White Sox second baseman quest to return from injury begin with a rehab stint in Birmingham. The White Sox injured second baseman started his first game with the Barons on Saturday.
The White Sox have been without the services of second baseman Brett Lawrie since July 21, as he was placed on the disabled list. Lawrie strained his left hamstring during a game against the Detroit Tigers on July 21. He had just one at-bat in that game.
On Saturday, Lawrie started for Double-A Birmingham Barons and went 2-for-3 with a double. The White Sox would hope Lawrie is able to return after a few games with the Barons. Hopefully, his rehab assignment goes better than Alex Avila‘s assignment. Avila’s rehab assignment ended after just five games with Triple-A Charlotte Knights. Avila re-aggravated his right hamstring injury on July 20 and is still on the disabled list.
Betsided
While Lawrie has been healing from his injury, the White Sox have relied upon Tyler Saladino and Carlos Sanchez to fill the void. Saladino has done a solid job replacing Lawrie, but he has gone cold in his last seven games. The second-year utility infielder is currently hitting .254, and in his last seven games he’s hit .167 with one home run.
Although Lawrie hasn’t had a consistent season at the plate, he still has 22 doubles for the White Sox. Lawrie’s slash line before his injury was .248/.310/.423 with a .723 OPS. Lawrie was struggling before his injury as he was hitting .226 in his last 15 games before his hamstring injury.
Outfield Assists Leader: Adam Eaton, who has had a stellar season defensively added to his outfield assists total on Saturday. After Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a loping single to Eaton, Stanton attempted to advance to second base. With two outs in the ninth inning, Eaton was able nab Stanton at second base to end the game.
Next: White Sox Storylines for Final Two Months of Season
The outfield assist was Eaton’s 17th of the season, and he currently leads all outfielders in that category. Eaton’s outfield assist not only helped preserve an 8-7 victory over the Marlins, but it helped the White Sox win their first series of the second half.