Mitchell Injury Hurts More Than You Think

    When Jared Mitchell was carted off the field last Friday, the White Sox lost more than just another minor league outfielder vying for time with the big club.  They lost an extremely valuable commodity for the 2010 season.  For those not familiar with the situation, Mitchell, a first round draft choice out of LSU last June, was playing in a spring game against the Angels when the injury occurred.  He had already been reassigned to the minors but was being used as a defensive replacement and when Juan Rivera skyed a ball into the outfield, Sox fans saw why Mitchell had been earning himself such high praise this spring.  He went running back on the ball, did a full out dive and still came down with the catch moments before crashing into the wall.  Mitchell, visibly shaken, did not move for a few moments and the trainers immediately hit the field to come to his aid.  After a brief examination, the trainers summoned for the cart and Mitchell was taken into the clubhouse and subsequently to the hospital for x-rays, an MRI and a multitude of other tests to diagnose the problem.

     The results the White Sox received were not pleasant.  According to doctors, Mitchell suffered from a torn tendon in his left ankle which will require surgery to repair and likely wipe out his entire 2010 season.  A full rehab schedule wasn’t given, but the liklihood of a return this season is more than highly doubtful.  When asked about Mitchell’s status and recovery, manager Ozzie Guillen said, “It’s supposed to be about a year. We have to wait to see after surgery happens. Hopefully, everything goes well. The more important thing after that is the rehab, and hopefully, he’ll get back pretty quick. We’ll see what happens.”

     Now for some, this might not be that big of a deal.  The White Sox are predominately a veteran team and there was little or no chance for any of the rookies, save for maybe Daniel Hudson, to get an opportunity to break camp with the big club.  Guys like Juan Pierre, Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios are locked into multi-year deals and Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay and Alejandro De Aza are experience major leaguers fighting for playing time.  So if Mitchell’s future with the Sox is a couple of years away, why such a fuss?  Because this puts a serious crimp on our roster flexibility and potential trading for this year.

     We’ve all heard the speculation that the White Sox were a possible destination for Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and while the price tag seems to continue to remain at Gordon Beckham, there was still the remote possibility of getting a deal done with other budding stars such as Mitchell.  Not to mention, the slew of other players that should be made available at the deadline, such as impending free agent sluggers like Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena or even Albert Pujols, whom the Cardinals might not be able to afford anymore.  The White Sox should be in a position this year to become buyers at the trade deadline rather than sellers, and make that push for the playoff race.  But without such a valuable commodity such as Mitchell, it becomes tougher for us, what with our depleted minor league system.

     There’s even more to this than I’m letting onto right now, but that will wait until after I talk to you all about my interview with Rick Hahn, VP of Operations and Assistant GM of the White Sox.  We discussed the farm system, the roatating DH slot and a mess of other things, so I’ll sign off now with the promise of enlightening you later.  There were some good things to hear from him, and if you read between the lines, there could be plenty on the horizon.  Stay patient and I’ll be right back.

Tags: Alejandro De Aza, Alex Rios, Andruw Jones, Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox, Daniel Hudson, Gordon Beckham, Jared Mitchell, Juan Pierre, Mark Kotsay, White Sox