Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa gave some tough news on the injury front. Adam Engel is going to be out for a few weeks with a strained right hamstring. It isn’t something that is super serious but he will be down to start the season. He injured it making an off-balance throw. It is a tough way to go down but it is what it is. This is somewhat of a hit to the depth of the team but they should be able to overcome it in the short term.
Adam Engel is going to be a big part of the 2021 Chicago White Sox.
Engel was really coming in strong this year. He finished 2020 with a red hot bat and he even had a big home run in the playoffs. He used to be known as an elite defensive outfielder who couldn’t hit anything but that isn’t the case anymore. He is still an incredible outfielder that can also hit the ball really well. He has developed nicely for the White Sox.
He is looked at as the fourth outfielder but that doesn’t seem fair. There is no proof that he doesn’t deserve to be the full-time right fielder over Adam Eaton. If anything, the two are opposite-handed and should be platooning the position. With this injury, it may be tough for a while to do the platoon idea but he should come back stronger than ever.
Engel is a really good and reliable baseball player. He has also proved in the past that his body heals a little bit quicker than most players. That is good news for White Sox fans who believe in this guy.
He had to make a tough play to catch the ball before throwing it in on the play he hurt himself on. It goes to show you how good of a player he is out there but he just had an unfortunate move when he threw it in. This stuff happens but it won’t hurt him in the long term. We hope it doesn’t last more than a few weeks because he is a big key to this team right now.