Running hard to first base used to be what you should least expect from a ballplayer. Now it might be the thing you least want them to do.
Nick Madrigal became the latest to fall victim to the first 90 feet. The hamstring injury he suffered Tuesday night was indeed as bad as it looked. The White Sox wasted no time placing him on the 60-day injured list this afternoon with a proximal tear of his right hamstring.
In a session with reporters, Rick Hahn said that Madrigal will be inactive for six weeks. Early in that period, the involved parties will decide the ultimate course for Madrigal's recovery.
Hahn says it will be roughly a week until they get to the point of choosing a route for Madrigal’s recovery. He has a complete tear of one of three tendons connected to the hamstring and a partial tear of another. Had he torn all three, surgery would be required
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) June 10, 2021
Per Hahn: "There are three tendons that attach to the hamstring at the top. If all of them are torn, then it’s obviously surgical. Nick has one of the three fully torn and a partial on the other."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 10, 2021
Madrigal follows Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez to the 60-day IL. Robert also crumpled in a heap behind first base on an otherwise ordinary attempt to leg out an infield single, tearing his hip flexor, while Jiménez made an awkward attempt to rob a home run in spring training and tore his pectoral tendon. There's no timetable for eiter player yet.
PERTINENT: Nick Madrigal's improvements make him tougher for White Sox to replace
Madrigal's roster spot will be going to Brian Goodwin. The Sox signed Goodwin to a minor-league deal back on May 4, when it appeared like he'd be taking the roster spot of a bench guy like Billy Hamilton or Danny Mendick, rather than that of a fixture.
Goodwin didn't force the White Sox's hand with his performance, hitting .244/.316/.395 at Charlotte. The good news is that his line is back=loaded, as he's hit .291/.381/.473 over the Knights' last three-plus series (16 games). The bad news is that he's struck out in exactly one-third of his 63 plate appearances even while producing, an unwelcome follow-up on his career-worst 32.9 percent K rate in 2020.
His presence as a left-handed bat in the outfield frees up Leury García to help out Danny Mendick at second base in the interim, although Mendick will be getting the start tonight.
