Chicago White Sox Activate Chase Meidroth, Place Gage Workman On Injured List
CHICAGO – The White Sox activated Chase Meidroth from the injured list on Thursday and placed fellow infielder Gage Workman on the 10-day injured list with a right hip flexor strain.
Meidroth, the team's No. 8 prospect, is leading off Thursday and playing shortstop. He made his MLB debut April 11, but was placed on the 10-day injured list with right thumb inflammation after appearing in nine games.
"It feels great," Meidroth said before Thursday's game. "Swung yesterday and it felt normal."
"You just control what you can. Be in the training room, be in the weight room, try to get my body right so when I come back, something like this doesn’t pop up again. It was kind of freak thing, but make sure my body is right when I come back."
Meidroth last played on April 20 against the Red Sox. Through his first 31 plate appearances, he totaled four runs, seven hits, one RBI, one stolen base, five walks and four strikeouts, good for a .269/.387/.269/.656 slash line.
White Sox manager Will Venable commented pregame on what he's looking for in the 23-year-old's development.
“Just to continue to do what he’s been doing. Really like his approach," Venable said. "Obviously, he’s been patient. If there’s one thing that I’ve been on him about is just letting it loose in the heart of the plate more and being more aggressive at times. At the same time that’s just in his DNA to be a selective hitter. I don’t want to change who he is, but I think in time that he’ll learn that he needs to be aggressive and get some good swings off early in the count on pitches over the heart.”
Despite not being able to play, Meidroth felt he was still able to learn while on the injured list. On Tuesday, he used the Trajekt machine in the batting cage to simulate an at-bat against Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta.
He also made sure to follow the games closely.
"It’s almost like if you watch it the right way, it’s almost like you are playing," Meidroth said.
"Just kind of being locked in on every pitch. Seeing how some of the, even other teams, you watch guys like some of the best players in the game like [Christian] Yelich and we had a chance to go to Sacramento and [Brent] Rooker and guys like that, you watch them and how they go about their business and how they take their at-bats and how they play the game and how they get down the line. It’s everything. You can learn a lot as a young guy from doing that."
The White Sox acquired Workman Saturday in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations. He went 0-for-2 in his only two plate appearances with the White Sox, a pinch-hit at-bat and starting for the first time with his new team on Wednesday.
"I think it was the ground ball he ended up making an error on," Venable said of when Workman's injury occurred. "I haven’t talked to him directly about that, but that’s what he mentioned to our trainers."
The White Sox could also get infielder Josh Rojas back soon. He hasn't played this season due to a fractured right toe.
"He's doing great," Venable said. "A couple games now rehabbing. I would expect that you would see him shortly, assuming that the next couple days go well for him."
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack