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CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox placed All-Star outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, ending his career-best season.

Robert left Sunday’s 3-2 win at Boston in the second inning. The slugger has a mild MCL sprain in his left knee, and the team said rest should be enough for him to recover in two to four weeks.

“The prognosis came back really good that even if it was April, it would be a couple of weeks,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’ll have all of his offseason to prepare the way he needs to prepare for 2024.”

The White Sox also brought up veteran outfielder Tyler Naquin from Triple-A Charlotte. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert was placed on the 60-day injured list before the team’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old Robert set career highs with 38 homers, 80 RBI, 90 runs, 36 doubles and 20 steals in 145 games this year. He hit .264 with an .857 OPS in his fourth major league season.

“I’m proud of playing as many games as I did,” Robert said through a translator. “I’ve said to you guys that if I’m ever to play every day, I know I’m able to do good things on the field. That’s why to me it’s the biggest accomplishment for me this year.”

While Robert had a terrific season, the White Sox flopped. They had a 60-96 record going into their matchup with the Diamondbacks.

“It’s definitely difficult because you try to do your best to help the team. But sometimes that isn’t enough,” Robert said. “You as an individual, you have to realize that you have to go out and do your best no matter what.”

The 32-year-old Naquin was acquired in an Aug. 7 trade with Milwaukee for cash. He is a .264 hitter with 61 homers and 237 RBI in 557 big league games.

Lambert was placed on the 15-day IL on Sept. 4. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle last week.

Right-hander Michael Kopech also is on the mend after he had surgery on Friday to remove a cyst from his right knee. Kopech is expected to recover in six to eight weeks.

The 27-year-old Kopech went 5-12 with a 5.43 ERA in 30 games this season, including 27 starts.

“Obviously in speaking with him, and I know he would say this right now, he wanted better results but there were plenty of positive takeaways in that,” general manager Chris Getz said. “Now we get his knee healthy, have a normal offseason and build toward being a starter for next season.”

Getz was promoted to GM after executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired on Aug. 22. The new front office began to take shape when the team hired Josh Barfield (assistant GM), Brian Bannister (senior advisor to pitching) and Gene Watson (director of player personnel) last week.

Getz said he has been taking a closer look at certain areas within the organization, including the major league day-to-day operations.

“For me, it’s coming in here and (figuring out) foundationally where are we with different departments so we can avoid these extreme swings,” he said. “That’s been the focus and will remain (the focus). As we move through October and November, we’ll start focusing more on what we need to do to put the best team forward for next year and years further.”

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Tigers’ Baddoo to miss start of regular season

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Tigers' Baddoo to miss start of regular season

LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo had surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand and will miss the start of the regular season.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Friday that Baddoo had more tests done after some continued wrist soreness since the start of spring training. Those tests revealed the hamate hook fracture in his right hand that was surgically repaired Thursday.

Baddoo, 26, who has been with the Tigers since 2021, is at spring training as a non-roster player. He was designated for assignment in December after Detroit signed veteran right-hander Alex Cobb to a $15 million, one-year contract. Baddoo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo.

Cobb is expected to miss the start of the season after an injection to treat hip inflammation that developed as the right-hander was throwing at the start of camp. He has had hip surgery twice.

Baddoo hit .137 with two homers and five RBIs in 31 games last season. The left-hander has a .226 career average with 28 homers and 103 RBI in 340 games.

After the Tigers acquired him from Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings in December 2020, Baddoo hit .259 with 13 homers, 55 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a .330 on-base percentage in 124 games as a rookie in 2021. Those are all career bests.

Baddoo went into camp in a crowded outfield. The six outfielders on Detroit’s 40-man roster include three other left-handed hitters (Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Parker Meadows) and switch-hitter Wenceel Pérez. The other outfielders are right-handers Matt Vierling and Justyn-Henry Malloy.

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Dodgers’ Miller has no fracture after liner scare

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Dodgers' Miller has no fracture after liner scare

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller still had a bit of a headache but slept fine and felt much better a day after getting hit on the head by a line drive, manager Dave Roberts said Friday.

Roberts said he had spoken with Miller, who was still in concussion protocol after getting struck by a 105.5 mph liner hit by Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch in the first game of spring training Thursday.

The manager said Miller indicated that there was no fracture or any significant bruising.

“He said in his words, ‘I have a hard head.’ He was certainly in good spirits,” Roberts said.

Miller immediately fell to the ground while holding his head, but quickly got up on his knees as medical staff rushed onto the field. The 25-year-old right-hander was able to walk off the field on his own.

“He feels very confident that he can kind of pick up his throwing program soon,” said Roberts, who was unsure of that timing. “But he’s just got to keep going through the concussion protocol just to make sure that we stay on the right track.”

Miller entered spring training in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation. He had a 2-4 record with an 8.52 ERA over 13 starts last season, after going 11-4 with a 3.76 in 22 starts as a rookie in 2023.

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Brewers OF Perkins (shin) to miss start of season

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Brewers OF Perkins (shin) to miss start of season

PHOENIX — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins is expected to miss the first month of the season after fracturing his right shin during batting practice.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy revealed the severity of Perkins’ injury before their Cactus League opener Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.

“They’re estimating another three to four weeks to heal and a ramp-up of four to six weeks,” Murphy said. “So you’re probably looking at May.”

Perkins, 28, batted .240 with a .316 on-base percentage, six homers, 43 RBIs and 23 steals in 121 games last season. He also was a National League Gold Glove finalist at center field.

“Perkins is a big part of our team,” Murphy said. “The chemistry of the team, the whole thing, Perk’s huge. He’s one of the most loved guys on the club, and he’s a great defender, coming into his own as an offensive player. Yeah, it’s going to hurt us.”

Murphy also said right-handed pitcher J.B. Bukauskas has what appears to be a serious lat injury and is debating whether to undergo surgery. Bukauskas had a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances last year but missed much of the season with a lat issue.

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