Luis Robert’s rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte is complete. The center fielder will join the White Sox in Minneapolis and is expected to start in center field Monday when the Sox open a three-game series against the Twins.
Robert, 23, suffered a Grade 3 strain of his right hip flexor running to first base on May 2 and has been out since. He began his rehab assignment July 21 at High-A Winston-Salem.
“It was official this morning,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said as the team prepared to complete a three-game series against the Cubs Sunday night at Wrigley Field.
“The guys are fired up, we’re all fired up.”
The runnerup for the American League Rookie of the Year in 2020 and the Gold Glove winner among AL center fielders, Robert was hitting .316/.359/.463 with one home run, one triple, nine doubles and eight RBI in 25 games when he got hurt.
Eloy Jimenez returned from a torn pectoral muscle suffered in spring training and has played in nine games since returning July 26. The Sox, with a 10 1/2 game lead in the AL Central, are getting their full team together for the final two months of the season and the expected postseason.
“To have them both on there at the same time and getting [catcher Yasmani Grandal] back one of these days, that’s something we look forward to,” La Russa said.
Grandal, coming back from knee surgery, has been working out with the team and could be going on a rehab assignment soon, perhaps in a week or two.
“He’s very impatient and pushing it but the training staff is monitoring it, holding him back, but he’s making a lot of progress,” La Russa said. “Knock on wood he’ll be back sooner that we expected.
“We expect him to play tomorrow and once you’re in person, I don’t know he couldn’t play back to back. But no matter how much you work out, when you play in the major leagues with the stress level there and the determination to dig a little deeper, you want to make sure we don’t have a little setback like we did with Eloy.”
Jimenez missed five days after experiencing groin soreness in his third game back.
“Communication, and go day to day,” La Russa said.
“It’s going to be fun,” Jimenez said. “He’s one of the best players we have.”
