The White Sox pulled Austin Hays from his rehab assignment after continued calf soreness, delaying the veteran outfielder's return for a surprising White Sox team in the playoff hunt.
The addition of outfielder Austin Hays in free agency was one of my favorite moves the Chicago White Sox made all offseason.
Hays may not be a big-ticket free agent, and he may not jump out when putting together the lineup card, but adding him to this team was supposed to provide some veteran leadership to a young developing core and give the Sox another quality everyday player to improve the overall roster depth.
When you've had a clear lack of talent for so many years, quality big leaguers like Hays are an improvement. And it was important in my eyes for the White Sox to add established players if they were serious about wanting to take a step forward.
Unfortunately for both parties, injuries have prevented Hays from making any significant contributions to the team this year, which is shocking considering the White Sox have a 32-28 record.
Hays last played for the White Sox on May 1. This is also his second IL stint of the year, with the first coming in early April due to a hamstring strain and the most recent one due to a calf strain.
And just as it seemed like Hays was on his way back, he had been playing for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on a rehab assignment, another setback is going to keep him from rejoining the White Sox.
Chicago announced this week that Hays was being pulled back from his rehab assignment after he continued to experience soreness in his calf.
Fortunately, plenty of unexpected heroes have stepped up to keep the White Sox competitive in the outfield this season. Tristan Peters has been one of the most valuable rookies in baseball out of nowhere, and Randal Grichuk has done an admirable job of replacing Hays as the veteran bat in a platoon role against left-handed pitching.
Still, the return of Hays will give Chicago added depth and help them dump some dead weight. Luisangel Acuña has overstayed his welcome at this point, and it would give the White Sox an opportunity to regularly hedge their bets with quality bats coming off the bench and a lineup that is dangerous from top to bottom.
Injuries are always a risk when it comes to veteran free-agent additions, especially someone like Hays, who has a history of nagging injuries, something he feels has hindered his value on the open market.
But the sooner the White Sox can get him back, the sooner we can see this team at full strength as it was put together in the offseason.
