White Sox general manager Chris Getz told reporters on Friday that the organization expects an earlier return for Yoán Moncada.
Against the Guardians series, Moncada strained his adductor while running to first base. He pulled up and collapsed just before the bag, needing assistance from the trainers to depart the field.
Moncada was initially given a 3-6 month timetable for a return from an injury he described as the most painful of his career. But the White Sox expect a return from their third baseman on the earlier end of that range.
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"We have gained a little more information on Yoán and we're a little bit more optimistic on a return than initially thought, which is positive news," Getz said Friday. "... Our hope is sometime after the All-Star break."
How did the White Sox come to that conclusion?
"Initially, you go through your usual scans and with an injury like the one he's dealing with the medical team is pretty broad, both inside and outside the organization," Getz said. "Sometimes you go outside the baseball realm, you look at other sports industries that maybe there's a common theme in another league.
"And, in this case, we were able to do that. Through those conversations, we were able to estimate an earlier return than we initially thought."
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As for Luis Robert Jr. --- who's dealing with a hip flexor strain that handed him a 6-8 week timeline --- Getz said they expect him to return in six weeks. That includes, as Getz mentioned, a minor league rehab stint in that expected time frame.
White Sox injuries aren't a new development for this era of the South Side squad, unfortunately. In 557 possible games (since 2020) of Moncada, Robert Jr. and Eloy Jimenez taking the field together, they've only done so in 161 games. They've played just 28.9% of possible games together due to injuries.
MORE: Why does the White Sox's top brass keep getting injured? A look into their tortured injury history
And sadly, all three players are sidelined with non-contact injuries. They all suffered their respective injuries while running to first base, which has been an issue dating back to Tony La Russa's managerial stint.
It's difficult to play the blame game. Injuries are usually an ineffable occurrence. But the White Sox have crafted an anomaly regarding perennial team injuries.
As always, however, they're working back from them.
"When you have injuries of that significance, it's heart-wrenching," Getz said. "I know there's that period of you're down and disappointed. But you've got to be resilient and continue to focus each day on getting better. And those guys are determined to get back healthy as quickly as they can."