ANAHEIM – The White Sox outfield is ever-changing.
In the case of Monday’s moves, prior to the series opener against the Angels, the latest roster switch was due to injury.
Austin Hays was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Saturday) with a left calf strain, and the White Sox also finalized a one-year, $1.25 million MLB contract with veteran free-agent outfielder Randal Grichuk. Tanner Murray was transferred to the 60-day IL after suffering a left shoulder dislocation and fracture while diving to make a catch during his run at left field.
Grichuk, 34, was added several days after being designated for assignment by the Yankees.
“It kind of came in the last second,” Grichuk said. “We were talking to a few other teams, about to get something done, and the White Sox came into the mix and felt like it was a good opportunity. It’s a young, exciting team, playing good baseball right now.
“We felt like it was a good spot. Once they called and expressed some interest, I looked up the schedule and the roster and know some names and heard about some names. So, I tried to get as familiar with it as I could.”
In 16 games with the Yankees, Grichuk batted .194 with four doubles and two RBIs. The White Sox marked his eighth team over 13 seasons, having launched 212 home runs during stints with the Yankees, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Rockies, Angels, D-backs and Royals.
His role with the White Sox will primarily be playing against left-handed pitchers, where Grichuk features a career .816 OPS.
“Obviously with Hays going down, you need a right-handed outfielder, really fit the roster,” said manager Will Venable of Grichuk. “He was available and we feel really lucky that we got him.
“He’s a guy with a ton of experience that has performed really well in this league. We’ll use him mostly against left-handed pitching, but he could start against righties. You’ll see him in the DH spot, you’ll see him in the outfield. Really excited to have him.”
Hays already has spent time on the IL for a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. He came back early from his Minor League injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte when Murray suffered his in-game injury, but he passed all the tests at the time to join the team.
Based on the MRI results, Hays’ rough guess is maybe 10 to 14 days out of action if everything goes well.
“You can never put a true date on it, because you never really know when you start running on it again, how you’re going to feel,” Hays said. “You could feel great or you could make it worse. I don’t know. But just generally speaking, 10 to 14 days, somewhere in there.
“Super, super frustrating. I feel like I let myself down. I feel like I let the team down. Try to do everything I could to put myself in the best position to just be ready to help these guys. They’ve been playing well and I want to be a part of it, but unfortunately I guess my body just wasn’t ready.”
Sam Antonacci was in left field again Monday and hitting leadoff, with the rookie basically learning the position at the end of Spring Training and during his stint with Charlotte. The White Sox also have Andrew Benintendi, Tristan Peters, Jarred Kelenic and Luisangel Acuña, who has struggled at the plate, but has the ability to play in center and at shortstop.
“Offensively, maybe that's behind his defense at this point,” said Venable of Acuña. “He’s still a very useful player for us, whether it’s the defensive versatility, playing above-average defense at multiple positions.
“Up the middle, the base running. And yeah, there’s some good things happening on the offensive side. Just hasn’t turned into results.”