Just returned from his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Jimmy Lambert is back on the injured list.
The young White Sox right-hander, who made his major league debut Saturday, landed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain Wednesday.
The South Siders brought pitcher Matt Foster up from the alternate training site in Schaumburg to take Lambert's place on the active roster. Foster was one of two players traveling with the team as part of its taxi squad.
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Lambert made the team's Opening Day roster and was part of the much ballyhooed pitching depth created by baseball's months-long layoff, which allowed him, along with fellow Tommy John patients Carlos Rodón and Dane Dunning, time to recover and be full-season options for the White Sox.
But just a few days into the 2020 campaign, that depth is already being used up fast, with starting pitcher Reynaldo López put on the injured list with shoulder soreness Monday and now Lambert heading there two days later.
Lambert, a fifth-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2016, established himself as a pitching prospect to pay attention to with a 2.88 ERA in five starts at Double-A Birmingham in 2018. He made 11 more starts there last season, with a 4.55 ERA, before his season came to an injury-induced end.
MLB
Lambert looked good during the team's "Summer Camp" earlier this month and earned a spot on the Opening Day roster as part of the bullpen. He debuted Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, pitching a scoreless inning. He did the same in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians before going on the injured list.
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Lambert's injury chips away at the safety net under a White Sox rotation that mostly faltered in its first turn this season. López, Rodón, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease all had poor showings in their first starts of the campaign. Gio González gave up more runs in relief of López than López did in a four-run first inning Sunday, and it is González replacing López in the rotation while the young right-hander is on the IL.
There are still starting-pitching options beyond the current starting five, though the depth has been reduced to long man Ross Detwiler, who's retired the first 15 batters he's faced in 2020, and Dunning, who is part of the player pool training in Schaumburg.
Foster's first appearance with the big league club will be his major league debut. He was drafted 15 rounds after Lambert in 2016. He posted a combined 3.25 ERA pitching at three different minor league levels in 2018 and 2019.