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Eloy Jimenez

Quick Hits: Colas, Jimenez, White Sox, Giants, Hendricks, Cubs

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“Oscar Colas is going to be given every opportunity to” become an everyday right fielder, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said in a recent interview on 670 The Score’s Inside The Clubhouse show (partial transcript here).  This doesn’t mean that Colas has a clear path to a starting job, however, as Grifol said Gavin Sheets, Jake Marisnick, Leury Garcia, and even Eloy Jimenez will also be competing for time in right field.  In Jimenez’s case, he’ll still be Chicago’s primary DH, but Grifol said Jimenez could appear in right field “a day or two a week if possible and keeping him athletic and keeping him working on the defensive side, because I know that helps on the offensive side as well.”

Given Jimenez’s injury history and his subpar glovework as a left fielder, it is clear he’ll be taking a back seat on the outfield depth chart, as the Sox would love to see Colas emerge at the big league level.  A highly-touted signing out of Cuba, Colas didn’t play anywhere in 2020-21 but hit .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers over 526 combined plate appearances with three different White Sox affiliates.  That includes only a seven-game stint at Triple-A, but the White Sox seem confident that Colas will be ready for the majors possibly as soon as Opening Day.

More from around baseball…

  • With contract opt-outs becoming more of a trend around the league, the Giants are no exception, as NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic notes that most of the club’s biggest offseason moves contain the potential for early exits.  Michael Conforto, Ross Stripling, and Sean Manaea can all opt out of their two-year deals next winter, while Mitch Haniger can opt out of his three-year contract following the 2024 season.  “It just so happens that a lot of players that we’ve talked to feel like they have another level of performance in them,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said, downplaying the idea that the Giants are focusing only on shorter-term candidates.  “I think that speaks to players believing in our development and our ability to help guys maximize their abilities.  They want to come here and get another bite at the apple, and a lot of times that’s in our best interests, too, for players to be motivated along those lines and to be better.”  San Francisco has had a lot of success in finding bounce-back players during Zaidi’s tenure, and it isn’t as though the club has shied away from longer-term offers, given what the Giants were prepared to give Carlos Correa or Aaron Judge.  However, Pavlovic notes the negatives of this strategy, including how the opt-out tends to push the risk onto the team’s side of a contract, and also how even in the best-case scenario of a player performing well, an opt-out leaves the Giants churning the roster yet again to fill that hole.
  • 2023 is the last guaranteed year of Kyle Hendricks’ contract, as the Cubs hold a $16MM club option (with a $1.5MM buyout) on the veteran righty’s services for the 2024 season.  After two underwhelming years and an injury-shortened 2022 campaign, Hendricks doesn’t look at the moment like a good bet to get that option exercised, but he is confident that he has a rebound coming.  “I just want to get healthy and go in and (contribute)….By doing that — if I’m able to be who I am — then I think things will end up taking care of themselves after the season,” Hendricks told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney.  “Obviously, the goal would be to stay here.  I’ve loved everything about it.  I would love to ride it out as long as I possibly can.”  Hendricks had some solid-to-excellent numbers with Chicago from 2014-20, and will be 34 on Opening Day 2024, so on paper it isn’t too late for the right-hander to have a bit of a revival.  A big portion of Hendricks’ offseason work has included learning how to rehab and manage the capsular tear in his right shoulder, and his type of injury doesn’t usually require surgery.  If Hendricks did regain any of his old form next season, the Cubs would face an interesting $14.5MM decision, and the chips might fall in Hendricks’ favor given the high price of starting pitching around the league.

White Sox To Activate Eloy Jimenez In Coming Days

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The White Sox have been without Eloy Jiménez for two and a half months, as the slugging outfielder tore a tendon in his right hamstring on April 23. He’ll soon return to the lineup, however, as various reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN) noted that he’s reported to the major league team after wrapping up a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte yesterday. Jiménez won’t be active for tonight’s game against the Twins, but manager Tony La Russa said he’ll be reinstated within the next few days — perhaps as soon as tomorrow (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

Jiménez’s impending return should be a boon for a lineup that has underwhelmed this season. The defending AL Central winners entered the year with one of the league’s more imposing rosters, but they carry a 38-40 record into play Tuesday night. Offensive struggles have been a key reason, as Chicago hitters carry a .254/.309/.377 line as a unit. They’re 19th in MLB in on-base percentage and 23rd in slugging output, while their 98 wRC+ indicates they’ve been two percentage points worse than a league average offense. That places them 20th leaguewide.

