MINNEAPOLIS — First baseman Andrew Vaughn’s left foot still hurts when he walks — enough to have him in a boot, at times — but the White Sox aren’t considering putting him on the injured list right now.
Vaughn fouled a pitch off the foot Tuesday against the Mets and missed his fourth consecutive game Saturday against the Twins. The best-case scenario for a return is Tuesday, when the Sox host the Cubs, manager Pedro Grifol said. The team is off Monday.
‘‘We haven’t even talked about [the IL],’’ Grifol said.
The Sox could put Vaughn on the 10-day IL retroactively, backdating the stint to Wednesday. The maximum an IL stint can be backdated is three days, even if a player hasn’t appeared in a game for longer than that.
‘‘You get to backdate that thing, so once you’ve exhausted the backdate and dates, you start thinking about it,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘But he’s day-to-day. It’s a bone bruise. He can come in [Sunday] and feel much better. We have a day off Monday, so that’s why I’m targeting Tuesday.’’
As bad luck would have it, the foul ball got Vaughn between the padding he wears.
‘‘What sucks the most is I do wear a shin guard and a foot guard,’’ Vaughn said. ‘‘I went back and watched the video 100 times, and it hits right where there’s no pad. We wear that to protect ourselves, and it didn’t protect me.’’
Vaughn ranks second on the Sox with 94 games played and 53 RBI. He’s batting .244/.316/.422 with 12 home runs overall but only .188/.204/.208 in July. And now he has soreness to deal with.
‘‘Walking’s painful,’’ he said. ‘‘Everything’s pretty painful right now. I’ve been trying to [wear a boot] because it makes it feel the best. It just keeps it stabilized.’’
More injury updates
Right-hander Joe Kelly was reinstated from the IL after being out since July 5 with elbow inflammation. To make room for him on the roster, the Sox designated right-hander Bryan Shaw for assignment.
• Left-hander Garrett Crochet is being further evaluated after he returned from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte with shoulder soreness.
‘‘He actually did feel pretty good today,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘Obviously, he was shut down from the rehab assignment, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. I don’t think they’re concerned about it.’’
• Right-hander Mike Clevinger, who hasn’t pitched since June 14 because of biceps inflammation, was slated to throw a bullpen session Saturday and a four-inning simulated game Monday.
‘‘Then we’ll re-evaluate him,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘But he’s on pace. He’s doing well.’’
Clevinger could return to the rotation next weekend unless the Sox decide to give him a rehab start.
• Right-hander Liam Hendriks (strained elbow) threw 20 to 25 pitches before the game but is not as close to returning.
Colas back
Rookie right fielder Oscar Colas returned to the starting lineup after getting a day off and being advised by Grifol to scale back his level of intensity.
‘‘I was speeding up the game when what I should do is slow down the game,’’ Colas said through a translator.
Colas was busy before the game. He was working on footwork and secondary leadoffs with field coordinator Mike Tosar and strength-and-conditioning director Goldy Simmons before studying data with Tosar and other staff.
