White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez departed the team’s game Wednesday with discomfort in his left shoulder, James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to report. He suffered the injury while trying to rob Athletics catcher Sean Murphy of a home run. The White Sox will have more information on Jimenez’s status Thursday.
While it’s unknown whether Jimenez will miss any regular-season time as a result of this issue, he’s one of the last players the World Series-hopeful White Sox can afford to lose. Jimenez had a terrific rookie year offensively in 2019 and then posted even better numbers last season, when he slashed .296/.332/.559 with 14 home runs in 226 plate appearances. The 24-year-old’s 140 wRC+ ranked 28th among 142 qualified hitters.
If healthy, Jimenez will join center fielder Luis Robert and right fielder Adam Eaton in the grass at the outset of the season. The White Sox also have Leury Garcia, Luis Gonzalez, Micker Adolfo and Blake Rutherford on their 40-man roster in the event of a Jimenez injured list stint, and veterans Billy Hamilton and Nick Williams are in the organization as further outfield depth.
Oh not good.
Didn’t he do something similar last year, while jumping up against the wall? This guy is soft as they come, and a complete butcher on defense. It’s nothing unusual for Eloy to lose time in a season – just check his baseball card. Besides why would the Chisox fans worry when they can turn to Billy Hamilton.
I don’t think he got injured in 2020, but I think I know which play you’re talking about when he let Christian Yelich round the bases on a inside the parker.
I saw a fly ball bounce off his head in a game against the twins last year. Had to leave the game. That’s what you might have been thinking about. He is Delmon Young-ish in the outfield, but he can hit. Hopefully it’s not serious
Eloy looked heavy too. Overweight for sure. But the man can hit.
Overweight is a bit of an exaggeration. He’s a big dude.
Eloy is fat. Sure he is a big guy but he is overweight.
You win idiot of the day, wear dog bone boy
Cue the screams of “Get Eloy out of LF and make him strictly DH”. He’s never going to win a GG, but he will do enough to warrant staying in LF.
He’s the worst outfielder ever a complete baboon
Darn, definitely one of the guys I wanted to draft.
Shoulders, knees and wrists are big deals.
Watched it live: my god this guy is bad at LF. Great hitter though, but its obvious to anyone with eyes that Eloy is a 1B/DH and the White Sox need to either trade him or move him. White Sox have too many 1B/DH types, Vaughn, Abreu and Eloy only can play 2 spots….
I feel like the default assumption is he plays a couple of years just treading water at LF then becomes DH when Abreu retires. But Abreu is doing better than expected at this age, so… who knows.
I guess it’s a pretty good problem to have so many good hitters.
Yeah, so many one dimensional players. That’s not a problem I’d like to have. That’s one of the reasons that I’ve been impressed by Tony Gwynn. If he’d played in the AL, they’d have moved him to DH instead of keeping him in the OF.
@A’sfan, Abreu isn’t that much better on defense, at first base. No matter what the Chisox announcers throw out there. Their truthful evaluation and description of reality, really hasn’t improved that much – since Hawkeroo hung it up.
The White Sox need to seriously consider the possibility of swapping out the roles of Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn sooner rather than later if they only consider internal options to solve their LF/DH/1B glut. It’s evident that Jose Abreu, Jimenez and Vaughn can all rake on offense. It’s also clear that each have limited defensive acumen.
Through hard work, Abreu has made himself into a passable defensive 1B but he is not getting any younger. Vaughn is said to be decent enough at 1B but lacks the height a team would prefer at the position. However, Vaughn does have a better than average arm for the position as a former pitcher and potential 3B so why not give him a more prolonged look out in LF where he has already played a bit since last summer at the White Sox alternate site.
We’ve all seen just about enough of Jimenez in LF since his White Sox debut. He continues to put not only himself in harms way with wall and fences but also those who surround him on the field, CF Luis Robert, 3B Yoan Moncada and SS Tim Anderson. All are indispensable to the White Sox batting order. It’s getting to the point where the White Sox need to utilize Jimenez as their primary DH and give him some reps at 1B where his 6’4″ height could be an asset and forget about him on the outfield grass. If Jimenez shows enough at 1B then perhaps he could swap out roles with Abreu down the road with the latter assuming more time at DH.
Very well argued out AaronSapoznik. Agreed.
I agree, but they should have tried this by now. We have always known Eloy is a butcher in LF.
If they are going to try Vaughn in LF, they would be better off sending him to Charlotte to work on that in a less pressure environment, to even see if he can handle it.
Aaron, as always spot on….with one small consideration. You surmised that Eloy has limited defensive acumen. I propose that he has no defensive acumen. He’s best fit for DH or a beer league where the outfield has no walls, no nets, and pray to God no mothers with strollers down the foul line.
You are right—-you can only hide him in left field for so long before he runs into another player and injures that one badly.
@ AaronSapoznik;
As I’ve been writing, it’s easy to build a young team on offense. The Sox and Jays have done it the past few years. The Twins a year or two before them. Now we’ve seen the Twins slowly look to improve defense.
