CHICAGO -- White Sox general manager Rick Hahn provided several injury updates during his media session prior to Monday's contest against the Tigers.
Right-handed reliever Nate Jones, out since June 13 with a pronator muscle strain in his pitching arm, is going to join Class A Advanced Winston-Salem on a rehab assignment with the Dash starting Wednesday. After a few appearances, the hope is that the White Sox can activate him.
First baseman Jose Abreu was back in the clubhouse Monday. He's slowly improving after surgery to alleviate pain in the lower abdomen/groin area. Abreu could be activated by the middle of the month. Utility player Leury Garcia, out of action with a left hamstring strain, is progressing and on a similar timetable as Abreu.
Right fielder Avisail Garcia missed a second straight game with a sore right knee. But the White Sox don't seem inclined at this point to shut him down.
"We've talked about it. He's very much against it," Hahn said. "We feel the treatment he received over the last couple days should put him in a decent position to get back out there, which is what he wants.
"There's not a risk of doing additional damage, to the knee at least. But I can't completely rule that out because we have discussed it. At this point, though, he's trending the right way and feeling better. He very much wants to be back in that lineup, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him out there later this week."
Dunning stays on the right path
Dane Dunning, out of action since June 23 due to a moderate right elbow strain, is progressing on a throwing program.
"He's with us in Camelback Ranch, and he may well get a few innings here and instructs toward the end, or perhaps in the Arizona Fall League depending on how things go and whether we feel it's important for him to pitch competitively before sending him home," Hahn said. "Everything on Dane right now is optimistic."
Dunning, the No. 6 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, finished the season with a 2.71 ERA between stops at Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. He struck out 100 over 86 1/3 innings, and at this point, it does not look as if he will need surgery.
"Knock on wood," Hahn said. "I don't want to say things like that, but everything is very positive, and surgery's not being discussed at this time."
Cordell called up
The White Sox recalled outfielder Ryan Cordell from Triple-A Charlotte prior to Monday's game. Cordell, 26, is batting .246 with 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 26 RBIs, 18 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 51 combined games this season with Charlotte, the Arizona League White Sox and Birmingham. He appeared in 22 games in center field, 13 in right and six in left with the Knights.
Cordell was on the disabled list from April 17-July 23 with a broken right collarbone sustained on April 16 vs. Rochester. He batted .289 with 19 RBIs over his last 29 games with the Knights.
"It's been a long road with a series of ups and downs but it's really cool to be here now," Cordell said. "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to help these guys as much as I can."