2B Derby Down to Chris Getz and Gordon Beckham
Jayson Nix pulled up lame rounding first base on a double Tuesday, re-injuring his tender quadriceps, possibly ending his spring and any realistic chance he had of winning the White Sox second base job. Nix had been hitting quite well in his limited spring at-bats, and could still have a chance to break camp with the club as a utility man. But for now, the Sox are going to take a cautious approach with his reoccurring injury.
"I'm kind of worried about him. With that type of injury, it's hard to recover quick. [...] I think right now we should give him enough time, no matter what stage of spring training it is, to make sure he recovers 100 percent," Guillen said. "If we don't do that, he's going to re-aggravate that all year long. We're better off giving him some off-time, and when he starts playing, he'll play all year long and not have to deal with that."
Nix' removal from the 2B competition leaves just Chris Getz and Gordon Beckham, with Getz having the inside track and the head start of a strong minor league record.
Nix' injury could affect the runner's up prize, the utility spot, where Brent Lillibridge, considered the Sox' best fielding option, is clearly not ready to face major league pitching. Meanwhile, Wilson Betemit has demonstrated that he should be nowhere near shortstop, which leaves only Nix, who hasn't seen much action at SS, as a viable option as a backup SS/2B.