MINNEAPOLIS — The streak started on April 16.
Batting in the first inning for Triple-A Charlotte, Danny Mendick hit a 2-2 fastball from Christian Scott over the wall in left-center for a home run against Syracuse.
It was the first of five consecutive games with a home run for the infielder.
“The homers came, but it was never like I was thinking about it,” Mendick said Monday. “I was always going up there with the same approach. Felt good. Hitting the ball hard.”
Mendick’s performance caught the attention of the Chicago White Sox. He joined the team ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
It was one of five roster moves for the Sox on Monday. Reliever John Brebbia returned from the injured list while starter Nick Nastrini and infielder Lenyn Sosa were optioned to Charlotte. The Sox also designated infielder Zach Remillard for assignment.
Mendick, 30, is slashing .317/.388/.817 with six doubles, eight home runs, 20 RBIs and 15 runs in 19 games with Charlotte.
He leads the International League in slugging percentage and OPS (1.205). He’s tied for first in extra-base hits (14), tied for second in homers, tied for third in total bases (49) and fourth in RBIs.
Nick Nastrini of the Chicago White Sox pitches during his MLB debut against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 15, 2024. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
“I want to see him continuing to do what he did in Triple A, my gosh,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Everything he hit was going over the fence. He’ll play some third base here, he’ll play some second, mostly third.
“We’re all hoping he can continue on his hot streak, bring it here and be a part of this.”
Mendick said he’s adjusted his routine in general.
“Different things (like) my workout plan before the games and stuff like that,” Mendick said. “Also, my swing and how I load has been more into my hip. I’ve always been, especially after I hurt my knee (in June 2022), I always babied it and kind of just fell off of it.
“Now it’s more focused on actually getting into my hip. Just brought out so much more power in my swing. I’m still doing all the same things, but I have the power now.”
The Sox can use some help in the power department. They entered Monday last in the majors with 11 home runs.
Mendick watched the slow start from afar.
“You want to help, that’s the thing,” he said. “I want to be here helping these guys try to win. At least in the clubhouse, it looks like the energy is still good. But we have to get out there and play with confidence. We can’t be timid. We go out there and hit the ball hard, run the bases hard. Realistically, you look at these teams — you’ve got to hit homers, you’ve got to hit doubles, you’ve got to slug.
“We’ll play the small ball when needs to be, for sure. We have to go up there and hit the ball hard. Make it known that we are here to stay.”
Chicago White Sox’s John Brebbia pitches during a game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
Mendick spent the first four seasons of his big-league career with the Sox (2019-22). He played 35 games with the New York Mets last season.
He returned to the Sox organization in the offseason, signing a minor-league contract.
“There’s some new faces,” Mendick said. “But it’s always the dream to be back in the big leagues. It’s nice to be back here.”
Brebbia is back after retroactively going on the injured list with a right calf strain on April 6. He suffered the injury on April 5, leaving that game against the Kansas City Royals after fielding a grounder near the mound and throwing out Salvador Perez at the plate. He missed time during spring training with a right calf strain.
“When it happened in camp, it still felt better every day, every day, every day,” Brebbia said. “This time was like an accelerated version of that. I don’t think 24 hours ever passed where I couldn’t tell the difference in how much better and stronger I was feeling.
“You don’t want it to happen, but it is nice when you do feel something like that.”
Sosa is 5-for-38 (.132) with one RBI in 12 games this season. Nastrini is 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA in two starts.
“He did a really good job here, we haven’t seen the last of him,” Grifol said of Nastrini. “He’s a big-time part of the future, I told him that. He already got his debut out of the way (April 15 against the Royals), he got Citizens Bank (Park) out of the way (Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies), which is a great experience for him. What I loved is he didn’t feel like he had command of his fastball (Sunday) and he still competed his butt off, looked confident, felt confident the whole time.
“He has all the intangibles and weapons to be a part of this organization for a long time. And be a part of the direction this organization is going.”
