Luis Robert Jr. returns to White Sox’ lineup but gets drilled with pitch as trade deadline nears

Luis Robert Jr.’s absence from the White Sox’ lineup lasted just two days.

But with the trade deadline just days away, he’s got a new ailment to worry about.

The Sox’ center fielder was drilled in the forearm with a 101 mile an hour pitch by Cubs closer Daniel Palencia in the ninth inning of a 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 Sunday’s lineup. After sitting out Friday and Saturday with a sore adductor muscle stemming from a stolen base last Wednesday, the Sox eventually deemed Robert able to serve as the designated hitter after pregame workouts.

“The initial evaluation, he came in feeling better but still not in a spot where he could get out there in center field,” Venable explained 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 utilize his bat and that he was good to go to DH. We ended up making the change.”

Certainly, Chris Getz’s front office would prefer to describe Robert as healthy to any potential suitors over the next few days leading up to Thursday’s 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 prior to missing the two games this weekend, with a .982 OPS in his previous 11 games. Robert was 0-for-3 in Sunday’s loss.

Braden bumped up

The Sox promoted highly rated outfield prospect Braden Montgomery to Double-A Birmingham on Sunday.

The 22-year-old 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 ongoing 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, who represented the White 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 earlier 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.”