Where have you gone, Mike Tauchman?
For White Sox fans who might yearn for the “Palatine Pounder” after a spate of injuries that have thinned the ranks of the team’s healthy outfielders, be advised that Tauchman also is hurt.
Tauchman, who had the highest OPS of any Sox outfielder last season in his platoon role (.756), was on track to win a job in the Mets’ outfield as a non-roster player this spring until needing surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee late in camp.
On Tuesday, news came that outfielder Austin Hays, who pulled up lame the night before in a vain attempt to run down a fly ball that dropped in for a run-scoring hit, was put on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring. To take his place, the Sox selected the contract of outfielder Dustin Harris from Triple-A Charlotte, creating a spot on the 40-man roster by putting pitcher Mike Vasil (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day injured list.
Harris pinch-hit in the ninth inning and drew a leadoff walk, but he was stranded in the Sox’ 4-2 loss to the Orioles at Rate Field.
More startling was the belated announcement that outfielder Brooks Baldwin had undergone a season-ending ulnar collateral ligament procedure on his right elbow. On Monday, manager Will Venable said he had no update on Baldwin, who had been shut down after just eight games in spring training with soreness in his throwing elbow. The club announced Tuesday that Baldwin had undergone the procedure April 1 and is not expected back until the spring.
It appears there were no extenuating issues that delayed the announcement beyond the team’s hope Baldwin would avoid surgery.
Is there a solution to the lack of outfield depth? Well, 23-year-old Sam Antonacci, an unexpected star in the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy, is getting a crash course in outfield play after mostly playing infield. The change in position hasn’t affected Antonacci at the plate — he has a .346/.528/.615 slash line — and the Sox like the early returns in t
