GLENDALE, Ariz. — Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, who missed time earlier this spring with a stiff low back, is now dealing with a sore right hip, manager Rick Renteria said Wednesday.
The 37-year-old power hitter, signed to a one-year, $12 million deal as a free agent in the offseason, is expected to be ready by Opening Day in two weeks, Renteria said, although a second injury setback, however minor, is something that bears watching in the coming days.
The Sox, who were rained out against the Rockies Wednesday, have an off day Thursday. Renteria said he expects Encarnacion to test the hip on Friday. He said Encarnacion’s back is fine.
“For all the torque that he creates [in his swing] they’re just making sure they immobilize him and get him back on track,” Renteria said. “We have him swinging again after we come off the off day to get him back on track, and then we’ll work toward getting him back in there and we should be able to get him quite a few games before we leave here.”
Encarnacion hasn’t played since Sunday, his fourth game after returning from the back issue. He’s 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts.
Encarnacion hit 34 homers in 109 games between the Mariners and Yankees last season, his eighth straight with 30 or more.
Kopech, the morning after
Michael Kopech’s 100-101 velocity show in his first outing Tuesday after Tommy John Surgery still had the Sox buzzing.
“First couple of pitches, pretty much off the charts,” Renteria said. “Yazy [catcher Yasmani Grandal] described it the best — electric.”
Kopech is expected to make two more Cactus League starts, the next Sunday at the Mariners. The Sox will limit his innings this season probably to no more than 150, and having postseason aspirations must weigh into that possibility, too. That’s one reason he won’t begin the season with the major league team.
“They’ll have a schedule in which they’ll monitor pitch counts and innings,” Renteria said. “I’m sure we’ll get to a point where once he rejoins ... structure it to manage it and get the most out of it.
“There are days off, there are times we can skip starts, any number of things we can do to keep him there and push him back. Anything to take advantage of as many starts as possible and still keep track of all the innings.”
As impressive as it was, Kopech’s performance did not change the plan for the 23-year-old who has pitched in only four major league games.
“No, all it did was validate that he’s healthy,” Renteria said.
A May return would most likely be the earliest.
Monitoring coronavirus
While monitoring the coronavirus pandemic on a daily basis and recognizing the fluidity of a quickly evolving situation, the Sox said any decisions about their schedule or venue changes will be made by Major League Baseball.
“While there is understandably a lot of speculation going on right now, any direct discussion of cancellations or venue changes for the White Sox would be premature,” said Scott Reifert, the team’s senior vice president of communications. “Thankfully, we do have some time remaining before Opening Day and will continue to work with MLB to keep our fans informed of any changes to future plans should circumstances require. For both MLB and the White Sox, the health and safety of our players, staff, employees and fans remains a top-most concern.”
