The White Sox have placed outfielder Adam Engel on the injured list and selected fellow outfielder Luis Gonzalez’s contract from their alternate training site, James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to report.
Chicago put Engel on the IL because he may have come into contact with someone who has the coronavirus. However, Engel has not tested positive for it. The IL placement interrupts a solid start to the season for Engel, who has batted .263/.317/.500 with a pair of home runs in 41 plate appearances.
Gonzalez, 24, was a third-round pick of the White Sox in 2017 who could now receive his first major league action. After producing nice offensive numbers at the Single-A and High-A levels from 2017-18, he debuted in Double-A last year and batted .247/.316/.359 with nine homers and 17 steals in 535 trips to the plate. MLB.com ranks Gonzalez as the White Sox’s 13th-best prospect, noting he has a “sweet left-handed swing,” a “plus arm” and the versatility to play all three outfield positions.
seems like a reach to bring him up now
The White Sox had to promote an OF from their alternate training site. They only had 4 of them on their active roster before placing Adam Engel on the IL and with Leury Garcia recently placed on the 60-day IL. Despite not having any MLB experience, Luis Gonzalez was already on the White Sox 40-man roster and the only one at their training site to have full time experience in CF. Their only other choices were Blake Rutherford, Micker Adolfo and Nicky Delmonico with the latter two only options at the corners. They needed a CF in the event Luis Robert required a break or had to be removed from the lineup.
He was not already on the 40 man. The CF experience and the LH bat were likely the deciding factor though
You’re correct about Luis Gonzalez not being on the 40-man roster until his contract was selected today. The deciding factor was his ability to play CF with only Luis Robert able to do so with both Adam Engel and Leury Garcia added to the IL.
@aaron, they could always put the talented Eloy in CF. He is so enjoyable to watch play in the OF.
So you’ve been watching? Already sick of watching Bryant, Baez, and Contreras struggle to hit their weight?
I take it you’re being sarcastic, right? He may not be able to survive for long in left-field let alone center. He’s a Future DH.
It’s not because they want to…
It just won’t end!
We ALL MAY have come into contact with someone with the virus.
Why is he already headed to IL?!
@ChiSox_Fan
There’s a big difference between one of us coming into contact with COVID-19 and a MLB player coming into contact with one. That could easily turn into another Cards or Marlins situation.
Says he MAY have come into contact
@ChiSox_Fan
Still, I’d rather they be safe than sorry.
It’s not the real IL. He can come off the COVID IL any time, as soon as he tests negative. This allows them to be cautious and bring up another OF, hopefully just for a couple of days.
He already tested negative
But it can lay dormant for 3-7 days before it shows up as a positive test. They are doing the right thing here.
Tell that to the Marlins. There isn’t a team in baseball that hasn’t been affected by injuries. Some teams have FO that will spend money and spend it on players that aren’t mainly DHs.
Engel’s bat has heated up in this short season even though he has been more of a glove-first outfielder. If you want to see something hilarious, look up the video of him diving short of a sinking liner that turned into an inside-the-park HR for JaCoby Jones. I don’t think he realized how deep centerfield is in Comerica Park!
He knew exactly where he was… They were already down late in the game after losing 4 of their last 5 with the bats completely disappearing. He went for the all or nothing play to keep the game within reach, and unfortunately he whiffed. It was worth the risk at that point.
Gonzalez has an impressive resume for a 24 year old. Over 50 career war and 52 years old. His 2001 season at the ages of both 33 and 6 was insane
Steroids can really elongated a players career.
You just uncovered the first proven case of time travel! {=O
I’ve been tracking this guy all my years as a time cop. Here’s what we know; he always uses the same name and plays baseball BUT the positions aren’t always the same. For someone that has cracked time travel, he lacks creativity.
A hint for time cops playing along at home. Check the height and weight of your Luis Gonzales’ they are usually in the same range. Occurrences at the extremes of the spectrum are rare but not unheard of.
Now that’s funny! Thanks!
LOL! You really ran with it. Good story telling!! =D
Luis Gonzalez making his long awaited comeback.
Any more injuries and the Sox may look to see if Ralph Garr or Britt Burns are available.
At this rate, the entire team will be on the IL by the trade deadline.
I’ve never been a fan of using injuries as an excuse, especially when the Yanks still thrived last year after injuries ripped through their roster, so I won’t use it as an excuse. Still, this is getting ridiculous.
We’re seeing guys I wasn’t expecting to see. I’m waiting for the day Clayton Richard gets called up–I hope the injury bug doesn’t get that bad.
Next to make his comeback: Mark Grace!
Oh. Wait.
Bring back Dick Allen and Sox will hit 5-6 HR’s in a row!
Is Steve Finley coming back too?
This is not a move the Sox wanted to make—especially this early in the season. Gonzalez has barely scraped by in Double-A, he isn’t ready and I don’t like this move in the long-term as it’ll likely damage any confidence he has left.
We need to sign a free agent OF or make a move to get an actual big-league OF and soon! is Kole Calhoun available? That might be aiming much too high… maybe an outfielder from Pittsburgh or check in with the Astros for Josh Reddick or something.
Just saw that Dunning might be the one facing Mize on Wed. Makes that games even more interesting if this holds true.
I’ve been looking forward to his arrival. Dunning had the potential to be the best of the group, at least before TJS.
It’s hard to say how he’s going to do now, but he must be doing pretty well in Schaumburg if they’re bringing him up. I wasn’t sure if they were even going to bring him up this year.
Honestly, I’m happy to see this. Hahn has consistently avoided bringing up his own players. Now, due to injury and poor performance by vets, you have see. Foster, Heuer, and Mendick do well with the opportunities they were given. This is pretty much a practice season, and Hahn should be giving these guys a chance.
@maximumvelocity
Yes, that’s the way we should be looking at it, a practice season. That’s why I think having their transition year being this year worked out very well for the Sox, despite the whole unfortunate COVID-19 situation.
Not sure that he’s ready yet, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Vaughn play in Chicago this year. That won’t happen though with the time manipulation.
When did Luis Gonzalez make a comeback? He’s gotta be at least 50 by now.