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Chicago White Sox news: Luis Robert Jr. and Bryan Ramos injury updates — plus a jolt from Corey Julks

lamond pope, chicago tribune
·4 min read
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TORONTO — The Arizona Complex League White Sox will have an All-Star in Wednesday’s lineup as Luis Robert Jr. has been given the OK for game action.

The center fielder is scheduled to play five innings and see time in the outfield as he continues to work his way back from a right hip flexor strain.

“He feels really good,” Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said before Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. “They have a day off on Thursday and we’ll crank him up for a couple of games and we look forward to sending him out on a rehab (assignment with an affiliate).

“And then it becomes day-to-day, see what happens.”

Robert sustained the injury in the ninth inning of the April 5 game against the Kansas City Royals as he legged out a double at Kauffman Stadium. He went on the injured list the next day.

He is 6-for-28 (.214) with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs in seven games this season.

The Sox received more good news on the injury front, as third baseman Bryan Ramos joined Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Ramos has been on the IL retroactively since May 15 with a left quad strain. He suffered the injury running the bases during the first game of a May 14 doubleheader against the Washington Nationals at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Here are three more takeaways as the Sox continued their series at Rogers Centre.

1. Zach Remillard starts in left field in the right-handed stacked lineup.

Second baseman Nicky Lopez was the only left-handed batter starting Tuesday for the Sox, who stacked their lineup with right-handed hitters while facing Blue Jays lefty Yusei Kikuchi.

Zach Remillard made his first start of the season in left field. He entered the game slashing .333/.474/.533 (5-for-15) since returning from Charlotte on May 8.

“We wanted to get as many right-handers as we possibly can in the lineup,” Grifol said. “Zach did a good job (during the weekend series) in New York. He’s versatile. He’s comfortable anywhere on the field other than probably catching.

“He does a good job anywhere. It’s a luxury to have.”

Left-handed hitting Andrew Benintendi has made a team-leading 41 starts in left field — including seven against a left-handed pitcher. He started against New York Yankees lefty Nestor Cortés on Friday, but did not start Sunday when the Yankees had another lefty — Carlos Rodón — on the mound. Benintendi is 3-for-34 against left-handers this season.

“I’m playing Remillard because I think it’s a better matchup against Kikuchi,” Grifol said. “It gives (Benintendi) some time to get some extra work in with (hitting coach) Marcus (Thames) and our hitting guys and see if he can get going.”

Benintendi is slashing .190/.218/.276 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 43 games. He’s 1-for-13 on the trip.

2. Corey Julks provides a jolt in early action.

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Recently acquired Corey Julks was back in the starting lineup Tuesday, playing right field.

Julks had two extra-base hits in his first three games with the team, including a home run on Sunday against the Yankees.

“I definitely want to come here and help the team win and do my part,” Julks said. “Just play the game hard and have some fun with the boys.”

Playing left field on Sunday, Julks also robbed Jose Trevino of a home run.

“The ball was going to be close to the wall at least,” Julks said. “I was trying to get back there as fast as I could, feel for the wall and just try to make a good play.”

According to Sports Info Solutions, Julks joined Robert (twice in 2023), Eloy Jiménez (July 4, 2019), Adam Engel (Aug. 12, 2018) and Jermaine Dye (June 8, 2009, and April 18, 2007) as the only Sox players in the last 20 years to hit and rob a home run in the same game.

3. Jared Shuster impresses in relief role.

A day after his first major-league relief appearance, three shutout innings on April 8 against the Cleveland Guardians, Jared Shuster told the Tribune, “Once I’m out there, (it’s) doing the same thing — pitching. It doesn’t matter what inning it is.”

Shuster has continued to be effective in a relief role for the Sox, with a 2.00 ERA in seven appearances entering Tuesday. While he’s largely been called on to give the Sox length, Grifol pointed to a May 11 outing against the Guardians — when Shuster did not allow a run while pitching the seventh and eighth — as an example of his ability in leverage situations.

“I wouldn’t at all hesitate to throw him in there in a leverage situation,” Grifol said. “He’s done a really good job. He’s earned the right to pitch in those innings.”

Sox relievers as a group had a 2.48 ERA in their last 17 games coming into Tuesday.