They lost Eloy Jimenez at the end of spring training.
Luis Robert went down with an injury in early May.
Yasmani Grandal got hurt in early July.
The White Sox have had to make do without several other banged up players for long stretches -- Adam Engel, Billy Hamilton, Michael Kopech and since traded Nick Madrigal come to mind -- but Jimenez, Robert and Grandal are star-quality talents.
Jimenez rejoined the Sox after missing almost four months with a ruptured left pectoral tendon, Robert was sidelined for three months with a torn right hip flexor, and Grandal was out for nearly two months with a torn tendon in his left knee that required surgery.
When Grandal returned from his minor-league rehab assignment Friday night and promptly hit a pair of 3-run homers and matched his career high with 8 RBI in a wild 17-13 win over the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox finally felt whole again.
"I said at the beginning of the year, in spring training, it takes the full 40-man roster in order to get through a season," Grandal said. "And I feel like we've done a really good job at that. The guys who have been coming up have been stepping up and helping us win. And now that we have everybody back, it's just a matter of getting accustomed to each other and accustomed to the lineup and the guys out on the field.
"It's only going to get better from here on out."
Grandal came back with a bang, as did Jimenez and Robert.
Returning to the Sox on July 26, Jimenez hit a game-winning 3-run homer at Kansas City in his second game back.
The left fielder has 8 home runs and 30 RBI in 29 games this season.
Robert came back on Aug. 9 and has been a two-way terror. In addition to hitting .382/.425/.676 with 5 homers and 13 RBI in 16 game after coming off the injured list, Robert's defensive play in center field has been Gold Glove caliber.
As starting pitcher Dylan Cease said Sunday after striking out 11 over 6 innings in a 13-1 win over the Cubs, the White Sox are a "scary team."
Robert agrees.
"With Grandal back, I think that the team is finally running on all cylinders," he said through a translator. "The team's complete. He was the piece that we were missing when he was on the IL. Everybody's healthy now and that's a plus for us. And we've shown what we can do when the team is complete."
Jimenez, Robert and Grandal are up and running, and manager Tony La Russa is making sure all three get enough time off while coming back from lengthy stints on the injured list.
"There's two sides to the fresh," La Russa said. "They are fresh, but it also means that you're not sure how much stamina they've got. It's like how it progresses in spring training. So we're going to watch them every day.
"The schedule plays in our favor because we're off Monday. They can all play Tuesday, Wednesday. We're off Thursday. Just watch them closely."
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August 31, 2021 at 07:11AM
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White Sox get triple boost of talent, energy - Daily Herald
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