The White Sox placed Billy Hamilton on the injured list after he tweaked his hamstring in yesterday’s ballgame. Nick Williams has been called up to take his place on the roster while Jace Fry was moved to the 60-day injured list. Williams had to be added to the 40-man roster, per the Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter).
Williams will get right into the action today. He is starting in left and batting seventh against the Royals. Williams, 27, was hardly Plan A for the White Sox this season, but he’ll have his cleats in the grass for their home opener nonetheless. Eloy Jimenez, of course, was the scheduled left fielder, but he tore his pectoral in the spring and will be out for four to five months.
Rookie Andrew Vaughn has split time in left with Hamilton to start the season. Leury Garcia has been one option for left, but he’s experiencing some leg tightness of his own, though he is available off the bench, notes Fegan. Garcia may also be needed at shortstop while Tim Anderson is on the injured list. Danny Mendick gets the start at short today.
As for Williams, he’ll be making his first Major League appearance since 2019. He hit .254/.313/.420 in 903 plate appearances with the Phillies from 2017 to 2019, a 94 wRC+ for his career. His role with the Phils was largely usurped by Bryce Harper as he saw his playing time and productivity diminish significantly in 2019. Prior to that season, he had posted a 110 wRC+ and 102 wRC+ in back-to-back seasons. He signed with the White Sox this past January.
ayy Nicky Dubs!
Get ready for a whole lotta smiles! Always liked that about him
yeah one of the nicest guys in the game it would seem. really has that love for it.
Dang, first Eloy, then Engel, now Hamilton. White Sox’ outfield depth is really taking a hit.
White Sox outfield depth took a hit when they signed Hamilton.
Yeah, the league is full of 5th outfielders better than Billy Hamilton… Great call.
This is going to be the year of injuries
Yeah, sure seems like players are dropping like flies, and we’re barely more than a week in. I shudder to think what the Injured Lists will look like come the All-Star break.
I was just thinking the same thing. Majority of articles is someone going on the IL now. I guess it’s not a surprise with how last year went, but it sucks to see all these players going down
Yeah, a lot of players are probably out of shape between no season last year and COVID protocols. Not shocked by Hamstrings, because they have not been running full steam much in competitive situations. Treadmill or road not same.
Sox could be getting dangerously thin in the OF area. What if Robert takes another one off his skull?
I’m sure it will happen several more times this year, especially with Robert being a Gold Glove.
And you’re right, they’re almost as thin as the North Siders in the OF. Boy, that is dangerously thin.
Here’s your White Sox math question for today, DStone: What do Jose Conseco, Luis Robert and Beltin Bill Melton have in common? And, how many times, has it happened?
Right off the top of my head, I’m not sure.
Well on the way, head in a cloud. The man of a thousand screennames talking perfectly loud. But nobody ever hears him, or the sound he appears to make.
Good to see Williams getting another look, dude belongs in the majors
I honestly wanted to see him on opening day roster.
Long shot, but he has hit in past, and team could use another bat.
It’s the year of the hamstring in MLB.
Anyone else notice a ton of leg injuries?
Also ayyyy nicky Williams!
Here come the Nickys.
Billy Hamilton is made of glass
I don’t know what his injury history is like, but I wonder w/ him (and similar players), do the teams not allow him play through injuries? You would think that if he is slowed down on the bass paths or the outfield, he looses all value and doesn’t bring much else. Whereas, if he had some OPS prowess and could still move runners they would let him play through some nagging injuries.
For him specifically, there’s no reason to let him play through a hamstring injury. 100% of his game is based on speed, and if he slows down even a tiny bit, he’s basically worthless. Might as well let him heal up; it’s not like he’s irreplaceable in April.
What happened to all these lofty hopes of the sox winning the central?
Oh yeah, reality came calling… :)
LOL, 1.5 games back of first with 154 games to go. Yup, reality sure came calling.
Awfully bold statement 1 week into the season… I’d wait til the Twins actually play a good team before being that confident.