Adolfo to hold off on surgery, DH in Minors

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox are hopeful that outfield prospect Micker Adolfo can avoid elbow surgery, at least for now, and perhaps open the season as the designated hitter for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem.
"He swings the bat without pain," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "The consensus from the doctors is that he will not do additional damage from hitting."
Adolfo was diagnosed with a tear in the flexor muscle and a strain of his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow after reporting soreness following throwing drills last week. Hahn cautioned that Adolfo -- the White Sox No. 14 prospect -- may still need surgery at some point.
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"Doesn't mean there won't potentially be a surgery to repair this later in the season," Hahn said. "The goal is let's get as many at-bats as we can reasonably get in 2018. We thought that was a preferable path to missing the entire '18 season.
"Now, as Micker knows, he has to speak up if something changes, if he starts feeling pain or for whatever reason, there's a change in there. Again, our doctors don't think there's a heightened risk from him hitting doing additional damage, and we don't foresee it being an issue. But if it is, we'll adjust."
For his part, Adolfo, who was limited to 91 games by injuries from 2015-16, was happy with the plan.
"It doesn't bother me hitting, so I'm really going to take advantage of this time and continue getting better as a hitter and figuring things out," he said. "Hopefully, that helps.
"It's like a blessing. The team knows what's best. We have a plan and hopefully that plan works out. I know it will. Obviously, it sucks that I'm not going to be able to play defense and continue working out in right field, but this is a major opportunity for me to get better at the plate. That's what they pay you for at the big league level."
Hansen to get call Thursday
Ten years from now, White Sox right-hander Alec Hansen may not remember how he did when he made his first appearance in a Major League uniform. For now, though, Thursday is a big deal.
His parents are flying in from Colorado, and Hansen is pretty sure "my legs will be shaking." And that's why he's in his first Major League camp to begin with. The White Sox wanted many of their top prospects here to help them become acclimated to things.
"Just getting to meet everyone has been good," Hansen said. "I think I only knew three or four people in this locker room before I got here. I feel like they wouldn't bring me here if they didn't think I had a chance to get called up. To me, that means a lot.
"Sometimes when [White Sox manager Rick] Renteria is speaking before we go out there, I'm kind of like, 'Wow, I'm in a big league locker room.' That's pretty cool to think how far I've come."

Hansen is one of the seven White Sox prospects -- officially No. 54 -- on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list and is coming off a successful first full pro season. He struck out 191 in 141 1/3 innings while making 26 starts at three levels, finishing with two starts at Double-A Birmingham.
"I was glad I made it through the whole year healthy and made all my starts," he said. "That was big to me. I want to do that again this year and hopefully climb through the ranks."
As for that first appearance on Thursday, he said, "It'll be exciting. I'll probably be a little nervous. I think an experience like that will make everything beyond that seem a little slower. That's when it starts to get easier."
Worth noting
• Designated hitter Matt Davidson drove in four runs, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, as the White Sox beat a Reds split-squad team, 8-5, on Sunday at Camelback Ranch.
• The White Sox rallied from a 4-0 deficit to score five runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth. The White Sox had 10 hits, including at least one from every starter.

• White Sox starter Jordan Guerrero allowed four runs in two innings as the first of six Chicago pitchers.
• Michael Kopech on Monday, Carson Fulmer on Tuesday and Lucas Giolito on Wednesday have the next three starting assignments for the White Sox.
• Renteria on rookie third baseman Jake Burger, the team's 2017 first-round Draft pick: "All I know is he's hit two balls that came off of his bat like rockets."