Tim Anderson's injury is the one that necessitated the promotion of Lenyn Sosa. I found that out in between scheduling the post and it going live, but I had some thoughts about Yoán Moncada and Elvis Andrus that I wanted to pin down in case their struggles linger, and treating it like an open question served my posting purposes well enough.
But yes, the White Sox placed Anderson on the injured list with a sprained left knee. The club said he's expected to miss two to four weeks, that's a big two-week swing.
There's the matter of the schedule. The White Sox have two more games against the Twins -- and Daryl Van Schouwen says Moncada's sore back will likely keep him out for the next two games as well -- and it doesn't get any easier afterwards:
- Three vs. Baltimore
- Three vs. Philadelphia
- Three at Tampa Bay
- Three at Toronto-- NEXT TWO WEEKS --
- Four vs. Tampa Bay
- Three vs. Twins
- Three at Cincinnati
- Four at Kansas City
That's five series against teams that figure to contend for American League postseason spots, including the entire season series against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays. If there's any solace, at least the Guardians don't arrive on the schedule until mid-May.
This also doesn't help Anderson's quest to play something resembling a full season. Best-case scenario, he misses something like 14 games and can still target 140-plus over the remainder of the schedule. If he's out for the full four weeks, he's basically used up his allotment of missed games with five months left to play.
Beyond that, you have to hope that the knee sprain doesn't hold him back like the groin issue did last season. He hit .249/.287/.290 over 39 games, and he ran just five times.
Setting aside some longer-term questions, the immediate focus turns to three people:
Pedro Grifol
I want to know what Grifol meant when he said he was "optimistic" about Anderson's injury, because I initially interpreted that as day-to-day, or maybe a precautionary injured list stint. If Anderson only has to miss two weeks, I guess that would be close enough for those purposes. If it's four weeks, there's little to be optimistic about.
In the meantime, he'll have to figure out another leadoff hitter. Anderson started all 11 games this season, so we haven't seen Grifol try anybody else up top.
Elvis Andrus did the job well enough last year, hitting .277/.315/.511 over 33 games after coming over to the Sox. The problem is that he's hitting .167/.200/.190 at the moment, so there's a fine line between trying something that previously worked, and sticking with a guy who maybe shouldn't be playing at all.
Andrew Benintendi strikes me as the most natural candidate, Yoán Moncada wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if the back injury is sapping his power. I also endorse the idea of not overthinking it, and allowing everybody to slide up a spot to maximize plate appearances for the guys you want to see with a bat in their hands. That means Luis Robert Jr., Benintendi, Andrew Vaughn, the Gavin Sheets/Jake Burger DH platoon in the top four, and then choose the rest based on handedness.
Elvis Andrus
If a rocky adjustment to second base has distracted Andrus from resembling a standard MLB middle infielder in other respsects, his load will be lightened considerably while Anderson's away. Sosa and Romy González can handle shortstop for a game at a time, but Andrus should be the everyday guy regardless of how well he hits.
He's the far steadier option, and the White Sox need to know how to approach second base whenever Anderson returns. If Andrus didn't hit at second, and he doesn't end up hitting at short, it makes it easier to relegate him to the bench or beyond in the event of a Sosa breakout.
Speaking of which...
Lenyn Sosa
While Sosa deserved the call-ups he received during the 2022 season, it would've been better if the White Sox really wanted to see him. Middle-infield emergencies prompted both of his promotions. The first came after Danny Mendick's season-ending injury, when Anderson had just come off the IL and Leury García was in a similarly delicate state. Then he briefly bridged the gap between Anderson's hand injury and Andrus' arrival in August.
This third promotion marks the first time that Sosa is as a credible a starting option as anybody else on the roster. Hanser Alberto is a better bet for contact and Romy González offers more athleticism, but Sosa should get the most plate appearances at second base as long as Anderson's out. He has the tendency to look lost for his first few weeks at a level before finding his sea legs, but it's worth enduring this time around because he offers the most upside the rest of the season. That might be needed as an Andrus replacement, or as a hedge against future Anderson and Moncada injuries.
We've seen Grifol commit to Oscar Colás convincingly over the first 11 games, but Colás has made it easy on his manage by hitting .306/.359/.417 and making quick adjustments after ugly sequences. We'll see what kind of tolerance he possesses for rookie struggles if Sosa brings them to the table. Here's a case where optimism in the face of a serious question mark would serve him well.
