Anderson out 2-4 weeks with left knee sprain
MINNEAPOLIS -- White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain on Tuesday. He is expected to miss two to four weeks. Infielder Lenyn Sosa was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move.
Anderson injured the knee in the sixth inning of Monday¡¯s 4-3 series-opening win against the Twins at Target Field. With runners on first and second and one out in the fourth, Michael A. Taylor hit a routine grounder to third baseman Hanser Alberto that looked as though it would be an inning-ending double play. Alberto seemed momentarily distracted by runner Matt Wallner's break toward third. Alberto chased him backward a couple of steps, then threw to second for the forceout.
Second baseman Elvis Andrus then threw the ball back toward third in an attempt to nab Wallner, but Alberto grabbed the throw and threw offline to Anderson. Anderson backpedaled, falling into a crouch and using his bare hand to knock down the errant throw, with Wallner's body colliding with the shortstop¡¯s left leg as he dove into the base.
¡°He felt a little bit of pain when it happened,¡± White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. ¡°He felt like he could play through it, and it stiffened up on him a little bit."
¡°That was poor communication between me and TA,¡± Alberto said. ¡°He called for the play after I threw to Elvis, so I should have gotten out of the way. But it happened fast.¡±
Wallner checks in at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, so he¡¯s not an easy player for the opposition to absorb a collision from.
¡°I¡¯m concerned always for our players, but I always worry about who he¡¯s running into more so than him,¡± Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. ¡°He seems to come out of those collisions with people and objects, he¡¯s been fine.
¡°And he¡¯s had a few of them. He had another one, I think, in Spring Training, where he dented a wall. He¡¯s a big man, and I don¡¯t know if he feels pain in a normal way. I think he¡¯s going to be OK.¡±
The White Sox also played without third baseman Yo¨¢n Moncada, who was getting evaluated during the game due to back soreness. He¡¯s listed as day-to-day.
¡°Moncada has had this nagging thing for a little bit,¡± Grifol said. ¡°But 10 games [into the season], we¡¯re going to err on the side of caution. If they miss a couple of games, they miss a couple of games.¡±
Andrus moved to shortstop and Romy Gonz¨¢lez took over at second base to start the sixth, with Gonz¨¢lez making a lead-saving defensive play on a Christian V¨¢zquez grounder in the eighth.