NEW YORK -- Austin Jackson remained out of action for a third straight game Wednesday due to turf toe on his left foot, which caused him to exit Sunday's game in Kansas City.
Jackson feels improvement, and the hope is for a return to center field during Friday's opener against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
"It has been going good," said Jackson of an injury that occurred on an Alcides Escobar flyout to end the seventh. "Still just kind of going day to day and seeing how it feels each and every day.
"I never had it before. I really didn't know what to expect or how it was going to recover. But these past few days, just doing treatment on it, I'm able to put a little more pressure on it each day, so that's a good sign. It's weird. Something happens like that, you've never had it, you don't really know what it is."
If Jackson is not ready by Friday, factoring in extra rest via Thursday's off-day, a stint on the disabled list could be a possibility.
"You start thinking that way," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura of Jackson, who is 13-for-28 over his last eight games. "If he's not ready by then, you're playing one short and it becomes a little bit different. But I would think he'd be ready by the weekend the way he was talking yesterday."
Saladino putting in his work
After originally committing to Jimmy Rollins starting at shortstop Wednesday, Ventura and his staff thought about it on the bus ride to the hotel after Tuesday's victory and changed their minds. Saladino, though, was ready to do his daily video homework whether he was getting four at-bats or coming off of the bench.
"You have those resources and I like to take advantage of that. Spend time watching it," Saladino said. "It's the only way to familiarize yourself with the other team. You spend time in there, even if I'm not playing, just to get a little bit of insight and see what the guys are like out there that we will be up against. That way if you get in, it's not foreign to you."
Saladino had not studied video of Mets reliever Hansel Robles, whom he connected off of in the eighth on Tuesday for the go-ahead two-run homer. That preparation was based on watching Robles warm up and talking to hitting coach Todd Steverson before moving into the on-deck circle. Saladino also praised Rollins for helping the already laid-back Saladino stay calm through the various levels of game preparation and on-field action.
Abreu, Cespedes meet up
Jose Abreu and Yoenis Cespedes, two of the game's top offensive players and countrymen from Cuba, reunited in New York this week. They actually met on the field, when Cespedes playfully pushed Abreu after a fourth-inning single Monday and engaged him in conversation.
"When he got his hit, my focus was on the ball, so I didn't see him. He pushed me and I was scared at that moment," a smiling Abreu said through interpreter Billy Russo. "But it was a fun moment. My only wish for him is to be good and be healthy."