White Sox manager Rick Renteria was released from a hospital in Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon after undergoing a battery of tests for an episode of lightheadedness suffered before the Sox’ game Monday against the Twins.
Renteria missed right-hander Michael Kopech’s major-league debut, spending the night in Minneapolis and planning to return to Chicago on Wednesday for further testing at Rush University Medical Center.
The Sox close out their series against the Twins on Wednesday before heading to Detroit for a four-game series against the Tigers. It’s not known when Renteria, 56, will return to the dugout, but he has been telling those close to him that he feels well.
‘‘He sounds great,’’ said bench coach Joe McEwing, who is managing the team in Renteria’s absence.
‘‘First things first: Our thoughts are with Ricky. He’s an amazing person, an amazing leader. I talked to him five or six times [Tuesday], just to more or less see how he’s doing as a person. That’s what means the most.’’
With Kopech pitching Tuesday, the game represented something of a benchmark in the Sox’ rebuild, and those close to Renteria were disappointed for him that he wasn’t with the team. But Renteria, as he always does, remained upbeat.
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‘‘He’s a very tough individual,’’ McEwing said. ‘‘Just to hear him laughing, kind of seeing what is going on around here, I said: ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ve got this. Worry about yourself and getting healthy.’ That’s where our mindset is.’’
Renteria went to Target Field before the Sox’ game Monday and seemed fine at first, McEwing said.
‘‘We were talking; we went to the park together,’’ McEwing said. ‘‘He was totally fine. Then we’re talking, going over game plan for yesterday. Then I went out to check the weather — didn’t think anything of it — and came back in and heard the news.’’
Renteria, who is in his second season as the Sox’ manager, is highly respected in the clubhouse.
‘‘Our whole team is concerned,’’ left-hander Carlos Rodon said. ‘‘He’s our manager.’’
‘‘It’s definitely tough,’’ left-hander Hector Santiago said. ‘‘He’s motivating all these [young] guys, keeping these guys positive, keeping us on the right track, even though we are losing.
‘‘So having him sidelined is going to be tough, but we have a good staff behind him, and those guys can pick up where he left off.’’
