White Sox second baseman Brett Lawrie underwent an MRI on his tight left hamstring Friday and was "not feeling that good" when he got to U.S. Cellular Field, manager Robin Ventura said. The results of the MRI, though, didn't reveal anything that will land Lawrie on the disabled list.
Lawrie was removed from the White Sox 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers Thursday with the ailment. The fifth-year White Sox skipper already planned on resting Lawrie Friday in favor of Tyler Saladino, even though Lawrie initially didn’t feel like he’d be out for long.
“Today that changed,” Ventura said. “I was going to play Sal anyways, but seeing him move around and asking him questions about it, it became a little more questionable of how long. If he can't go today, you get a little vulnerable with only the three guys we have. We're getting him checked out to see possibly how many days it will be.”
Injuries to catcher Alex Avila (strained hamstring) and outfielder Austin Jackson (knee surgery) have already tested the White Sox depth, and both players are still several weeks away from coming off the disabled list.
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Friday will mark just the third start Saladino has had in the month of the July. He went 3-5 with a double in his last start, which came in the White Sox, 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Seattle Mariners July 20.
While the White Sox don’t yet know how many more days they’ll need Saladino to fill in, the 27-year-old said he’s worked to stay mentally prepared for whatever opportunities arise for him to play.
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“You don’t think about the time in between, you just think about the game, the day you got there,” Saladino said. “Do the same routine, and if something comes up, go out there and do your job.”