AL Notes: Moncada, Lewis, Glasnow

The White Sox could welcome third baseman Yoan Moncada back tomorrow, manager Pedro Grifol tells reporters, including James Fegan of The Athletic. It doesn’t seem to be confirmed yet but Moncada, who has been rehabbing with Triple-A Charlotte, won’t be playing with them tonight.

Moncada was off to a great start this year, hitting .308/.325/.564 through nine games before landing on the injured list with back tightness. It was later revealed that the pain was caused by a protruding disc that was touching a nerve. It seems he’s moved passed the issue, if the minor league numbers are any indication. He’s hit a comical .571/.667/1.071 through five rehab games for Charlotte. Getting Moncada back without missing a beat would be a tremendous boost for the Sox, who have also seen Moncada’s replacement Jake Burger hit the injured list recently.

2022 was a disappointing season for Moncada, who dealt with various injuries and hit just .212/.273/.353 in 104 games. But a healthy Moncada can be a gamechanger, as he showed with a .263/.375/.412 performance in 2021. With a 13-26 record, they’ll need a boost like that to help them get back into contention.

Some other notes from around the American League Central…

• Twins infielder Royce Lewis began a rehab assignment today with Double-A Wichita. As Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic writes, Lewis is expected to play both shortstop and third base during his rehab stint as he looks to recover from last year’s torn ACL. A shortstop for the majority of his career thus far, Lewis started spending a bit of time in the outfield last year in deference to Carlos Correa. Now that Correa is locked in as the shortstop in Minnesota for the foreseeable future, he probably has a better path to playing time at third, where the club just optioned José Miranda yesterday. The first overall pick in the 2017 draft, Lewis has long been considered one of the top prospects in baseball but has been frequently held back by injuries. He posted an excellent .300/.317/.550 batting line in his first 12 major league games last year before tearing the ACL in his right knee, the second year in a row he was felled by tearing that ligament.
• Rays’ fans were dealt a minor scare yesterday when Tyler Glasnow left his rehab outing after one inning because of some side soreness. The club maintained the removal was precautionary, and it doesn’t seem there’s any cause for concern. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters before tonight’s win over the Yankees that Glasgow’s tests came back clear and he’s expected to resume his rehab stint next Tuesday (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The big righty is ticketed for one following rehab start as he works back from an oblique strain that sent him to the IL to open the season. He should be back in the MLB rotation thereafter if all goes as planned. The Rays have had no issues without Glasnow, sprinting to a 30-9 start to open the year.