Pregame notes: Mike Tauchman returns to White Sox IL, and Korey Lee joins him

If the White Sox could have drawn it up, they probably would've liked to have swapped out Mike Tauchman for Joshua Palacios shortly after he touched third base on the ill-fated voyage home that ended the White Sox's 3-2 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Because rules are rules and the White Sox couldn't freeze the play and make the change at the point of injury, the Sox placed Tauchman on the injured list this morning with a right hamstring strain among four other roster moves.

Taking Tauchman's place is the lefty-swinging Palacios, and you'd be within your right to not know that was a possibility, whether because you weren't aware of the 29-year-old journeyman with 156 MLB games with three teams over four years, or because the White Sox signed him and added him to the Charlotte roster less than a week ago. He's 3-for-13 with a double, four walks and two strikeouts over his first 19 plate appearances in the organization. He's had little issue hitting Triple-A pitching over his career, but the returns at the major league level give him the classic AAAA profile.

But that's not all. The White Sox also shelved Korey Lee with a sprained left ankle he suffered while returning to first on a pickoff from the catcher during the sixth inning Wednesday. Taking his place is Omar Narváez, whose impending arrival was announced by James, and whose presence on Birmingham's Opening Day roster can now be more easily explained. It was a surprise to see the 33-year-old accepting an assignment to Double-A behind two prospects branded Catcher of the Future, but if Chris Getz told Narváez's camp that they had no intent on calling up Edgar Quero or Kyle Teel before a certain time of the year, then a job with the Barons would effectively be the same as a third catcher job anywhere.

To make room for the two new additions to the 40-man roster, the White Sox released Juan Carela, who underwent Tommy John surgery during spring training and is out until the 2026 season. Injured players can't be outrighted off the 40-man roster, so the choice was between adding him to the major league 60-day IL or releasing him. Similar situations have arisen with Luis Gonzalez in 2021 and Nicky Delmonico in 2019, both of whom were facing season-ending shoulder surgeries at the time. James has heard the Sox are likely to try to re-sign Carela to a new minor league deal.

First Pitch: White Sox at Guardians

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