MINNEAPOLIS — It was a bit of déjà vu for White Sox infielder Bryan Ramos, whom the team recalled Monday from Triple-A Charlotte to fill one of the two extra roster spots available in September.
Ramos made his big-league debut at this time last season and struggled, batting .202/.252/.333 in 32 games.
Because of an elbow injury in spring training, Ramos only served as the designated hitter. He stayed behind in Arizona for an extra two weeks, derailing the start of his season.
Though he isn’t hitting for average, Ramos has shown more power this season than he had before, slugging 14 homers at Charlotte. After getting a taste of the big leagues and then having to toil in the minors for the majority of the season, he’s relishing his opportunity to be back with the Sox.
He batted ninth and played third base in the Sox’ 12-3 victory Tuesday against the Twins.
‘‘It’s a big thing for me,’’ Ramos said. ‘‘To be here again and have an opportunity, that’s a pretty good feeling. I’m going to give my 100%.”
Although no single game will make or break Ramos, it’s essential that he produces when he gets his chance because playing time might be scarce with the plethora of young infielders the Sox have. He helped his cause with a tying two-run double in the fifth inning.
Ramos watched as second baseman Chase Meidroth and shortstop Colson Montgomery ascended the organizational ladder. The Sox also acquired infielder Curtis Mead from the Rays in the Adrian Houser trade at the deadline. First baseman Tim Elko even forced his way into the team’s plans temporarily.
‘‘I try to conceptualize it ahead of these series,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘We’ll send out a mock lineup to our staff to get feedback on, just knowing that every day it’s going to change. There’s going to be more input on the decisions on what we do with the lineup.’’
Venable was noncommittal when he was asked about how much Elko might play down the stretch, but he said, ‘‘Some days [the lineup will] include Timmy being out there, some days it won’t.’’ Elko is another player Ramos will battle for playing time.
Ramos said the big leagues opened up his mind to how important consistency is in maintaining a major-league job. Venable said Ramos is still ‘‘highly regarded’’ in the organization, despite having been passed by some of the team’s top infield prospects.
‘‘I wouldn’t say [Ramos] was lost in the shuffle,’’ Venable said. ‘‘He just wasn’t playing in the field, especially in spring training, just with the arm. He’s one of our guys that we’re excited to take a look at and excited to have here making contributions.’’
Ramos appeared as a pinch runner for Meidroth in the eighth inning Monday. Tuesday was his first major-league start of the season.
‘‘[Montgomery and I] played through the same level at the same time, and then we always enjoyed watching each other play,’’ Ramos said. ‘‘My time was earlier than his, and I was [in the majors], and now [the young guys] are here. I just feel happy for him because he had the same goal, and then he made it this year. Now we’re here together. So it’s like we’ve never been apart.’’
Venable said to expect many of the young players to get chances in the lineup during the last month.
‘‘Every day we’re going to kind of balance these opportunities for these guys within the framework of doing everything we can to win,’’ Venable said.
