Eloy Jimenez’ Spring Training Finish is Derailed by Injury

The injury bug has bitten designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and it’s not even the start of the regular season yet.

Although it’s a minor injury, White Sox fans are holding their breath and hoping that it doesn’t cause continued issues further on down the line with his ability to play. We all know Jimenez’ track record when it comes to injuries so anything is possible.

The injury happened when Jimenez fouled a ball off of his foot during a game this past Wednesday. Ever since then, Jimenez has been day-to-day with this injury leaving some fans wondering if this is going to be a long-term thing or not. While it doesn’t appear that it will be, he played in today's Cactus League game against Oakland, you never know when it comes to Jimenez.

Jimenez has a penchant for missing games due to injury.

He’s suffered a variety of ailments with his legs, mostly hamstring injuries, that have caused him to miss quite a few games. Last year, Jimenez only participated in 120 games. The White Sox do miss his bat when he’s not in the lineup and if he can get things straight and start hitting well, he will become a true asset to the team.

But up until now, he’s mostly been a player that struggles and that doesn’t help the Sox.

We will see just how much this foot injury hurts Jimenez’ chances of starting and making his regular season debut with the rest of his teammates next Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. Hopefully, it doesn’t set him back, he can start and show us all what he can do.

Jimenez has been having a good spring. Up until the injury, he had played in 16 games and had 45 at-bats with 16 hits including a home run and 12 RBIs. His play has excited fans and management and has people feeling that this could finally be the year that he breaks out.

But to have a breakout year, he must play in as many games as possible. If he’s only able to play 120, as a designated hitter, there is a problem. If he can’t step up and play well this year, honestly, he could likely be gone when it’s all said and done. He will either be designated for assignment or traded if anyone is willing to trade for an often-injured designated hitter.

If the White Sox are going to win many games this year, they need to be near perfect. They need all of their guns firing and it will be important for Jimenez to be fully healthy and ready to go. The White Sox need him.

Let’s hope that this injury is not debilitating and that he is able to continue playing at the level he has been playing at in spring training. If it causes him trouble throughout the season, that’s going to cause the White Sox some issues. Sometimes these injuries linger on and don’t go away and it takes rest and recovery to get over them.

We will hope that this injury isn’t that kind of injury.