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ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 White Sox outfielder Austin Hays<\/b> made it back for a couple of days from an injured right hamstring, but now he\u2019s on the injured list again with a Grade 1 strain of his left calf.<\/p>\n
To replace him on the roster, the Sox signed journeyman outfielder Randal Grichuk<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Grichuk, who recently was designated for assignment by the Yankees, will fill a slot for the time being. He\u2019s predominantly a platoon player or pinch hitter against left-handed pitching, as his career splits indicate: He\u2019s a .261 hitter against lefties and a .241 hitter against righties. He batted .194 for the Yankees and barely played, going 6-for-31 with no home runs and two RBI.<\/p>\n
Grichuk declined a minor-league assignment with the Yankees and opted for free agency again.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I had a weird start to the season,\u2019\u2019 Grichuk told reporters in the clubhouse before the opener of the Sox\u2019 three-game series against the Angels. \u2018\u2018I faced [Giants left-hander] Robbie Ray<\/b> in Game 2, and then we didn\u2019t face a left-hander for 13 days. We didn\u2019t do much pinch-hitting while I was there. I tried to get into a little rhythm at the end, which is all you can ask for.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
The Yankees already have another right-handed-hitting platoon player in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt<\/b>, who has been better hitting against lefties during the latter stage of his career. Goldschmidt hasn\u2019t seen much action in the field, either, with Ben Rice<\/b> having a breakout first month.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It was an interesting situation,\u2019\u2019 Grichuk said. \u2018\u2018Goldy wasn\u2019t playing. Then [designated hitter] Giancarlo Stanton<\/b> got hurt. It was weird there the last three or four days I was there.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Grichuk has bounced around a bit since the last trade deadline, going from the Diamondbacks to the Royals to the Yankees and now to the Sox. He said he\u2019s just glad to be in Chicago for a bit.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018With Hays going down, we needed a right-handed hitter on the roster,\u2019\u2019 Sox manager Will Venable<\/b> said. \u2018\u2018We feel really lucky we got him. He\u2019s a guy with a ton of experience that has performed really well in this league. We\u2019ll use him mostly against left-handed pitching. You\u2019ll see him in the outfield. You\u2019ll see him at DH. Maybe against some righties. We\u2019re excited to have him.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\nMore bad luck for Hays<\/h3>\n
Hays returned from a strained right hamstring and was in the lineup Friday against the Padres in San Diego. He had a single in four at-bats and left for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018You know how it goes: The first week playing on these things is always the worst,\u2019\u2019 he said the next day. \u2018\u2018Once you get through all that, it\u2019s fine.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He actually was suffering from pain in his left calf, which hasn\u2019t abated. He went on the 10-day IL, and utility player Tanner Murray<\/b> (broken and dislocated left shoulder) was shifted to the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n
What happened?<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I woke up with some soreness after the afternoon game at home [Wednesday],\u2019\u2019 Hays said. \u2018\u2018\u2018On the off-day [Thursday], I was hoping it was just some fatigue. But it was a little more sore, a little tender.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018So I played the first game in San Diego. Then we tried to give it a couple of days of rest. It just got tighter and worse with the rest, so we decided to get the MRI on it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n