The White Sox will be without left-hander Martin Perez’s pitching services for a while, but he’s hoping he still will be able to provide plenty for them.
Perez estimated Friday an absence of 10 to 12 weeks while he recovers from a strained left flexor, an injury that landed him on the 60-day injured list.
But Perez, who won’t be able to eat innings as the elder statesman in an otherwise-youthful Sox rotation, still plans to do what he can for his teammates during his injury rehabilitation.
‘‘I don’t want to be just watching games in the dugout and not doing my job,’’ Perez said. ‘‘It’s something I will always have in mind every day when I come here: ‘What am I going to do after I finish with my workout that day?’ I’m going to try to be in the bullpen, talking with the guys, talking with the starters, trying to tell them something so they can get better, that can help them to be a better person or a better player.
‘‘That’s part of my job. That’s how I think. I’m not pitching, but I’ve got to do something, especially on the mental side, for these guys.’’
Even before he went down with the injury, Perez, a veteran of parts of 14 major-league seasons, was lauded for his role as a fount of wisdom for this pitching staff.
‘‘Having him here is like having another coach,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘Probably better than another coach, right? He’s as valuable a resource as any of us for these pitchers. And we’re lucky to have him around.’’
That might be the best value the Sox can get out of Perez now that he’s on the shelf. Even if his return comes relatively quickly, general manager Chris Getz would figure to have a hard time getting much at the trade deadline for a pitcher coming off an arm injury.
But Perez does think he’ll be pitching for the Sox before the summer is over.
‘‘I want to pitch again,’’ Perez said. ‘‘I don’t want to rush it. I just want to feel 100% to be back and pitch at some point. . . .
‘‘I’m trying to think about, ‘When is going to be the moment when I’m going to pitch again?’ I know it’s going to be this year, but I don’t know when.’’
Three-headed monster
Three of the Sox’ top prospects — Noah Schultz (No. 1), Hagen Smith (No. 3) and Grant Taylor (No. 7) — are part of the same rotation at Double-A Birmingham.
What’s it like to be part of that pitching staff?
‘‘Those guys are both extremely hard workers; they are both winners,’’ Taylor said of Schultz and Smith during a media session Friday. ‘‘That can only add to my game, being around them, watching how they work, watching their mindset.
‘‘That’s something to compete with. There’s friendship. You always want to stack good days on each other and see who comes out on top. It’s really good for all of us because there’s friendly competition within the team and there’s also competition we get to go after every five days. It can only be a benefit for us to be together and learn from each other.’’
Rockin’ Robert
Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. might be coming out of his early-season slump. He smoked a solo home run in the fifth inning of the Sox’ 7-3 victory Friday against the Astros at Rate Field.
In his last seven games, he’s 9-for-26 with three homers, eight RBI, seven runs scored, six walks and six stolen bases.
The homer was the 500th hit of Robert’s career.