Avi Garcia heads back to DL with hamstring strain

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It's been a tough 2018 so far for Avisail Garcia.

The White Sox outfielder is heading back to the disabled list with a right hamstring strain, the same injury that put him out of action for two months earlier this season.

Garcia departed early from Sunday's loss to the Houston Astros with his hamstring once again bothering him. Back on April 23, he left a game against the Seattle Mariners with a hamstring injury and didn't return until late June.

This time, however, the DL stint interrupts what was a strong stretch for the 2017 All Star. Since his return, he slashed .333/.347/.783, raising his batting average nearly .050 points, homering eight times in 17 games and putting his season-opening slump in the rear-view mirror. A guy looking to prove that last season's breakout campaign was no fluke seemed capable of doing just that.

But this latest bout of hamstring tightness brings that to a screeching halt.

If Garcia can return after 10 days and pick up where he left off, he can most certainly keep his name in the conversation about the White Sox crowded outfield of the future. But should he once more miss weeks upon weeks or see his offense return to its April form, he could fall out of that conversation rather quickly and perhaps be overtaken by highly touted prospects like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Blake Rutherford, Micker Adolfo and Luis Alexander Basabe, to name a few.

To fill Garcia's vacated spot on the active roster, the White Sox added outfielder Ryan LaMarre, who was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on Monday. LaMarre slashed .263/.321/.313 in 43 games with the Twins before being designated for assignment earlier this month.

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