What a quick trip that was for White Sox left fielder Andrew Vaughn.

The team announced Saturday that it had reinstated Vaughn from the injured list, where he was placed Thursday due to COVID-19 protocols. Gavin Sheets, who was called up to the Majors for the first time to take Vaughn’s place, was optioned back to Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa recently shared his belief that more tests would clear Vaughn to play as early as this weekend. Vaughn said Saturday that he had the same thoughts, noting that he is fully vaccinated and had dealt with COVID-19 previously.

“There was a lot of hope that [my COVID-19 test] was just a false positive, which it ended up being,” Vaughn said. “I took five tests yesterday or two days ago, and all of them came back negative. So it was all good.”

Though Vaughn missed the past two games, La Russa hinted that one last negative test could clear Vaughn to play Saturday. Vaughn started in left field during Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Tigers, doubled and finished 1-for-4 in his return.

“It’s definitely [been] hectic. I would say that,” Vaughn said. “Better to be safe than sorry. That’s the biggest thing. We’re in 2021, it’s different times.”

“The way it turned out, he missed some games, but he's fine and ready to go today,” La Russa said. “And that's a relief."

Grandal powering up
White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal has struggled at the plate at times this season. Entering play Saturday, his batting average was just .154 with a .123 BABIP, per FanGraphs. So how, then, has he still managed to slug .433 two months into the season?

Well, Grandal digs the round-trippers.

Grandal hit two more home runs during Chicago’s 9-8 win over Detroit on Friday night, adding to the 457-footer he hit in Thursday’s series opener. The first was a shot over the wall in left-center that put his team up, 1-0, in the second inning, and No. 2 was a bomb to center in the bottom of the seventh that tied the game at eight and set up Yermín Mercedes’ walk-off single two innings later. After each knock, Grandal hung around for a moment to admire his work.

His performance Friday night put Grandal’s home run total at nine on the season, already surpassing the eight he hit in 2020. What’s more, those nine homers make up more than half of Grandal’s hits (16) this season. It’s been a "trust the process" approach as Grandal continues to work his average up from a season-low .113 in early May. In the meantime, Grandal can just keep admiring the home runs.

“Does my swing feel better at the moment? Yes, but I’m not expecting to hit a home run every time I go up to the plate,” Grandal said. “I’m expecting to take good at-bats and continue the process as we go on through this longer season instead of being 60 games. I have time to get to where I need to be.”

White Sox soon moving to full capacity
The party at Guaranteed Rate Field will soon be growing.

Chicago announced on Friday that June 25 -- the start of a weekend series with the Mariners -- is the team’s target date to make a move to full-capacity at its home ballpark, the first time the stands could be full since the end of the 2019 season.

“Obviously, this is what we’ve been waiting for, to get to 100 percent, get our season-ticket holders back in their seats,” Brooks Boyer, the White Sox’s senior vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer, told MLB.com Friday morning.

Chicago might also be able to sell additional tickets for upcoming home games against the Rays from June 14-16.