Chicago White Sox first baseman Miguel Vargas was in serious pain after a collision on Aug. 28 against the New York Yankees.
He had attempted to receive a throw from third baseman Curtis Mead in the fifth inning at Rate Field. The ball and Aaron Judge arrived at the same time.
Vargas exited the game with a left hand sprain.
Vargas went on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 29 and recovered quickly to return to the Sox lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rate Field.
“Really happy that he was able to recover,” manager Will Venable said before Wednesday’s game. “Yeah, when it happened I thought something might have been broken with a collision with Judge like that and how he responded. But he really went to work on the treatment.
“The training staff did a good job. Miguel did a great job doing the things he needed to do to get healthy. And I think there’s probably still a little bit of pain in there, but nothing that’s going to hold him back. He’s excited to be out there like we’re excited to have him.”
The Sox reinstated Vargas from the IL while optioning third baseman Bryan Ramos to Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox also recalled pitcher Sean Burke from Charlotte and designated reliever Dan Altavilla for assignment. Burke started Wednesday’s game.
Vargas entered Wednesday slashing .234/.315/.404 with 30 doubles, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs and 69 runs in 121 games.
“He’s one of our tone-setters on the field, in the dugout, in the clubhouse,” Venable said. “To have him back on the field means a lot for our group and excited to have him out there.”
Vargas made his way back without having to go on a minor-league injury rehab assignment.
“It being a shorter stint on the IL and these last couple of days being able to get inside (to work) on the Trajekt (machine), (he) really challenged himself,” Venable said. “He’s been on the field these last few days getting some work in. So we’re confident he’s going to be ready to go.”
Burke returns from Charlotte after accumulating a 7.82 ERA in three starts with the Knights. The opening day starter for the Sox was optioned on Aug. 18 after going 4-10 with a 4.28 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 24 games (20 starts) this season.
“It’s all about strikes,” Venable said. “We’ve seen it kind of pop up early in his starts often. And specifically to left-handed hitters. He went to work on it. Mixed results early, the first couple of starts there. Some of the underlying stuff was a lot better than it looked on paper. And a really good one in his last one (three runs in six innings with seven strikeouts on Sept. 3 against Jacksonville). He’s in a good spot.”
Burke’s next steps in 2025 beyond Wednesday remain to be seen.
“It’s fair to say we’re all taking this day by day,” Venable said. “With where we’re at with our bullpen, just knowing that we have work to do just to get through today and then figure out tomorrow, tomorrow. But we certainly still value Sean and expect him to pitch for us down the road.
“We’re a long ways away from having a conversation about next year, but certainly we think very highly of him. We selected him as our opening-day starter and he’s pitched really well at times. And confident that he’s going to get back to the best version of himself and the best version of him is absolutely a starter in the major leagues.”
The immediate future for center fielder Luis Robert Jr., as in a return this season, was also a topic on Wednesday. Robert went on the injury list on Aug. 27 with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain.
“It feels like we’re running out of time,” Venable said. “No decisions have been made. We’re still taking it day by day with him, but it feels like we’re going to be up against it. Some of the early progress, maybe not there to kind of get excited about momentum and getting to a spot where we could get him built back up and put him on the field.
“We’re not sticking the fork in him yet, but we acknowledge we’re probably running out of time here.”