It’s never a good sign when Rick Hahn schedules a press conference to update us on an injury. This afternoon, the White Sox general manager informed the public that Eloy Jimenez will have to undergo surgery for a ruptured left pectoral tendon. The normal recovery timeline is five to six months, which means Jimenez will likely miss a majority of the regular season.
The injury was sustained in the second inning of yesterday’s game when Jimenez attempted to rob a home run. After extending over the fence, Eloy hung on for a moment before falling to the ground in pain. The team initially ruled it “left shoulder discomfort” shortly after the left fielder departed from the game, though the diagnosis only became worse upon further testing.
With the loss of Jimenez, the White Sox will now have to get creative for at least the beginning of the season. The hamstring injury to Adam Engel leaves the team’s outfield depth rather depleted, likely forcing utility man Leury Garcia into a starting spot with Billy Hamilton coming off the bench. As for the long-term solution, it would be wise for the organization to begin considering trade candidates as soon as possible.
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Featured Photo: NBC Sports Chicago
I hate to beat a dead horse when it’s down but I was one Sox fan screaming all offseason for the front office to add another bat who could play a corner OF position AND DH even after they signed Adam Eaton to be their primary right-fielder. My rants included trading for clearly available LF Andrew Benintendi who wound up with the Royals instead, or signing affordable short term FA’s like Kyle Schwarber, Joc Pederson or Yasiel Puig. They did offer Pederson a deal early when they were still talking to Eaton but reportedly ceased with their interest once Joc declined and ‘Spanky’ signed.
All of this was to give the White Sox the option of utilizing Eloy Jimenez more as a DH and less in LF. We all knew the front office was high on Andrew Vaughn as their primary DH for 2021, nobody more so than yours truly who predicted as much all winter. That said, I still wanted the additional depth on a White Sox team with serious World Series ambitions and viewed anyone of those options as viable and cheap short term options for 2021.
And now this, “Dadgummit!”.