The difference in teams that win is playing defense to support the pitching; and the pitching.
The theory of building teams on offense is that they can always trade a bat for a pitcher or a good defender with decent offense. That’s changed some as with so many teams looking for pitching, the price goes up.
I’d guess the Sox try to ride it out a bit with Jose Abreu, Jimenez and Vaughn. Most AL teams today use the DH as a revolving position to allow players with slight injuries to play or to give guys a day off from the field. If the Sox do elect to trade Jimenez or Vaughn for D or pitching, I’d think they’ll wait a year to see if NL adapts the DH so they’ll have other places to trade them to.
I like the Sox, but think the Twins are ahead of them unless the Sox pitching makes a large improvement. In the meantime, MLB is awash with quality SS’s. Bringing in a guy like Jose Iglesias (still only 31 y-o on a 1 year contract with the Angles) would allow them to move Anderson to OF – improving both SS and LF. Then they can trade a bat for a pitcher or RF.
In short, I think they’re stuck this year with what they have. But the team is young, and their contention window is just starting.
If the Eloy Jimenez injury is a minor one the White Sox are still the team to beat in the AL Central. Their lineup matches up just fine with the Twins but the ChiSox have a decided edge with their pitching staff, particularly in comparing bullpens. The White Sox also added a 3-time World Series champion HOF manager in Tony La Russa who knows how to navigate a talented team and it’s pitching staff through a grueling 162-game schedule and through the playoffs.
The White Sox overall defense is hardly a weakness, particularly up the middle. They have a Gold Glove CF in Luis Robert and a future one in 2B Nick Madrigal. Yasmani Grandal was a Gold Glove finalist catcher last season in his first season with the White Sox. Yoan Moncada was also a Gold Glove finalist at 3B last year in just his second season at the hot corner. When Adam Engel returns from the IL he gives the White Sox yet another Gold Glove finalist OF on the bench who figures to be the weak side platoon partner with two-time GG finalist Adam Eaton in RF when all is said and done. In the meantime, recently signed veteran CF Billy Hamilton will provide the White Sox with yet another GG caliber player on their bench. Veteran Jonathan Lucroy is no defensive slouch behind the plate as Grandal’s primary backup either. Did I mention that SP Dallas Keuchel has also earned with Gold Glove Awards in his career as well?
As for Tim Anderson, advanced defensive metrics suggest he is an above average defensive MLB shortstop despite his error totals because of his elite athleticism, range and arm. The White Sox will not be moving one of their franchise faces off SS anytime soon unless he totally regresses in 2021. Besides, the White Sox could be featuring two potentially elite Cuban OF’s to play alongside Robert within the next two years. They recently signed Yoelkis Cespedes and reportedly have an agreement in place with Oscar Colas when the next signing period becomes official next January (soxon35th.com/2021/03/24/white-sox-to-sign-cuban-o…).
Both Cespedes and Colas are advanced Cuban ‘prospects’ who figure to be MLB ready in short order.
* Dallas Keuchel has also earned 4 Gold Glove Awards in his career….
Eloy just tries too hard.
It’s a shame so many players show up just to ca$h a check!
Perhaps Jose can talk with Eloy. Tell him Sox need him to stay healthy.
Let Luis catch all of the balls because he can!
@London –
In a really brief span of time, they look a lot more vulnerable. Jeeez, Hamilton might break camp with them. Zounds. That’s not good.
They’re a young team just now putting it together. The last thing they’ll develop is that true, usable, quality roster depth. They don’t seem to have that right now. Which makes sense.
That takes time to develop.
Eloy is a baboon playing outfield
Eloy… you don’t need to prove yourself on the field. Play vaguely passable LF and stay out of Luis Robert’s way, and do the rest on offense. Don’t get hurt playing defense!
This! He should just accept his role and be Carlos Lee haha
Seriously! If it’s not right to him, like dead in his tracks, just let it drop and live to see another day. No more running into/over/onto fences and avoidable injuries.
That ball today was not catchable, there was just no need to try to make that play. Especially him.
He will be out of the league soon once his contract ends and will go to Japan and play .
The White Sox had the outfield depth to weather one short term injury like Adam Engel who can be replaced by Leury Garcia or Billy Hamilton. If Eloy Jimenez is down for any significant amount of time that’s another story. LF Yoenis Cespedes or RF Yasiel Puig are potential FA’s still available. In the meantime, hopefully Eloy will be OK. That said, he just can’t get out of his own way when it comes to outfield mishaps and time spent on the IL.
I don’t think anyone is touching Puig until his case is over.
I get all that. That said and as a husband and father of a daughter, it still bothers me that a ‘celebrity’ can have his name dragged through the mud while an accuser can remain anonymous in a civil suit such as this one. Why did it take this woman two years to file this suit without ever pressing criminal charges? It smells like a money grab.
