The last thing anybody wanted to see during an 11-run game between the United States and Cuba was Yoán Moncada on the ground in shallow left field.
His World Baseball Classic experience ended a couple innings earlier than the other players in the lineup, as he collided into left fielder Roel Santos far too deep into left field on the final out of the sixth inning.
It could've been a disastrous way to end an otherwise successful World Baseball Classic for Moncada, who hit .435/.519/.739 with more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) in 27 plate appearances. Pedro Grifol said it's only bruised ribs and not a concussion, so assuming that description holds, you can downgrade "disastrous" to "disappointing."
The scare is fresh is enough to make a White Sox fan reconsider their thoughts on injuries during the WBC now that there's an example close to home. It's easy to write off Edwin Diaz's torn knee ligament and José Altuve's broken finger as unfortunate outcomes from playing baseball, but there's a possibility that those specific injuries wouldn't have occurred in lower-stakes settings.
But then you think about all the time White Sox infielders and outfielders have collided due to miscommunication over the years, and yeah, Moncada was still probably safer playing for Cuba.
Luis Robert Jr. will join Moncada on his way back to the White Sox after a quieter tournament. He hit .259/.286/.296 with a double, no walks and eight strikeouts, but at least he looks like he'll be able to play right away.
Speaking of far-too-familiar frights, Andrew Vaughn missed the last week of Cactus League action due to a sore back, and here's where we're going to get our first sense of Grifol as an honest broker.
Vaughn has dealt with back and leg problems during his first two seasons in the majors, and his inability to maintain his base throughout the season is why he's hit .169/.222/.261 over 40 career September games. Seeing such issues surface so early in the season is enough to trip alarms, not just because of his history, but because he's replacing José Abreu, who played in 97 percent of the White Sox's games over the last four seasons.
Grifol is trying to downplay the severity.
“Andrew’s going to take a few days off,” Grifol said. “We’re going to err on the side of caution. He’s had a ton [31] of at-bats. He’s played a ton.” [...]
“He’s in a good spot,” Grifol said. “There’s no reason to push him through anything. I’m sure if you asked him right now if he could play, he’d say yeah. But we’re not going to push him through anything right now. He’s had a great camp. He feels comfortable at first base. We like where his swing is at. He likes where his swing is at. So we’re good.”
In Grifol's favor, he's correct in that Vaughn played early, often and well. He's hitting .323/.364/.516, and even with the time off, he's fifth on the White Sox in plate appearances. He's told no lies so far, and they tried to establish progress today.
But there's still reason to harbor some suspicion, because the excuses they gave for Vaughn's leg issues last season never really held water. Maybe Vaughn wasn't use to running around the outfield, but neither was Gavin Sheets, and despite being two years older, considerably larger and frequently hitting the ground like five bags of Quikrete falling off a forklift, Sheets never dealt with the same wear and tear.
Moving back to first base was supposed to alleviate these concerns, and now he's dealing with them sooner, so it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. That said, it's important to let Grifol establish his own credibility with injury descriptions instead of lumping him in with last year's negligence. It just would've been nice if the first unclear health situation concerned a less important player.
