AJ Pollock is off the injured list, and at least for the time being, he's only replacing Luis Robert in the lineup, and not on the roster.
That may only be a matter of time, of course. Pollock is back from his hamstring strain, and the White Sox made room by moving Matt Foster to the Family Medical Leave List. That designation requires Foster to be off the roster for at least three days.
Pollock returns to the lineup without a rehab game, playing center field and batting fifth.
(Please ignore who's batting second.)
Pollock hasn't played since the second game of the season on April 9, when he pulled up lame rounding first with a hint of intent. He opened the year 4-for-7 with a double, but expectations should probably be limited to crossing fingers that he can execute mildly aggressive baseball actions without incident.
As for Robert, he's going to be out of the lineup all weekend after tweaking his groin on his own mildly aggressive baseball action, which was running out a ground ball to the left side during the finale of the disastrous trip to Cleveland. The Sox are holding out hope that he can avoid a trip to the IL.
With rosters expanded to 28 for another eight days, the Sox may as well indulge the luxury of using one of those two extra spots as a temporary injured list for a player who might not need a full 10 days off. With the bullpen's best relievers rested and Adam Haseley on board for outfield depth, the Sox shouldn't be especially taxed in either department. The Sox will play three in Minnesota if weather permits, followed by an off day on Monday, which will probably be the time to reassess.
