White Sox place Kosuke Fukudome on 15-day disabled list; Purchase the contract of Jordan Danks from Class AAA Charlotte

CHICAGO – Prior to tonight’s game vs. Toronto, the Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Kosuke Fukudome on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to June 4) with a strained right oblique and purchased the contract of outfielder Jordan Danks from Class AAA Charlotte.

Danks, the younger brother of White Sox pitcher John Danks, is hitting .302 (58-192) with 15 doubles, eight home runs, 28 RBI and 32 runs scored in 57 games with Charlotte this season.  The 25-year-old ranks fourth in the International League in on-base percentage (.419) and walks (40), seventh in OPS (.934), tied for eighth in runs scored and ninth in average and slugging percentage (.516)

He entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the Best Defensive Outfielder in the White Sox organization for the second consecutive season and third time overall (also 2009).  Danks, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2008 draft, is a .263 hitter (406-1,542) with 41 home runs and 183 RBI in 422 games over five seasons in the Sox minor-league system.

Danks, who will wear uniform No. 20, has no major-league experience.

Fukudome, 35, is hitting .171 (7-41) with no home runs and four RBI in 24 games this season.  He signed with the White Sox as a free agent on February 14, 2012.