Decimated by injuries in the early going, the Chicago White Sox are finally on the verge of some positive news with regards to slugger Eloy Jimenez.
After going on the injured list in the first week of the season, he could be back this weekend for a series against the Cincinnati Reds. He had been out with an adductor issue.
Per the White Sox’ website and injury report:
On April 10, Grifol spoke about Jiménez, saying that, while a weekend return was a possibility, it wasn’t a guarantee.
“He’s getting close,” Grifol said. “He feels better than yesterday, that day to day thing keeps coming up. But he feels better today than he did yesterday. [Friday] is a possibility. Everything is a possibility. We have to see where he’s at and we’ll have to see what we want to do as an organization in the short term and long term to make sure these things don’t happen again.” (Last updated: April 10)
After losing Luis Robert Jr. for two months or so, and after losing Yoan Moncada (possibly for the season), the short-handed White Sox could use any bit of good news at this point. They currently sit at 2-10 on the season.
Unfortunately, injuries are nothing new to Jimenez. He played 122 games during his debut 2019 season and played 55 out of 60 games in the COVID 2020 season, but since then, he hasn’t appeared in more than 120 games in any season. He played in less than 100 games in both 2021 and 2022.
When he does play, he’s one of the more productive players still left on the White Sox roster. He’s a .274 lifetime hitter with 89 homers and 275 RBI. He hit a career-high 31 homers back in 2019.
This is a big year for Jimenez for multiple reasons. If he plays well, the White Sox could exercise their club option on him, and if he doesn’t play well, he could find himself in the free agent pool next winter.
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