White Sox reinstate utilityman Leury Garcia from IL

The White Sox have reinstated utilityman Leury Garcia from the 45-day injured list and included him on their postseason roster, the team announced. Righty Alex McRae was designated for assignment to create roster space.

Garcia hasn’t played since Aug. 10 after a severed thumb ligament required surgery. The 29-year-old was off to a pretty nice start, hitting .271/.317/.441 over his 63 regular-season plate appearances, getting a lot of action at shortstop (due to Tim Anderson’s own IL stint) and second base (before Nick Madrigal was called up to the big leagues). Garcia has been known more for his versatility than his switch-hitting bat over his eight MLB seasons, and his ability to play all over the diamond will make him a nice bench piece for the Sox during their postseason run. As a member of the White Sox organization since 2013, this playoff appearance surely feels extra sweet for Garcia after seven losing seasons.

McRae only appeared in two games for Chicago this season, tossing three scoreless innings. The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the White Sox last winter after spending his first six pro seasons in the Pirates organization. McRae saw major league action in both 2018 and 2019, posting a combined 8.18 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.14 K/BB rate over 33 innings for Pittsburgh.