The Chicago White Sox have a few injuries going on in camp, which will affect their alignment for their Opening Day roster.
The biggest of those injuries comes to Andrew Benintendi, who had his hand broken when he got hit by a pitch. Benintendi will hopefully be back somewhere around mid-April, with the possibility of him going on a rehab stint.
On a positive note, the Sox did receive good news on the injury front, with infielder Bryan Ramos making progress from his injury.
One piece of positive news for the Chicago White Sox
Ramos came into camp dealing with elbow soreness, which has kept him on the shelf and has allowed him to only appear in three games this spring. The soon-to-be 24-year-old Ramos, whose birthday is March 12, is hitting .143/.250/.286 with an OPS of .536 in his few appearances this spring.
When speaking to Lamond Pope of the Chicago Tribune, Ramos stressed that he was good and felt no soreness in his elbow.
"No pain, no soreness," Ramos said. "Just keep progressing in that area."
Ramos also told Pope that he’s been working on his swing in his live BP sessions, and when he gets into a real game, he tries to put a good swing on the ball.
"You feel good," Ramos told the Tribune on Thursday.
"I was taking live BPs (in the back fields), but it's never going to be the same as a real game. So when you are able to go to a game and make a good swing and good contact, that's what you're looking for at the end of the day.
"That's my mindset every time I'm in the box, try to make good contact and try to hit the ball somewhere.
After that, the result I can't control. I felt really good hitting that line drive."
The outlook for the young third baseman
Ramos still has one minor-league option available according to FanGraphs, and he’ll likely start his season down with the Sox Triple-A affiliate the Charlotte Knights. The Sox have a few players competing for the starting third base job and a bench spot, with Brandon Drury leading the pack given how he has performed offensively this spring.
Ramos currently ranks as the White Sox's 15th-best prospect in their system and was given average grades for his scouting report according to MLB.com. His best grade is his arm, which stands at 55/80. Following that up is his power and run, which received average grades of 50/80.
Ramos will likely be up and down a few times this season and is projected to get around 491 plate appearances, according to ZIPS Projections.
Ramos still has some work to do down on the farm to prove he is worthy of being given a chance to be an everyday big leaguer. This season will be important from a developmental standpoint for Ramos to show he’s worth being given that honor.
If Ramos can prove to be a capable bat off the bench for the White Sox this season and fill in as needed whenever an injury occurs, then that will be valuable for the White Sox.