Injuries & Moves: Vargas returns to lineup; Leasure opens rehab stint
LATEST NEWS
Sept. 7: 3B Miguel Vargas returns to lineup
After missing back-to-back games following a collision with Andrew Benintendi on Tuesday in Baltimore, Vargas was back in Chicago's lineup on Saturday, getting the start at third base and batting eighth at Fenway Park.
The third baseman ran headfirst into the left fielder’s upper left arm on an attempt to catch Eloy Jiménez's towering pop fly in the second inning vs. the Orioles, and the team said Vargas departed with a right eye abrasion. Vargas sat out of Friday's series opener as a precaution.
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Jordan Leasure (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: TBD
Leasure began his rehab assignment on Sept. 6 at Triple-A Charlotte, pitching a 1-2-3 fifth inning with one strikeout. The rookie threw 10 pitches, six for strikes. Leasure has posted a 6.32 ERA over 33 games and 31 1/3 innings pitched. He has not thrown in a big league game since July 14.
Leasure had an MRI and has seen a doctor several times, with each test showing nothing that would indicate the injury is serious. (Last updated: Sept. 7)
RHP Michael Soroka (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: September
Soroka pitched one scoreless inning, giving up one hit with no strikeouts or walks to earn the win for Triple-A Charlotte on Aug. 27. He followed that up with a scoreless frame on Aug. 30. Soroka was diagnosed with a subscapular strain, which he first felt pitching in Pittsburgh on July 14. He left after one-third of an inning.
Soroka is 0-10 on the season, but he has a 3.45 ERA over 13 relief appearances, striking out 47 in 28 2/3 innings. (Last updated: Sept. 7)
RHP Drew Thorpe (right forearm flexor strain)
Expected return: 2025
Thorpe, who was placed on the 15-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 1) with a right forearm flexor strain, underwent season-ending surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow on Sept. 6 at San Francisco's Golden State Orthopedics in a procedure performed by Dr. Kenneth Akizuki. He is expected to be without restrictions for the start of Spring Training. (Last updated: Sept. 7)
INF Brooks Baldwin (right wrist sprain)
Expected return: Mid/late September
Baldwin has been dealing with the injury since Aug. 27, but he was placed on the injured list on Sept. 4 after he entered the previous night's contest as an injury replacement for Miguel Vargas.
The switch-hitter finished the 9-0 defeat to Baltimore 0-for-3 with a strikeout. And on Sept. 4, interim manager Grady Sizemore said there was lingering soreness, particularly when batting left-handed.
Baldwin is batting .211 through 33 games of his debut MLB season with 2 homers and 8 RBIs. (Last updated: Sept. 4)
RHP Steven Wilson (lower back strain)
Expected return: TBD
Wilson was placed on the IL on Aug. 17, retroactive to Aug. 15. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Aug. 28, tossing a scoreless inning with one walk and one strikeout. Wilson, 29, has made 40 relief appearances for the White Sox this season, going 1-6 with a 5.71 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. (Last updated: Aug. 29)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
3B Yoán Moncada (left adductor strain)
Expected return: TBD
The news on Moncada took a major positive turn on Aug. 23, as general manager Chris Getz announced the third baseman will begin an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Aug. 27, which he did by hitting second and serving as the designated hitter. The switch-hitter was 2-for-6 with two RBIs over his first two games with Charlotte, after he went 8-for-15 over five games with the Arizona Complex League White Sox despite not seeming comfortable with where he was physically at that time.
Moncada was running to first on a grounder on April 9 when he doubled over in pain and had to be helped off the field. He was placed on the IL the next day. (Last updated: Aug. 30)
RHP Jimmy Lambert (right rotator cuff strain)
Expected return: 2025
Lambert underwent shoulder surgery on Aug. 20 in Los Angeles, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and he is done for the season, per the White Sox. He was placed on the 60-day IL on March 28 and began an injury rehab assignment with the Arizona Complex League White Sox on July 19. (Last updated: Aug. 23)
RHP Mike Clevinger (right elbow inflammation, neck stiffness)
Expected return: 2025
Clevinger's four-start stint with the 2024 White Sox came to an end July 27, when the team announced he would undergo disk replacement surgery on his neck on Aug. 1 and will miss the remainder of the season. He was moved to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 17. (Last updated: Aug.17)
RHP Dominic Leone (right UCL sprain)
Expected return: 2025
Leone suffered the UCL sprain while pitching in the seventh inning of a 10-2 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 14 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He left the game after sustaining the injury, finishing his White Sox stint with a 0-2 record and 6.63 ERA over 19 innings pitched and 23 relief appearances this season. (Last updated: Aug. 16)
C Max Stassi (left hip inflammation)
Expected return: 2025
Stassi underwent a season-ending left hip surfacing procedure on June 7 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training in 2025. “I really like Stassi,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “I thought his veteran presence was going to be good for us.” (Last updated: June 10)
RHP Jesse Scholtens (Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: Early to mid-2025
Scholtens had surgery to repair a torn ulnar cruciate ligament in his right elbow on March 1 and will miss the season.
He was placed on the 60-day IL on Feb. 27 to make room for Bailey Horn, acquired from the Cubs. Scholtens was 1-9 with a 5.29 ERA in 26 appearances (11 starts) last season. (Last updated: Feb. 27)