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Friday was a troublesome night time throughout for the White Sox, past the membership’s 2-1 loss to the Royals. Heart fielder Luis Robert Jr. was faraway from the sport within the ninth inning resulting from an damage to his proper hip flexor, and right-hander John Brebbia was eliminated within the sixth inning resulting from a proper calf pressure. Robert got here up limping round first base after hitting a double, whereas Brebbia’s damage seemingly occurred whereas fielding a Salvador Perez grounder. Brebbia remained within the recreation to stroll the following batter he confronted earlier than being pulled.
Each accidents include some backstory. Brebbia handled a calf pressure throughout spring coaching, and made solely two Cactus League appearances previous to the beginning of the common season. Robert’s state of affairs is extra ominous, for granted hip flexor pressure price him shut to 3 months of the 2021 season.
Extra might be recognized about each gamers later in the present day, although it might appear to be a visit to the injured record may be very possible. James Fegan of the Sox Machine weblog reviews (via X) that infielder Lenyn Sosa is heading from Triple-A Charlotte to hitch the White Sox in Kansas Metropolis, and outfielder Oscar Colas was additionally pulled late from Charlotte’s recreation yesterday. If Colas was additionally added to the energetic roster together with Sosa, that would imply the crew is comfy going no less than in the future with solely 12 pitchers on the 26-man, no less than till they’ll determine a extra direct pitching substitute for Brebbia.
Past the potential losses of Robert and Brebbia, Chicago already positioned one other outstanding title on the 10-day IL simply yesterday when Eloy Jimenez was sidelined with an adductor pressure. Between these accidents and a dismal 1-6 report, it’s wanting like one other lengthy 12 months on the South Facet within the aftermath of the crew’s disastrous 101 losses in 2023.
Robert was one of many few brilliant spots of final 12 months’s marketing campaign, because the outfielder bounced again from two injury-plagued seasons to hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and 20 steals (from 24 makes an attempt) over 595 plate appearances. Since he made his MLB debut within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, this marked Robert’s first regulation-length full season, and it confirmed the expertise that made Robert such a highly-touted prospect each in Chicago’s farm system and popping out of Cuba in 2017. The White Sox gave Robert a $26M bonus as a global prospect after which inked him to a six-year, $50M deal earlier than he had even performed in his first large league recreation.
Whereas the severity of Robert’s damage hasn’t but been established, one other prolonged stint on the IL might affect Chicago’s plans on the commerce deadline and past. Robert’s contract (which comprises membership choices for 2026 and 2027) makes him one of many more cost effective abilities within the recreation, and for the reason that White Sox appear to have no less than one foot within the rebuilding waters, buying and selling Robert could be probably the most logical approach for GM Chris Getz to restock the farm system with expertise. Getz downplayed the concept of a Robert commerce in the course of the offseason, and given the quantity of crew management remaining in Robert’s deal, there isn’t any fast want for the Sox to commerce him quickly. An damage might properly make this a moot level for 2024, no less than, although if Robert misses a number of time, it would result in some inevitable second-guessing that Getz ought to have offered excessive on Robert this previous winter.
Brebbia is a way more clear-cut commerce candidate for this 12 months’s deadline, because the righty signed solely a one-year, $5.5M deal (with a $6M mutual choice for 2025) with the White Sox again in January. If Brebbia’s calf is ready to heal comparatively rapidly, it shouldn’t have a lot affect on his deadline availability assuming he pitches properly after his return, although accidents have been a big a part of his historical past. The 33-year-old missed the entire 2020 season and a lot of the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure, and a lat pressure price Brebbia near half of the 2023 marketing campaign when he was a member of the Giants’ bullpen.
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