It was a tense moment for the White Sox this afternoon as left fielder Eloy Jimenez exited today’s spring training game due to “left shoulder discomfort.”
In the second inning of the matchup with the Oakland A’s, Jimenez attempted to rob a homer headed for the left field bullpen, leaping and then hanging on the fence. Shortly there after, he fell to the warning track in, what seemed like, a lot of pain.
White Sox fans aren’t unaccustomed to wall collisions when it comes to the power-hitting outfielder. In just the third game of the season last year, he left with concussion-like symptoms after trying to, again, rob a home run. Also, no one can forget the multiple falling-into-the protective netting instances. As shown in the tweet above, the White Sox have yet to determine the severity of the injury, and Jimenez will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
Without getting too ahead of ourselves, it would be a good idea for Sox fans to all take a deep breath and wait for more to break. Even though it’s not a good habit, Jimenez is no stranger to wall collisions and this could all be precautionary. That being said, this is a habit Jimenez has to break.
Steve Stone said it best during the broadcast – this is spring training, and these games do not count. Sure, the White Sox would love a few more wins heading into Opening Day, but this was not necessary. Jimenez has the starting spot locked up anyways and really doesn’t need to prove anything to us defensively.
If Jimenez were to miss time at the start of the season, it will undoubtedly throw a wrench in manager Tony La Russa’s plans for an Opemimg Day lineup. We would likely see Adam Eaton in right field, Luis Robert in center, and Leury Garcia in left with outfielder Adam Engel having suffered an injury only several days ago.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for More Updates!
Featured Photo: Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) / Twitter
