Jose Abreu returns to White Sox lineup to face Royals

The White Sox reinstated first baseman Jose Abreu from the 10-day disabled list and inserted him into the lineup for their game against the Royals on Monday night. No other accompanying move is needed because the club had room on its 40-man roster.

Abreu, the White Sox’ lone All-Star representative this year, missed the last three weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a testicular torsion issue. Over the weekend, he set Monday as his target date to return from the injury, and now he’s followed through on that with the team set to play Kansas City at 7:15 p.m.

The Sox lineup vs. Royals right-hander Jakob Junis: Yoan Moncada 2B, Yolmer Sanchez 3B, Abreu 1B, Daniel Palka RF, Omar Narvaez DH, Nicky Delmonico LF, Welington Castillo C, Tim Anderson SS, Adam Engel CF, Lucas Giolito P.

It hasn’t been an ideal year for Abreu, even with his first All-Star appearance since 2014, as he’s on pace to miss reaching 25 homers and 100 RBI for the first time in his career. The missed time has cut into his counting stats, even though he’s still posting a solid batting line of .272/.331/.491 when he’s been in the lineup.

Those numbers stand out on the White Sox, but that’s not saying much for a team that’s struggled to consistently score runs. Reaching 100 RBI is unlikely with just 19 games remaining on the schedule, but he should have a good shot at topping 25 home runs for the fifth consecutive season to start his big league career.