Clearly Yasiel Puig has had some questionable character issues both on and off the baseball diamond. I don’t recall one of this nature. Apparently it wasn’t enough to dissuade Puig’s agent/lawyer Rachel Luba from adding him as her second MLB player client. Let’s see if any other suits follow. The cascading amount of civil suits (16 as we post) directed at NFL QB Deshaun Watson are now labeling him as a ‘serial predator’. Time will tell but certainly none of this is going to help Puig land a job with an MLB team.
Sox 100 million under luxury tax and they’re trotting Billy Hamilton out there.
Billy Hamilton been traded cut not signed waivered and if traded again u would get a bag of used baseballs
The Sox will be lucky to finish in 3rd place their team IQ is 0 does Luis Robert with 50 IB gold plated chain is redickulos thought Tony would stop that bunch of baboons
That is the saddest attempt at backpedaling a comment I have ever seen. I could scroll the last 500 MLBTR posts and not see anyone comment ” nice” or something similar because of how swiftly they posted a story. No one could possible read your comment and think that.You made a poor choice of commenting just own it and move on.
Cespedes misses much more time than Jimenez.
Yoenis Cespedes was much better in LF at a comparable age to Eloy Jimenez. Cespedes also had to deal with a much more spacious outfield and foul territory in Oakland and later in Detroit before he wind up with the Mets and when his injury woes began in earnest. Cespedes also improved his LF defense during the first half of his MLB career. He was far more athletic than Jimenez and possessed an above average arm for a left-fielder. Jimenez played RF earlier in his minor league career and possessed a suitable arm when younger. As Eloy matured and approached his MLB debut he added bulk while also losing mobility and arm strength on the grass.
All that said, you are correct to insinuate that Cespedes might no longer provide a defensive upgrade over Jimenez in the outfield. Yasiel Puig would be less of a concern with his glove and arm but has other baggage hanging over him now with that ‘delayed’ civil suit. Cespedes might still provide some help in LF based on his recent public workouts and could also add some pop to the White Sox batting order as a DH option behind Andrew Vaughn.
No argument about Cespedes’ ability. He was a star when young, and is still quite talented. My concern is about all that happened to him with the Mets. Didn’t he miss 2 years, or large portions thereof due to injuries?
Bringing in Cespedes or Puig is a sign of desperation.
Check the waiver wire, or a team looking to dump an OF’s salary during the year.
Well, his season is done. Go Twins ♀️!!!
“Over 162 games, even the toughest guys get strains, sore arms, muscle pulls” – Lou Brown
“I’m sick of this nickel & dime stuff” – Tony LaRussa
“red sox suck” – D.B. Fent.
Wait…what are we doing?
Perhaps a more radical approach. Moncada to left and Vaughn to third.
Vaughn doesn’t have the range but should be able to make all the basic plays and should have enough arm. Moncada can play anywhere
Yoan Moncada is a natural at 3B. Despite his offensive struggles due to COVID-19 last year, he still managed to earn a nomination as a Gold Glove finalist at the hot corner last season. He was a little too muscle bound to be a fluid second baseman. He seemed too mechanical and a bit slow with his natural reactions at 2B despite his excellent athleticism. 3B is more of an instinctive position and Moncada has thrived there since his transition. He should only get better with more reps.
Why would the White Sox potentially weaken themselves at two positions on the left side of the field with an already erratic Tim Anderson at SS? Moncada is staying at the hot corner. Andrew Vaughn will garner most of his time at DH and spell Jose Abreu a bit at 1B but could get a whole lot of pre-game LF reps and instruction from White Sox coach Daryl Boston in the meantime. When you’re primary position is DH and you’ve been playing 1B most of your life, getting a quick apprenticeship in LF should not be too much to ask of Vaughn, no?
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: Get Eloy out of left field before he hurts himself.
There’s simply no rhyme or reason to expect this kid to make it thru 162 games playing OF every day. It’s only a matter of time.
On the flipside of that, he’s probably the best pure slugger on the roster. The Sox desperately need his bat, not his glove.
The fans need to lay off him and the Sox need to encourage him to play a little smarter. Eaton should explain the concept to him.
But seriously, the fans need to stop harassing this guy about his D. Look at his offensive stats. He hits great. And he has Robert in CF. Just leave him alone.
Most White Sox fans understand this. They realize the team is better served with Eloy Jimenez in LF with a glut at the 1B/DH position. Eloy himself understands all of this and has vowed to improve. It’s just not happening.
Jimenez has spent too much time on the IL since his 2019 MLB debut and most of it is due to his misadventures out in LF. We were all encouraged with his attitude and the extra work he put in with White Sox coach Daryl Boston but once again he has put himself into a position to not only hurt himself but also the team with a poor outfield decision, in an insignificant exhibition game no less. As a result, he may potentially miss significant PA’s to start the 2021 season.
We are all praying that his injury will be a minor one come Thursday. Even if those prayers are answered positively it has to give the White Sox coaching staff more pause to keep him off the grass as much as possible going forward in a season when so much is at stake.