Oblique keeping Beckham off the field

CHICAGO -- The White Sox are allowing Gordon Beckham's strained left oblique to calm down after the second baseman tweaked the injury during a Minor League rehab assignment with Double-A Birmingham. Beckham's only game with the Barons came as a designated hitter on April 3.

"There's a chance he returns in the next few days," said White Sox general manager Rick Hahn of Beckham. "He was re-evaluated by our doctor in Birmingham.

"We think things are calming down. He's going to start swinging again today and hopefully work his way back into the lineup in the coming days."

Hahn added that there is no overall timeframe for Beckham's return to the White Sox.

"Specifically, we've got to get him back and seeing live pitching on a regular basis before I can give you a timeframe," Hahn said. "He was having a little trouble getting loose in pregame, and we decided to pull him back, and the next day he still had localized pain in the oblique.

"Obliques are tricky. You got to make sure it's quiet for consecutive days before he starts to ramp up and remains quiet as we start to ramp up. We are in that ramp-up period, but he's not quite ready for the lineup yet."