MINNEAPOLIS — The injury bug that laid waste to the White Sox’ roster last season was kept at arm’s length for all of 11 games.
With shortstop Tim Anderson expected to miss two to four weeks with a sprained left knee, he joined Eloy Jimenez (hamstring) and Joe Kelly (groin) on the 10-day IL. And there’s a good chance third baseman Yoan Moncada, who did not play Monday because of low back soreness, will likely miss the Twins series that concludes Wednesday.
Infielder Lenyn Sosa was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take Anderson’s spot on the roster.
A 2019 batting champ and two-time All-Star, Anderson was injured when the Twins’ Matt Walner slid over him near third base after a poorly executed rundown during the fourth inning of the Sox’ 4-3 win over the Twins Monday.
Anderson clutched his knee and writhed in pain momentarily, but got up and stayed in the game. He left in the sixth inning, replaced by Elvis Andrus, who moved over from second base.
“He felt a little bit of pain when it happened,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Monday. “He felt like he could play through it, and it stiffened up on him a little bit.”
Andrus will take over at shortstop while Anderson is out.
Anderson was limited to 79 games last season due to a sagittal band tear on his right middle finger and a groin strain that landed him on the IL. He had played in all 11 games this season and was off to a strong start on both sides of the ball, batting .298/.327/.404 as the leadoff man with five doubles and five stolen bases in five attempts.
Sosa, 23, is 13-for-29 (.448) with five doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and seven walks with a 1.384 OPS over nine games with Charlotte this season. Sosa can play shortstop, second base and third base.
Of all the Sox injuries, Anderson’s is probably the hardest to take, and not just because he’ll be out the longest. The Sox are 150-112 since 2020 when Anderson is in the starting lineup.
Third baseman Hanser Alberto, who hit a three-run homer Monday filling in for Moncada, said communication between him and Anderson on the play in which Anderson was hurt was “poor.”
“He called for the play after I threw to Elvis, so I should have gotten out of the way,” Alberto said. “But it happened fast.”
With runners on first and second and one out, Alberto fielded a ground ball by Michael Taylor and could have attempted to start a 5-4-3 double play but hesitated briefly before opting to catch Wallner in a rundown between second and third.
“You can [go that way],” Grifol said. “Of course. [Michael] Taylor is a pretty good runner down the line, so the route they took was also a pretty good route. Just go to second base, execute a rundown, inning over. So I don’t mind the thought process behind it. I just think the execution of the rundown it wasn’t there.”
Moncada, who made the all-tournament team playing in the World Baseball Classic for Cuba, dealt with back stiffness during the last couple of days of spring training. If he sits out Tuesday night, it makes sense to rest him in Wednesday afternoon series finale before the off day Thursday afternoon in hopes of having him ready this weekend.
Moncada was not in the dugout Monday. Grifol said he was getting treatment.
“A little back soreness, kind of the same thing that got him in the spring a little bit,” Grifol said. “He’s day to day. We’ll see with him as well.
“Moncada has had this nagging thing for a little bit. But 10 games in we’re going to err on the side of caution. If they miss a couple of games, they miss a couple of games.”
