White Sox Activate Carlos Quentin

The trading deadline is only a week and a half away and while some teams are working behind the scenes to swing deals to get themselves better, there are ways a team can feel like it's made a trade without actually doing so. Like, say, bringing back a big part of their lineup that has been sidelined for most of the season with an injury so far.

It has the same sort of impact on a team, and they don't have to give up any prospects to boot. So there's little doubt that the White Sox are hoping Carlos Quentin can help provide a boost as they continue to hunt down and try to stave off the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. Quentin was activated off of the disabled list on Monday and will be back in the lineup when the Sox face the Rays in Chicago on Monday night.

Quentin will be taking Brian Anderson's place on the White Sox roster, as the reserve outfielder and former first-round pick has failed to live up to expectations in Chicago. He is a better defensive player than the Sox other reserve outfielder, Dewayne Wise, but Wise is out of options and is a lefty.

As for Quentin, he hasn't played since May 25 when he aggravated his case of plantar fascitis, but before he went on the disabled list, he wasn't the same Quentin we saw in 2008. Though he had eight homers and 20 RBI in 38 games, his batting average was only .229. While in Charlotte with the Sox's Triple-A affiliate, Quentin hit .378 with a homer and 12 RBI during a 12-game rehab stint.