Colson Montgomery Returns to Lineup After Day Off for Soreness

ATLANTA — Colson Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox shortstop, did not play against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday due to soreness on his left side. The rookie’s absence was precautionary, and he expressed his desire to be in the lineup. ‘These times where you can have maybe a day or two, you definitely go back and look at when you were rolling, when you were feeling good,’ Montgomery said.

Montgomery experienced the soreness during the sixth inning of Monday’s game, prompting his early exit after going 0-for-3 with a walk. ‘I don’t know if it’s something to do with the heat going on. It felt like a little cramp in the side. They weren’t going to take the risk,’ he explained.

On Wednesday, Montgomery was back in the lineup for the final game of the series at Truist Park. Manager Will Venable expressed relief that the situation was not serious. ‘Excited to have him back out there. Really just happy that this wasn’t a major issue, and he was back feeling good,’ Venable said.

During the road trip, Montgomery struggled, going 2-for-16 in his first four games with two runs and a walk. He also entered Wednesday tied for sixth in the majors since the All-Star break with 26 RBIs and 10 home runs.

In reflecting on his performance, Montgomery noted the importance of consistency. ‘Sometimes you show you can do damage (at the plate), they will try to see if you chase and things like that,’ he said. ‘Sticking more to my plan and my approach rather than what they want to do to me. That’s the difference in sometimes you going into an at-bat and you know what they are going to do, but you have to know what you want to do.’

Montgomery mentioned that pitchers have been adjusting their strategy against him. ‘(They) start offspeed and try to steal strikes with fastballs late in the count,’ he stated. Venable recognized the need for Montgomery to adapt, saying, ‘We know that you come up in this league, you’ve got a couple of days to sneak attack some people, and then they start figuring you out, and then it’s your turn to make an adjustment.’

As of Wednesday, Montgomery had a .220/.285/.492 slash line with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs in 38 games. He remarked on his experiences this season, saying it has been ‘awesome’ and that he is learning from the highs and lows he has encountered.

The White Sox also announced the placement of right-handed pitcher Elvis Peguero on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow strain. In a corresponding move, the team recalled a right-hander from Triple-A Charlotte.