Shortstop Colson Montgomery was out of the lineup again Wednesday with a back issue after sitting Tuesday for tightness. He and general manager Chris Getz described it as day-to-day, with Montgomery calling the plan to get treatment early so it doesn’t linger.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery didn’t make it into the lineup again on Wednesday, sidelined by a back issue that has been treated as temporary. He sat out Tuesday as well, and general manager Chris Getz described the problem then as tightness.
Neither Montgomery nor manager Will Venable sounded concerned, and both framed it as day-to-day. Montgomery said the goal is simple: keep the issue from turning into something bigger over the course of a long season.
“It’s just one of those things throughout the season; things kinda come up,” Montgomery said. “It’s just getting ahead of it so it doesn’t linger and get any worse. We’re looking to play long-term this season, so we thought this was the best thing to do.”
He also described how the stiffness has changed from day to day. “Yesterday, [it] felt a little stiff and kind of locked up. But as I got treatment and did some exercises, moving around, it felt a lot better. Today, came in, felt a lot better.”
Montgomery said the issue first appeared about two weeks ago after he swung and felt “a little something.” He played through it initially, but it eventually became too painful and less manageable. For him, the tipping point is whether the problem starts spilling beyond baseball.
“[When] an issue starts affecting him in his life off the field, it’s time to seek treatment,” Montgomery said.
“It was a group decision: training staff, coaches, everybody,” he added. “They were like, let’s just get ahead of it and knock it out.”
The decision also underscored how quickly a grind can force choices in-season: Montgomery is not just managing the discomfort, but trying to prevent it from dragging across weeks.
Luisangel Acuna and Ronald Acuna met in the game for only the second time in their big-league careers. Tuesday’s lineup had Luisangel starting at shortstop in place of Montgomery, while Ronald started in right field. Before the game, the brothers also exchanged lineup cards at home plate.
Luisangel said the moment still matters despite the matchup. “Every time that we are out there on the field, it’s a dream come true for us,” he said. “When we are stretching. talking. we’re at home plate exchanging the lineups. it’s just a dream come true because we come from a town [Caracas. Venezuela] where there’s nothing there.”.
Individually, the night didn’t go the way either wanted. Ronald left in the fourth inning with a strained hamstring and went on the 10-day injured list. Luisangel left in the seventh with his own hamstring injury, though he returned to the lineup on Wednesday.
The Sox also made moves of their own. They put left-hander Tyler Gilbert on the 15-day injured list with an impingement in his shoulder and called up lefty Chris Murphy from Triple-A Charlotte.
In another bright spot, second baseman Chase Meidroth extended his streaks by reaching base with a single in the third inning. He has now reached base in 21 consecutive games and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Montgomery’s back issue comes as another reminder that even seasoned players can find themselves managing the physical toll of the schedule; Getz previously attributed Montgomery’s soreness to the grind of the season, noting Montgomery had battled back issues last season as well.
Colson Montgomery Chris Getz Will Venable White Sox Luisangel Acuna Ronald Acuna hamstring injury injured list Tyler Gilbert Chris Murphy Chase Meidroth
Day-to-day means he’s definitely coming back tomorrow right?
Back tightness again?? These guys need to stretch or something. I get injuries happen but it feels like it’s always the same player with the same excuse.
So he swung and felt something, then played through it, then it got worse… sounds like every injury story ever. But they say it’s not affecting him off the field? How would anybody even know that lol. Also 2 weeks ago and it’s still “day-to-day” which is kinda worrying.
“Locked up” like?? That doesn’t sound super temporary to me. I swear MLB teams always say “day-to-day” and then later it’s like a 3 month thing. Maybe it’s the training staff’s fault, or maybe he rushed back? Idk, I didn’t even read all of it, just saw back tightness again and was like here we go.