Chicago White Sox: Grandal shines in return to action

In Friday night’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox had their lineup at full strength for the first time all season. Yasmani Grandal returned to the White Sox lineup after going down in early July with an injury to a tendon in his left knee.

The corresponding move was sending backup catcher Zach Collins back down to AAA Charlotte, keeping Seby Zavala as the Sox primary backup catcher. Friday night, he exploded offensively. In six at-bats, Grandal had four hits. Two of his four hits were for home runs, one for a double, and another for a single. He also drove in eight runs in his first game off of the IL.

Grandal being absent for the last month and a half had an impact on the White Sox offense. Grandal provides tough at-bats, working the count, drawing walks, and hitting for power in the lower half of the White Sox lineup.

"“I felt pretty tired halfway through the game after running around, blocking, moving behind the plate, but it just comes with the job,” Grandal said."

He also looked good defensively in his return to action, throwing out Frank Schwindel attempting to steal second base. In his second game back on Saturday night, Grandal took a break from catching and was the DH, going 0-2 with a walk.

In his third game on Sunday against the Cubs, Grandal went 2-4, with a home run while driving in two more runs. Overall, Grandal went 6-12 at the plate in this series, with three home runs and 10 RBIs.

The Chicago White Sox offense clearly needs Yasmani Grandal to light it up.

The White Sox have struggled offensively without their key position players throughout this season but now that we see the team back to full strength, it’s fair to expect the team to start firing on all cylinders very shortly.

On the season, Grandal is slashing .207/.398/.492 with a .890 OPS and 2.3 WAR. He has now tallied 17 home runs, giving him the third-most on the team and 48 RBIs, coming in at the fourth most on the team.

With over a month left in the season, Grandal has a lot of time to get readjusted to being the everyday catcher for the White Sox. The White Sox are now back at full strength, and it is going to be fun watching this team over the next 30 games.