CINCINNATI — White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada, on the injured list with back soreness since April 14, is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte Friday night.
Moncada will be joined by closer Liam Hendriks, who is expected to make his first rehab appearance with the Knights after undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Gwinnett Stripers are playing host to the Knights this weekend.
Moncada will be the designated hitter Friday, play five innings at third base Saturday and perhaps play a full game Sunday before a day off Monday.
After that, the Sox will “play it by ear and see where we’re at,” manager Pedro Grifol said.
The Sox also reinstated right-handed reliever Joe Kelly from the Paternity List and optioned lefty Sammy Peralta to Charlotte.
Grifol said Thursday he was unsure how much time Moncada will need on his rehab assignment.
“Moncada’s missed quite a bit of time, and it’s the back; the back is fragile,” Grifol said. “We want to make sure it continues to head in the right direction, that it continues to gain strength. It could be a shorter [rehab stint]; it could be a longer one. There are recovery phases to this, so we’ll see.”
Moncada made the All-Tournament Team playing for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic in March and batted .308/.325/.564 with two home runs and four doubles in nine games for the Sox before going down with the injury. He played in 104 of the team’s 162 games last season due to injuries.
Jake Burger, who has filled in at third base in Moncada’s absence, landed on the IL Thursday with a left oblique strain. Hanser Alberto and Lenyn Sosa figure to man third base until Moncada returns.
The Sox (10-22) are off to a terrible start, although they have won three of their last four games. They open a three-game series against the Reds Friday night.
Moncada won’t be rushed back, Grifol said Thursday.
“The work capacity has to be worked up to a high level,” Grifol said. “He’s going to be playing third base, he’s going to be diving around, he’s going to be diving and getting up. He swings from both sides of the plate, he does a lot.
“We have to wait and see. It could be a shorter one, it could be a longer one. There are recovery phases to this.”
General manager Rick Hahn said last week that Moncada has a protruding disk that’s impinging on a nerve in his lower back.
Moncada’s activity has picked up in recent days. The pain caused by the disk radiated into Moncada’s glutes. It’s possible Moncada will need surgery after the season, but the odds are in his favor against that.
“My understanding medically is that about 80% of them, they’re able to calm down naturally, and then you go on with your life,” Hahn said. “And then about maybe two out of every 10, you have to have some sort of intervention in the offseason. It’s trending the right way right now. Hopefully he continues to progress over these seven or eight days and will have an assignment soon after.”
