Roster news: Abreu back, Semien down, Avisail rambunctious

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Despite having a minor-leaguer plunk him in the elbow and ending his Saturday session looking rather ragged

Jose Abreu has survived his weekend slate of simulated games alive and will return to full action on Monday, where he will be forced to play defense in Los Angeles. Or he even could play left field instead of Adam Dunn. That would be fun.

Abreu doesn't promise to solve the White Sox problems with striking out all the time, or struggling to reach base, but he could probably help the .123 ISO they recorded in May. Paul Konerko went 7-for-43 with two home runs, two doubles and no walks in his absence.

Because everyone has to suffer for every victory, Marcus Semien was sent down to make room for Abreu on the roster and restore the blessed four first basemen (We're counting you, Dayan Viciedo) setup. 

With Gordon Beckham, Conor Gillaspie and Alexei Ramirez all demanding their playing time, Semien has made six starts in three weeks, so the hope would be he could find more plate appearances in the house that Jordan Danks built.

But with Micah Johnson, Carlos Sanchez, Matt Davidson, and Tyler Saladino on the roster, there's not an easy hole from him. Johnson and Dan Black both being the disabled list provide voids for him at the moment, but it's quickly become tough skating for the 2013 Southern League MVP.

Looking overmatched against right-handed pitching wasn't big for Semien's prospect buzz, but he's still only 23-years-old. Hopefully someone can stay hurt at all times to give him opportunities. I guess.

Meanwhile, on the Isle of Isolation and Delusion, Avisail Garcia is optimistic that the steady increase in range of motion in his surgically repaired left shoulder bodes well for a possible return to the field in 2014.

He has zero organizational support in this pursuit — for now, thankfully — and even if he cleared his rehab ahead of schedule, he'd probably just be relegated to simulated action until the Spring.

It's good to never rule out any radically insane short-sighted action taking place if the Sox are in breathing distance of a playoff spot, but they're probably not crazy enough to do this. Also, Avisail is totally out of the ballpark on his recovery schedule.

 

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