The Chicago White Sox won their most recent series against the Atlanta Braves but it came with a cost. The oldest news in the book on the south side has returned: Eloy Jimenez is hurt once again.
Sunday afternoon, in the top of the first inning, Jimenez came across tightness in his left groin. He exited the game after grounding into a double play.
Pedro Grifol said the injury happened prior to when he stepped on first base, meaning the injury occurred when he was running to the bag.
Eloy Jimenez hurt the groin before touching first base on DP. Will be further evaluated but Grifol said he could be out 4, 5 days.
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) July 16, 2023
As painful as the news is for White Sox fans, it's not something anyone wasn't expecting. Jimenez hasn't been able to stay healthy since 2020. It's a shame the way his career has unfolded, considering all the potential he still has in his bat.
The Chicago White Sox will miss Eloy Jimenez if he is out for a long time.
In 242 at-bats this season, Jimenez is batting .269 with 12 home runs and 40 runs batted in. He also has a .776 OPS. He has been a suitable bat in a struggling White Sox lineup and the club will hurt without his presence.
Hopefully, Grifol is right about the injury and Jimenez will be back in the foreseeable future. Based on the past, there really is no way of knowing when Eloy is healthy versus when he isn't.
With Jimenez now out of the lineup for at least a little bit of time, the White Sox will be forced to use someone else in the right field and designated hitter positions.
With Oscar Colas back up in the majors, the White Sox should use this time as an opportunity to put him in the lineup every single day. As far as the designated hitter position goes, the club has multiple options.
They can insert Gavin Sheets into the lineup which wouldn't be the brightest idea considering how his season has panned out or they can give Grandal the slot and leave it to Zavala/Perez to take control of the catching operations.
At the end of the day, whatever the lineup looks like without Jimenez is bad but it's something the White Sox have had to, unfortunately, get used to.