CHICAGO — White Sox outfielders Austin Hays and Everson Pereira ran the bases Saturday, moving one step closer to a minor league rehab assignment, the report says. Hays is on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, and Pereira is coming back from a right pectoral strain, per the report.
Manager Will Venable said Pereira still faces a key hurdle before returning to game action. “Throwing is going to be a major checkpoint for Pereira,” Venable said. “He’ll have some other hurdles to clear here, but certainly he’s got his feet underneath him, he’s doing a great job.” Venable added that Pereira is chasing balls during batting practice and swinging in the cage, but “he’s still got to throw.”
The club made a roster move before Saturday’s game, recalling left-hander Brandon Eisert from Triple-A Charlotte and optioning left-hander Tyler Schweitzer, the report says. Eisert worked out of a bases-loaded jam while pitching a scoreless seventh inning in the White Sox’s 8-3 victory over the Cubs, and he had two appearances with the big club last month in which he allowed four runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings, per the report.
The organization also acquired minor league outfielder Junior Pérez from the Athletics in exchange for minor league pitcher Jackson Nove, with Pérez optioned to Charlotte, the report says. Venable said he had watched video of Pérez and discussed the move with the front office, describing Pérez as a right-handed hitter with above-average defense but “some swing-and-miss in his game.”
Venable noted Pérez “had a really good year last year and hasn’t found it at the plate this year,” adding that the player has a higher strikeout rate but “hits lefties really well, producing different things.” “At his floor, a really good defender that can run the bases, a really good athlete,” Venable said, per the report.
