White Sox Sign Justin Morneau To 1-Year Deal, Place Him On 15-Day DL

(CBS) Amid a free fall, the White Sox continue to be active in changing the course they're on.

Chicago has signed veteran first baseman/designated hitter Justin Morneau to a one-year, $1-million deal that includes incentives, the team announced Thursday afternoon. The catch is that Morneau isn't yet ready to play, as he's been placed on the 15-day disabled list as he continues his recovery from left elbow surgery that he had in the offseason.

The 35-year-old Morneau hit .310 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 49 games for the Rockies in 2015, a season in which he missed nearly four months because of a concussion.

"Justin provides us with a quality veteran threat from the left side who fits into the middle of the batting order," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. "We have been speaking with Justin, who is just a year and a half removed from winning a batting title with Colorado, for the last several months and moved forward with this deal once Justin was ready to ramp up his baseball activities. He is close to being ready to begin a rehab assignment, and we project him available in Chicago sometime in mid-to-late July."

Morneau is a career .282 hitter. He was the 2006 American League MVP. If he gets healthy, Morneau figures to back up Jose Abreu at first base and get his fair share of at-bats at designated hitter, a spot the White Sox have seen little production from this season.

Earlier in the day, the White Sox had designated right-hander Mat Latos for assignment in an effort to strengthen the rotation by subtraction.

The White Sox (29-30) have lost 20 of their last 26 games to fall to fourth place in the AL Central after holding a six-game lead in the division in the second week of May.