CHICAGO -- A sprained right wrist will keep Melky Cabrera out of action for three or four games, the White Sox announced prior to Wednesday's 9-6 victory over the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field.
Cabrera originally hurt the wrist diving for a Tyler Naquin line drive to left during the first inning of a loss to Cleveland on June 18. He aggravated the problem in Tuesday's 4-0 loss upon colliding with the left-field wall when trying to track down Brian Dozier's home run in the sixth inning. He was replaced by Jason Coats for the seventh.
"I've been dealing with some kind of soreness since [the Cleveland game]," said Cabrera through interpreter Billy Russo. "It's difficult, because I want to play, but the doctors said the best for me right now is just to take a rest for a couple of days because I have inflammation there."
A MRI performed on the wrist revealed the sprain. The worst pain comes when he swings and misses from the left side, leading to manager Robin Ventura humorously pointing out that Cabrera simply shouldn't swing and miss.
"They're talking three or four days just to be able to get over the inflammation, things that are in there," Ventura said. "He wants to be in there, he wants to play, he wants to fight through it. But the training staff, the medical staff, think it's better that he sits for three or four days to have that heal."
There's no pain hitting from the right side for the switch-hitting veteran, who is 11-for-23 with six RBIs over his last six games, but the plan remains temporary inactivity.
Playing without Cabrera could have hampered the potential for in-game maneuvers on Wednesday, as Ventura had eight relievers and two position players (catcher Alex Avila and Coats) available. Matt Purke, who faced two hitters during a five-run Minnesota ninth without retiring either of them, was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the contest, with third baseman Matt Davidson a seemingly safe bet to be called up prior to Thursday afternoon's series finale.
Davidson, who is hitting .268 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs, was not in the Knights' lineup on Wednesday.
"We've needed every one of those guys in our bullpen," Ventura said. "The way it has been around here the last couple of weeks, we've needed every one of those guys. Some of it is just getting your guys healthy that are the back end when we're winning games. Every guy has been important. There hasn't been a surplus."
"For me, I want to play. I don't like to be on the bench," Cabrera said. "I want to play, because the team needs me, and I need the team."