Pregame Notes: Pedro Grifol’s injury update sheet

Originally, this little notes idea was centered around getting the burst of basic info that comes from the manager's pregame media session, and sharing it with our readers, even if nothing provided was worthy of the type of feature article our beloved Patreon supporters pay for.

Tonight, it will finally live up to it's billing, as Pedro Grifol literally had a big sheet of paper full of names and injury updates.

Yoán Moncada was last projected to be able to return from his adductor strain after the All-Star break. Grifol said that could still be possible, and that the nature of soft tissue injuries is you simply have to wait for them to feel better. But I don't think Grifol opened his session by stating Moncada's rehab is moving at "a little slower pace," is his way of saying that everything is right on schedule.

"He’s catching ground balls, doing good in that regard," Grifol said. "Not a setback, we’re not going to rush that one. He had a pretty significant injury and we’re not going to rush it."

Eloy Jiménez continues to sustain the mysterious dichotomy of "oft-injured, but quick healing."

He was placed on the injured list a little over two weeks ago with a hamstring strain that was supposed to sideline him for 4-6 weeks. Now Grifol states he could head out on a rehab assignment by the end of next week.

Mike Clevinger is throwing a bullpen on Friday, but he'll need multiple rehab starts before he returns to the White Sox rotation from his elbow inflammation. So if circumstance keeps your from watching Thursday night's Jake Woodford opus, there very easily could be another one.

The Charlotte Knights said Steven Wilson was added to the roster for a rehab assignment for his back tightness on Tuesday. The White Sox announced the start of his assignment on Thursday. Initial indications were he would return to the active roster when eligible, which was Tuesday. I don't know, man. You can't nail 'em all.

Andrew Benintendi was slotted to test out his sore left Achilles with some running on Thursday. Tommy Pham looked to be in no discomfort while greeting his old Red Sox teammates pregame, and is supposed to test out his left ankle with some running on Friday.

Dominic Fletcher is "starting his exercise today." I imagine all the players are exercising, but Fletcher's doing it with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. Fletcher said at Wrigley Field that he expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

Andrew Vaughn still has a sore left ring finger, but has hit 4-for-8 with a double and a walk since returning to the lineup to play through the pain. Maybe the new market inefficiency is nagging injuries, and the White Sox are poised to boatrace the competition.

Luis Robert Jr. is starting at designated hitter on Thursday night, but no, this is not the planned days off they have for him in his ramp-up. He will play center field again on Friday, but will be fully out of the lineup on Saturday.

"He has a fixed schedule," Grifol said. "This is not going to be 'How do you look? How do you feel?' We’re going to ramp him up slowly until we feel like OK, we can let him go."

-- Of the White Sox losing a whopping 22 games in which they have led this season, Grifol said "The thing is every mistake we make is biting us in the ass."

This is broadly true, but Grifol was trying to defray blame from a bullpen that has uh, taken the spotlight of recent.

"Obviously, we haven’t executed some pitches at times," Grifol said. "But we also have used these guys a lot. And I think it’s a combination of it’s really important for our starters to give us some length and get these guys a blow. It’s equally as important for us to put it together offensively like we are doing right now and continue to tack on and have these games where we can just relax a little bit."

Erick Fedde struck a similar sentiment postgame Wednesday night, blaming himself for not going deeper than five innings. But Michael Kopech one-upped his attempt to fall on the sword.

"There’s some guys that get used more than others," Kopech said. "I haven’t been one of those guys. I don’t have any complaints about workload. When this situation comes and my name is called, I need to be able to do my job. I didn’t do it."

First Pitch: White Sox vs. Red Sox

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

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