Avisail Garcia about ready to return to White Sox lineup, will AL All-Star lineup soon follow?

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Sunday, Avisail Garcia will learn whether he’s a part of the American League All-Star team. The White Sox are hoping he’ll be back in their lineup by then.

Both Garcia and manager Rick Renteria said ahead of Saturday’s game against the visiting Texas Rangers that the outfielder should be back in the White Sox lineup either Sunday or Monday.

“Let’s see what the plan is. I have to talk with (trainer Herm Schneider). Tomorrow or Monday for sure. For sure Monday, but maybe tomorrow. We’ll see what happens,” Garcia said. “Since it’s the knee, we’ll see what happens.”

“That’s good news, that’s accurate,” Renteria said. “I think we’re just taking it a little slow. He feels good, he said he felt good. I saw him this morning. At the earliest tomorrow, and hopefully at the latest the beginning of the series in Oakland.”

Garcia sat out of White Sox wins on Thursday and Friday night and wasn’t in Saturday’s lineup, either. He injured his knee sliding during Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees.

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While injury is no sort of desired scenario, the few days off might be useful for Garcia, who despite still ranking fifth in the AL in batting average and in the top 20 in on-base percentage and slugging percentage has just one hit in his last 25 trips to the plate. His OPS, at 1.010 on May 20 and .936 on June 22, is down to .875 on the first day of July.

But the recent rough patch shouldn’t damage Garcia’s All-Star candidacy, and while he’s not counting any chickens before they hatch, he’s excited about being in the mix for a spot on the team.

“Excited. It’s painful, but we’ll see what happens,” Garcia said. “It hasn’t happened yet.”

The turnaround has been an impressive one for Garcia, who in his first few seasons with the White Sox found results elusive. In his first three full seasons after being traded from the Detroit Tigers, Garcia batted .250 with a .308 on-base percentage and a .380 slugging percentage with 32 home runs and 139 RBIs in 314 games. This season, he’s slashing .318/.362/.512 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs in 75 games.

The newfound success has at the very least changed the perspective of fans and observers, who now consider him to perhaps be a part of the White Sox long-term rebuilding plans.

“It’s still three months left, but I’m in a better position right now because I’ve been learning. I’m still learning,” Garcia said. “We’re still working, and I’m going to try to get better every year, every day.”

Garcia also praised the role Renteria has played in that turnaround, joining the likes of Rick Hahn and Hawk Harrelson, who have declared Renteria the right man for the job in the thick of this rebuild.

“For me? A lot. He means a lot for me. A great manager, a great person,” Garcia said. “I think everybody loves him and we appreciate everything he does for us and especially for me. I’m just thankful that he’s with us.

“With Renteria being here right now, it’s working. It’s going to get way better soon. We’ve just got to keep grinding, keep hustling and play hard every day. In the future, we’re going to have a great team.”

If Garcia becomes All-Star Avi on Sunday, he could very well be a big part of that future.

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