Center fielder Luis Robert Jr.’s absence from the White Sox’ lineup lasted only two days.
But with the trade deadline on Thursday, he has a new ailment to worry about.
Robert was drilled in the forearm with a 101 mph pitch by Cubs closer Daniel Palencia in the ninth inning of the Sox’ 5-4 loss Sunday at Rate Field. X-rays taken after the game were negative.
“That one got him pretty good,” manager Will Venable said after the game.
Robert was a late addition to the lineup. After sitting out Friday and Saturday with a sore adductor muscle stemming from a stolen base on Wednesday, he eventually was deemed capable of serving as the designated hitter.
“The initial evaluation, he came in feeling better but still not in a spot where he could get out there in center field,” Venable said before the game. “We wanted to keep him plugged in and give him the opportunity to run around more, and he did. We talked about it, and he really talked his way into the lineup after that.
“We agreed that maybe center field wasn’t the best thing for him but that we could use his bat and that he was good to go to DH. We ended up making the change.”
Certainly, general manager Chris Getz’s front office would prefer to describe Robert as healthy to any potential suitors the next few days leading up to the deadline. The back-to-back maladies come in the middle of intense speculation over whether Robert could be on his way out of town.
He had been hitting well before missing the two games this weekend, with a .982 OPS in his previous 11 games.
Robert went 0-for-3.
Braden bumped up
The Sox promoted highly rated outfield prospect Braden Montgomery to Double-A Birmingham.
Montgomery, acquired in the trade that sent All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in December, is ranked as the No. 26 prospect in baseball and stands as a big piece of Getz’s rebuilding project.
This will be Montgomery’s third minor-league level in his first season of pro ball. He didn’t get into any post-draft action in the Red Sox’ organization last summer after suffering an ankle injury while finishing off his college career at Texas A&M.
Montgomery, 22, who represented the Sox in the Futures Game, slashed .260/.348/.445 in 69 games at Class A Winston-Salem.
“Just being in my first pro season, I’m kind of just taking it as a crash course, seeing how many different ways I can fail before I find the formula I want, the process I want, to get that consistent look that I eventually want to have,” Montgomery said this month. “Each day, I come closer in different facets. Some days are better than others, but it’s been good.
“Baseball is a lot of failure. But it’s been good, and I’m too drawn to it to ever stop getting back up after failing. So I’m going to keep going at it.”