Pregame notes: Little room for Oscar Colás at-bats in current White Sox outfield picture

When Andrew Benintendi said his left Achilles tendinitis had been bothering him for roughly seven weeks, perhaps a minimum 10-day stay on the injured list didn't register as the long-term remedy. Sure enough, it's not.

"It's just something I'll have to deal with for the rest of the year," Benintendi said Thursday. "I have good days and bad days, and it's just managing it and trying to make it feel as good as possible."

In Benintendi's view, the IL stint was a break to let the soreness calm down, the All-Star break will be another one, and the prevailing belief shared by him and the team is that the offseason will ultimately be what puts the matter to bed for the 29-year-old left fielder. As he did at the time he was placed on the IL, Benintendi said the injury has no impact on his swing, or on his offense beyond his speed.

He quipped "I'm hot in June" when he first went to the IL after homering in his only plate appearance of the month. After homering Wednesday night, Benintendi is hitting .385/.467/.923 this month, it's just that it's only been 15 plate appearances.

--That's a lot more run than Oscar Colás has been receiving, as Benintendi's return puts both him and Gavin Sheets in front of the line for left-handed corner outfield at-bats. Thursday marks a week since Colás' last start, and it doesn't sound like that situation is changing anytime soon. At least, not changing in a way that involves Colás getting major league action.

"We had a conversation about it yesterday: he works extremely hard, he's doing everything he can to stay sharp," said Pedro Grifol. "He can't do this long-term. If an opportunity doesn't present itself in the near future, then obviously it's more beneficial for him to go get at-bats. But in a short spurt, a week-to-10 days, it doesn't hurt. It could help. But yeah, if you're cutting down at-bats and you're getting 10 at-bats per month, obviously that type of talent and him being a prospect and part of the future, possibility of being part of the future, then it won't be beneficial for us and for him."

Colás has been up since June 2, which was in response to the Benintendi injury, and has provided the funky line of .310/.394/.310. He's offered an improved plate approach from the deep struggles of last season, but has yet to--neither in Chicago nor even as much as you'd expect in the Triple-A--tap into the raw power that heads up his profile as a player.

As Grifol acknowledged, the clear eventual remedy is to return Colás to the minors to continue getting regular at-bats. One Sox Machine employee posited that Eloy Jiménez's pending return from the IL, which will be next week barring a setback, will serve as the resolution to this whole situation.

"Think you're following our roster pretty good, buddy," Grifol replied.

--Mike Clevinger was in the clubhouse Thursday, but Grifol said he's still on track to make a second--and likely final--rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

"I think he threw 55 pitches," Grifol said of Clevinger's rehab start on Tuesday. "He’ll go up to 70, 75, and then after that he should be around 80, 85, 90. If things check out and all the boxes are checked, he’ll be with us. If not, we’ll do another one.”

--Tim Hill signed a major league deal with the Yankees on Thursday, two days after the White Sox officially released him and his 5.87 ERA. Anytime a former White Sox goes elsewhere, especially to a perennial contender, it's an opportunity for a referendum on whether the organization is getting enough out of its players.

But Hill is probably uniquely suited to do better elsewhere, despite generating the third-lowest swinging strike rate of any pitcher who has thrown more than 20 major league innings this year. Hill has not allowed a home run this season, and is generating ground balls at a career-high 65.6 percent of his contact. But his batting average allowed on balls in play is an absurdly high .436, while playing in front of a White Sox defense that is in the bottom-five of the sport in Defensive Runs Saved, and Outs Above Average.

His new club is safely top-10 in both defensive metrics. Hill's profile is such that he could generate much better results in that environment, even without pitching much better.

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