Chicago White Sox Super Star Out Until All-Star Break, Could Miss Rest of 2024

The Chicago White Sox have placed third baseman Yoan Moncada on the 10-day injured list, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

Moncada left Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians after falling on his way to first base in the second inning, needing help to get off the field. Manager Pedro Grifol told the media that Moncada had been diagnosed with a left adductor strain and would be re-evaluated Wednesday.

According to Grifol, Moncada had been dealing with lingering hip and adductor pain in the days leading up to Tuesday’s game. Moncada played through it, though, and his season may be lost as a result.

Moncada was batting .282 with three doubles, a stolen base, five walks, a .774 OPS and a 0.3 WAR in 11 games this season before he went down Tuesday. It looked like the 28-year-old infielder was in for a bounce-back season after a few consecutive injury-plagued and inefficient campaigns.

A back injury limited Moncada to 92 games in 2023. Oblique, quad, hamstring and foot injuries led to him appearing in just 104 games in 2022, as well. After playing in 86.1% of the White Sox’s games from 2017 to 2021, he could wind up appearing in 42.6% of their games between 2022 and 2024 if he is indeed out for the year.

Even when he was playing, Moncada wasn’t putting up great numbers as of late. He averaged 11 home runs, 44 RBI and a 1.5 WAR per season from 2020 to 2023, batting .243 with a .720 OPS.

Moncada had shown promise in the past, however, beyond the fact that he was once one of the top prospects in baseball. He hit .315 with 25 home runs, 79 RBI, a .915 OPS and a 5.2 WAR in 2019, establishing himself as one of the key pieces of the White Sox’s young core.

Chicago gave Moncada a five-year, $70 million extension that offseason, and he has largely failed to live up to it.

While Moncada is sidelined, the White Sox will slot 24-year-old Lenyn Sosa in as their starting third baseman. Chicago called up outfielder Oscar Colas from Triple-A Charlotte to take Moncada’s roster spot, so management appears to be content with Sosa as his replacement in the short term.