Vaughn rejoins White Sox after whirlwind week

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It's been a whirlwind few days for White Sox outfielder Andrew Vaughn.

Wednesday, Vaughn played the first Triple-A game of his career with the Charlotte Knights.

Two days later — and a two-homer game later — he was back with the White Sox, who flew him in from Charlotte and activated him off the injured list.

“Yeah, it happened very fast,” said Vaughn, who met the media Friday afternoon only about an hour after getting back to Chicago.

No kidding.

Friday marks two weeks since Vaughn last played for the Sox. He got hit by a pitch on his right hand April 29 against the Angels and went on the IL a few days later.

He wasn’t in Friday’s starting lineup against the Yankees after suiting up for Charlotte Thursday and catching a late flight to Chicago.

"He just got here a couple hours ago so give him a nice workout and he can play the next two games," Tony La Russa said pregame Friday. "Watched him in the cage, he looks good.

"Glad to get him back quickly."

Vaughn sure looked ready to rejoin the South Siders while on his rehab assignment. He went 2-for-3 with Charlotte on Thursday, hitting a pair of long home runs.

“The first day I was telling everybody I was test driving it, and just seeing if it worked still,” said Vaughn of his 0-for-4 performance Wednesday, his first rehab game with the Knights. 

“It felt really good. [Thursday] I stuck to my approach and kept playing baseball.”

Vaughn got a cortisone short but had limited mobility in the hand due to the swelling, he said. He called Thursday’s results a “bonus,” because his biggest key was getting healthy.

“When you’re hurt, you’re trying to get back as quick as possible, but you really can’t rush things,” Vaughn said. “So I took my time and got myself right.”

Vaughn said he has a bone bruise and anticipates feeling it for “a while.”

“It's going to be sore, but I just got to play through it,” he said.

But the White Sox are happy to have him back. Even with the missed time, Vaughn is tied for the team-lead in home runs (four) and holds a .283/.367/.566 in 16 games this season.

It also puts their lineup a step closer to being full strength. Yoán Moncada came off the IL on Monday, and Eloy Jiménez hopes to return “sooner than later” after undergoing surgery for a torn right hamstring tendon recently.

"He was swinging the bat good,” Moncada said of Vaughn. “If you put him in the lineup, it's going to be big for the team and it's going to carry our offense. 

“It's going to be even better."

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