McCann/Grandal at DH, aka the original plan before the EE signing.
It would be fitting, as McCann and Grandal represent Hahn’s only veteran free agents that have worked, while EE is yet another to throw on the trash heap.
That approach to DH would be defensible, but short-sighted. McCann should get a nice FA offer to start at catcher somewhere else next year. If Mercedes gets his DH reps and doesn’t rise to the occasion (confident he’ll thrive), they at least find out. Collins will draw walks against subpar pitchers, but correct scouting report on him is make the low contact guy hit.
Tough luck for Madrigal, but don’t write off Mendick. He’s a sturdy young player who can play 2b,SS, or 3b with good speed and range. Mercedes is about a power hitting PH and some DH. Rodon is injured every year and expect nothing from him. I hope the Sox’ pitching is good enough to take them deep into the playoffs-because the offensive pop is there. Jose Abreu is a hell of a guy and a great warm weather hitter.
Mendick’s ceiling is super-utility. Madrigal’s ceiling is perennial All-Star. It’s not that we’re writing off Mendick; it’s that he just is what he is: a placeholder until Madrigal gets back. Mendick is useful, but Sox already have Garcia as a super-sub. Don’t know if Mendick is a long-term piece for this club, tbh.
Glad to hear that the faith is still strong for Mendick in some corners. He hasn’t looked very good, at all, but it’s still so early. He should have his chance to step up and show us what he can do now, while Madrigal is hurt.
I will say that I wouldn’t hate kicking the tires on a player like Scooter Gennett if Madrigal could miss a month or more. Even Derek Dietrich could make some sense, too.