Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz will be out of the White Sox’ rotation while he undergoes treatment for right knee patellar tendinitis.
The Sox announced the 22-year-old Schultz was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday prior to their game with the Minnesota Twins. The move is retroactive to Monday.
Manager Will Venable said the team hopes Schultz’s stay on the IL will be “minimal,” but didn’t project a specific time frame.
In a corresponding move, the Sox recalled right-hander David Sandlin from Triple-A Charlotte and said he’ll make his major league debut in a start Wednesday against the Twins at the Rate.
Meanwhile, the White Sox were hoping right-handed starter Sean Burke could get back on track Tuesday in a key early-season AL Central meeting with Minnesota. The Twins had won four straight and six of seven before the South Siders and Anthony Kay beat them 3-1 in Monday’s series opener.
The second-place Sox (27-26) entered 1½ games ahead of third-place Minnesota (26-28).
Schultz’s condition has bothered him before and causes discomfort around the kneecap on his landing leg as he throws off the mound. The 6-11 22-year-old from west suburban Oswego made his big-league debut in a start with the South Siders on April 14 versus Tampa Bay and is 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA in eight starts so far.
“It’s something that he’s dealt with in the past and just want to make sure that we get him healthy and on the right track so it’s not something that’s continuing to bother him,” Venable said.
Schultz said the knee has been “nagging for a about a week or so” and that it first surfaced last year in the minors as he split time between Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham.
That might have shown in Schultz’s big-league outings this season, maybe even a little earlier than he suggested.
In his first four starts, he was 2-1 with 2.53 ERA and 21 strikeouts and 12 walks over 21 1/3 innings. His his last four, the South Sider’s tallest player is 0-3 with a 9.87 ERA, 13 strikeouts and 10 walks in 17 1/3 innings.
Schultz was sharpest in his fourth start, on May 1 at San Diego, when he allowed no runs and just two hits over six innings. He threw 87 pitches (53 strikes) struck out two and walked three as the Sox prevailed 8-2.
Asked if injury may have affected Schultz’s recent performance, Venable said “That’s fair. You know he has been working so hard and is in a good spot with his mechanics and how he’s being going about it.
“You understand, especially as something that has affected his ability to throw strikes in the past, that that could be impacting him here recently. Another reason why I want to be mindful of the injury and the pain and make sure we can eliminate that and get him back out there.”
Schultz is confident the condition can be addressed conservatively by the White Sox training and medical staffs. He stopped short of predicting when he’d return to the rotation.
“It just something gradual,” Schultz said after some long-toss in the outfield on Tuesday. “It’s definitely pretty mild, but again it’s just something that’s lingered a little bit, just trying to catch it before it gets worse and cleared up. It’s still early in the season, just trying to get it to go away.
“It’s just one of those things where just kind of nagged a little bit, nothing too crazy.”
While undergoing treatment, Schultz will still be able to throw on the side. That includes a schedule bullpen session later this week.
“We’ll be good to be right back out there,” he said. “Just again catch it again and clear it up so I’m not playing through it.”