Tim Anderson of the White Sox will miss two to four weeks with a sprained knee

Chicago announced Tuesday that White Sox outfielder Tim Anderson will miss two to four weeks after spraining his left knee in Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Here’s what you need to know:

• Chicago placed Anderson on the 10-day injured list and recalled player Lenin Sosa from Triple-A Charlotte in a similar move.
• Anderson, 29, is hitting . 298 with 14 hits and four RBIs in 11 games this season

the athleteInstant Analysis:

How was Anderson injured?

Anderson suffered a knee injury during a rundown game in the fourth inning of Chicago’s 4-3 win over the Twins on Monday. With runners on first and second base, Minnesota’s Michael A. Taylor hit a home run routine to third baseman Hanser Alberto. As Matt Wallner got caught in the rundown between second and third, Alberto chased down Woolner before throwing a power-up second.

Then second baseman Elvis Andrus threw the ball toward third, but Alberto caught it and threw it to Anderson. The shortstop crouched down to catch the ball, and Woolner slid to Anderson near third base. Anderson momentarily gripped his knee in pain, and although he decided to stay in the game, it was later removed in the sixth.

“He felt some pain when it happened,” White Sox coach Pedro Grifoll said after the game. “He felt he could play through it and I toughened him up a little bit.”

Alberto took some of the blame for the rundown play as Anderson was injured: “That was poor communication between me and the TA. Because he called the play after I threw Elvis, so I should have moved out of the way. But it happened quickly.” – Vegan

What does this mean for the White Sox

The White Sox have a fairly proven backup shortstop in Andrus, who only shone last year as he satiated an injured Anderson defensively and out of the starting shortstop. For much of the offseason, the coaching staff had expressed faith in Romy Gonzalez’s ability to hold down the second base job if called upon, and just-called-up Sosa was hitting at Triple-A Charlotte as he planned to force his way into the mix in the Sooners. from later.

But this is Anderson, the MLB leader in batting average since 2019, and the catalyst for the White Sox offense since its eruption. Since returning to the playoffs in 2020, the Sox have 38 games over . 500 when Anderson plays and five games where he hasn’t. Already missing Eloy Jiménez and with Yoán Moncada sluggish with a sore back, Anderson’s always unsustainable loss makes it even more difficult for a team that started 5-6 despite having the seventh-most runs scored in baseball.

There is some solace in that this isn’t something that should keep Anderson away after the start of May. After major injuries sustained during normal baseball chores like swinging and running prompted the White Sox to overhaul some personnel and revise coaching practices, this setback was more of a freak accident than anything else. The 2021 AL Central-winning team weathered Anderson’s absence this long without falling apart, and both Jimenez and Moncada could be in the lineup by the end of the week to take some of the offensive load. But what the White Sox needed most to get back to where they were last year was a healthy season with their core players, and they’re not getting that. – Vegan

what are they saying

Anderson was visibly frustrated when he spoke about the injury on Tuesday.

“It’s very frustrating. You’re doing everything right to try to prevent from causing injury and it’s just something I can’t control,” he said. “I just have to deal with it.”

The shortstop said it “took a while” to feel the twist.

“I felt something strange but I didn’t know exactly what it was. It was a little irritating and I kind of played a round or two. I got hard and decided to get out.”

Pedro Grifoll was asked if he blamed Matt Wallner for the slide that hit Anderson.

“It was on us,” Grifoll said. “It was a poorly executed rundown. He did what he had to do. Unfortunately, it cost us Timmy on (IL) but I didn’t see anything wrong with that.”

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(Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty)