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Associated Press 8y

White Sox OF Cabrera sidelined by wrist injury

MLB, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins

CHICAGO -- The soreness finally caught up to White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera.

The veteran switch hitter aggravated a right wrist injury during Chicago's 4-0 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night and will miss a couple of days with a mild sprain.

Cabrera originally hurt his wrist when he tried for a diving catch during a 13-2 loss at Cleveland on June 18. He tweaked it again on a swing in the series opener against the Twins and hit his wrist against the wall while going after Brian Dozier's second homer of the game.

"It's difficult because I want to play, but the doctors said the best for me right now is just to take a rest for a couple of days because I have inflammation there," Cabrera said through a translator. "But yeah, for me, I want to play. I don't like to be on the bench. I want to play because the team needs me and I need the team."

Cabrera, who is batting .294 with eight homers and 39 RBI in 74 games, had an MRI on Wednesday. He signed a $42 million, three-year contract with Chicago in December 2014.

Manager Robin Ventura said he doesn't think Cabrera will need a trip to the disabled list.

"It's tough, he wants to be in there, he wants to play, he wants to fight through it," Ventura said. "But the training staff, the medical staff thinks it's better that he sits for three or four days to have that heal."

Avisail Garcia started in left against Minnesota on Wednesday night and went 1 for 3 with an RBI single in Chicago's 9-6 victory.

While Cabrera could play the field and doesn't notice the injury when he hits from the right side, the White Sox had just two healthy position players on the bench. But they optioned reliever Matt Purke to Triple-A Charlotte after the win and could add another hitter in a corresponding move before the series finale.

"You don't like anytime you don't have Melky in there," Ventura said before Wednesday's game. "He's a switch hitter, middle of the lineup, it hurts to not have him in there. We're going to have to figure out a way to make up for that."

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

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