White Sox lose Danny Mendick to torn ACL; Adam Engel also to IL

As Danny Mendick was helped off the field after his knee-to-knee collision with Adam Haseley Wednesday afternoon, he added a little bit of his own weight to his right foot as the broadcast cut to commercial. I'd hoped that he'd merely suffered a nerve-rattling bruise that made the leg temporarily useless, but he'd dodged the worst of it.

Adam Engel says Mendick thought that as well, but any and all optimists were wrong. The White Sox announced that Mendick tore the ACL in his right knee. He's heading to the 10-day injured list as the worst news in a press release covering five roster moves. The others:

*Adam Engel was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring.

*Gavin Sheets was recalled from Charlotte.

*Lenyn Sosa had his contract purchased from Birmingham.

*Eloy Jiménez was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to make room on the 40-man for Sosa.

(I'm not sure why Jiménez went to the 60-day injured list instead of Mendick, unless it's procedurally easier to shift an already-injured player versus somebody freshly minted. Jiménez would be eligible for reinstatement today, so the change in designation doesn't change his timetable. The deadline is instead set by the 17 days left in his rehab stint.)

As exciting as it might be to see Sosa -- and I covered why in a feature on him in May, as well as a post about his impending promotion last night -- it's gutting for Mendick, who finally figured out how to turn a hot start into a durable presence. He hit .289/.343/.443 over 106 plate appearances, stepping up with quality shortstop play during Tim Anderson's absence, and appearing capable of filling in around three infield positions on any given day. The combination of offense and defense put him on pace for the good kind of 2 WAR season, because he wasn't on pace for a starter's workload of plate appearances.

As for Engel, he said he originally thought his hamstring strain was a cramp. I'd be inclined to write off his IL stint as minimal if he didn't have a history of prolonged absences.

Those hoping to see Sosa in the lineup will have to wait a day, as he just arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field within the hour. José Abreu's hip is limiting him to DH and Luis Robert supposedly has his own leg soreness he's dealing with, so Sheets is getting immediate action in the outfield.

I'll update this story if anybody says anything important about immediate playing-time implications.