Nearing return from injured list, pitcher Shane Smith itching to be part of White Sox’ winning ways

The White Sox’ winning ways and good feelings coming out of the All-Star break?

They’ve done it all without the guy who represented them at the Midsummer Classic.

‘‘I want to be a part of this,’’ rookie right-hander Shane Smith said Saturday, ‘‘and get out there and put up a good start for the team and have us keep rolling. Watching it has been the most fun we’ve had all year.’’

The Sox hadn’t even played a game after the break when Smith sprained his ankle during a team workout the day before their 5-1 road trip through Pittsburgh and Tampa, Florida, began. He went to the injured list shortly thereafter and has been there while his teammates have thumped opposing pitching, scoring 61 runs in the first seven games out of the break before falling 6-1 on Saturday to the Cubs.

Smith figures to be back soon. He threw three innings’ worth of live batting practice Saturday, and now the Sox will reevaluate and figure out their next steps. Smith said he would like to rejoin the team without a rehab assignment, but manager Will Venable wasn’t sure whether one would be necessary or not.

The Sox’ recent success might have Smith feeling left out, but there might be some silver linings for him. He started the season tremendously, compiling a 2.37 ERA through his first 13 starts to earn that All-Star nod, but he struggled in his final five starts before the break, with an 11.29 ERA in those games.

While his preference was to spend the Sox’ hot streak pitching, maybe it’s nice for the one guy who didn’t get any time off this month to get some now.

‘‘Sure, I think it can be,’’ Smith said of the idea of this IL stay being a reset of sorts. ‘‘All I’m trying to do [is] make sure the body is in the right spot and make sure the mechanics and delivery are in the right spot.’’

Then there’s what figures to be the Sox’ plans for Smith in the final couple of months of the season.

Who knows whether he’ll get the same treatment left-hander Garrett Crochet did last season? The Sox pitched Crochet every five days but only for a few innings at a time in an effort to preserve his health coming off injuries and in his first season as a big-league starter.

Smith, too, is in his first season as a big-league starter, though with no previous major-league experience under his belt. His 94„ innings last season in the Brewers’ system are his career high as a pro. He already has pitched 86‰ innings this season with the Sox.

‘‘I’m just hoping to get the ball every five days,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I get it. I think the biggest thing is making sure you have enough workload for the next year. It’s the fine line between, ‘Do you throw 180 innings — or whatever it is — in one year, and then the next year you throw 200? Or do you make sure you have a good balance of whatever the number looks like this year going in strong and full for the next one?’ ’’

The Sox haven’t been specific about their plans for Smith, but general manager Chris Getz has made it known the team plans to manage the workloads of all their young starting pitchers.

‘‘The health of our young pitchers — or any pitcher, for that matter — is the priority,’’ Getz said last month. ‘‘They’re obviously vital to the future success of this organization. We’re going to be smart.

‘‘The goal is not to shut down anyone. If there comes a point in the season where that’s the wise thing to do, we’ll do that. But we want these players to experience a full season at the major-league level.’’

If his thoughts on the Sox’ surge are any indication, Smith obviously wants to be out there.

His return to the Sox should come soon, perhaps with the benefit of a midsummer reset. Then it’ll be time to find out what team brass has in store for him, given that he is a big piece of the Sox’ pitching future.