Adam Eaton — the latest Chicago White Sox outfielder to be sidelined — is placed on the 10-day injured list with hopes to ‘just get him well’
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The Chicago White Sox have been hit hard with outfield injuries this season.
Adam Eaton became the latest to be sidelined when the Sox on Thursday placed the starting right fielder on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring.
The move is retroactive to Tuesday.
“He’s dealt with it, he’s gone out there like a good competitor and it takes away from his game,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said before Thursday’s game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. “The decision was made, just get him well.”
Eaton is slashing .195/.296/.345 with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 27 RBIs and 30 runs in 54 games.
The Sox are already missing starting left fielder Eloy Jiménez and center fielder Luis Robert.
Jiménez has been out since spring training with a ruptured left pectoral tendon. He was medically cleared Monday to resume baseball activities at the team facility in Glendale, Ariz.
Robert went on the 60-day IL in early May after he suffered a complete tear of his right hip flexor.
Billy Hamilton, who has provided depth, is also on the injured list with a strained right oblique.
Jake Lamb started in right field Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, while Brian Goodwin got the nod Tuesday and Thursday.
Goodwin reached base in four of his first five games with the Sox since being called up from from Triple-A Charlotte on May 10. He had five RBIs in his debut Saturday against the Tigers in Detroit.
“He’s been very impressive,” La Russa said of Goodwin, who entered Thursday 4-for-16 with one home run, six RBIs and four runs.
Lamb hit safely in 10 of his last 14 games. He’s 12-for-44 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs during the stretch, including an RBI single in the fifth inning Wednesday.
La Russa said Thursday that he told Lamb it was one of his favorite at-bats of the game. Lamb, a natural infielder, has played 13 games in left field and five in right.
“I can’t lie to you, I never thought I’d be playing the outfield pretty much full time now,” Lamb said Thursday. “But it is what it is. I’m so happy to be part of this team, part of this organization.
“I know it gets used a lot, but it’s next man up mentality. The great teams have that and that’s what we’ve been doing so far this season.”
Lamb said the best advice for playing the outfield he’s received has been “stay low and always be on your toes.”
“They know they have to contribute and they’re coming through but you can’t make it past tense,” La Russa said. “It’s all onward from here to the end.”
In Thursday’s corresponding move, the Sox recalled reliever Zack Burdi from Charlotte.
Burdi, 26, appeared in one game this season with the Sox. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with three strikeouts in three innings April 19 in Boston.
Burdi, who is from Downers Grove, is 0-2 with a 5.59 ERA and 13 strikeouts in nine relief appearances with Charlotte.
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