Left field has been one of a handful of problem areas, as the Sox have received a meager .250/.292/.387 showing out of the position. Jiménez contributed to that somewhat with a rough 11 games to start the season, but the bigger factor has been a down year from Spring Training acquisition AJ Pollock. The veteran outfielder did have a decent June after a dismal first two months of his White Sox’s tenure, and Jiménez’s activation should afford Chicago the freedom to plug Pollock into right field regularly as they’d intended to open the season.

Gavin Sheets has seen the bulk of the right field playing time of late. The left-hander has hit .227/.296/.372, production that has been superior to Pollock’s but still below-average. He’s also rated poorly in the eyes of public defensive metrics, not surprising given that he’s spent the vast majority of his professional career playing first base.

Jiménez has missed notable chunks of each of the past two seasons. He was limited to 55 games last year after rupturing his pectoral tendon during Spring Training. That delayed his debut until late July, and he had a fairly disappointing .249/.303/.437 showing during the year’s final couple months. The 25-year-old showed the potential to be a middle-of-the-order presence over his first two big league seasons, though, combining for a .276/.321/.527 showing with 45 homers in 175 games from 2019-20.

Activating Jiménez will require a 40-man move, as Chicago’s roster is currently full. That’s largely a formality, since infielder Danny Mendick will be transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list after suffering a season-ending ACL tear last month.

Chicago also seems set to welcome back another injured regular in the relatively near future. Yasmani Grandal told reporters (including James Fegan of the Athletic) that he’s joining Double-A Birmingham tomorrow to start a rehab stint. Out since June 12 due to back spasms, Grandal will ease back into game action as a designated hitter before getting behind the plate. The veteran backstop suggested he’s hoping to return shortly after the All-Star Break, where he’ll look to rebound from a rough .185/.294/.237 showing through the season’s first couple months.

White Sox Place Danny Mendick On Injured List With Torn ACL, Select Lenyn Sosa

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The White Sox have placed infielder Danny Mendick on the 10-day injured list with a torn ACL, the team announced. Infielder Lenyn Sosa will have his contract selected from Double-A as he joins the active roster. In other moves, Adam Engel was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring and Gavin Sheets has been recalled from Triple-A. Eloy Jimenez was also moved to the 60-day injured list.

Mendick was having a bit of a breakout season, at least through 31 games, slashing .289/.343/.443 over 106 plate appearances. That’s not really enough playing time to call it a true “breakout,” but Mendick was nevertheless filling an important void at shortstop while Tim Anderson was out. There was at least the possibility that Mendick would take over at second base now that Anderson returned. Josh Harrison and Leury Garcia have been splitting time at the keystone, but Harrison has produced just a 79 wRC+ while Garcia has produced an even more abysmal 25 wRC+.

To take over at second, the White Sox could turn to promoted prospect Lenyn Sosa from Double-A, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Sosa has played all over the infield in the minors for the White Sox. Sosa was Chicago’s 11th-ranked prospect, per Baseball America, ranked 21st by MLB.com, and 14th by Fangraphs. Sosa has seen his stock rise this season with his power as he has posted a .197 ISO on the year. He is not a big tools player, but he’s nonetheless posted an impressive .331/.384/.549 line in 289 plate appearances in Double-A this season. If he can continue to produce, Sosa could solve the White Sox issues at the keystone. That’s a lot to expect of a 22-year-old without Triple-A experience, however.

Sheets returns to the big league roster, stationed in right field for tonight’s ball game. In Triple-A, he appeared in nine games, slashing .270/.308/.541. That kind of production in the bigs would keep Sheets in the lineup. After all, right field has been a collective effort this season for the White Sox, with Sheets, Engel, AJ Pollock, Adam Haseley, and Andrew Vaughn all getting starts. Nobody has started more than four consecutive games in right field this season, with Vaughn reaching that mark just once.

Engel had started the past three games in right, but he now heads to the injured list. The 30-year-old has slashed .240/.297/.349 over 158 plate appearances, good for just an 86 wRC+. Engel has long been considered a solid defensive outfielder, which is where he adds his value. That’s been no less true this season when he’s posted 5 DRS across the three outfield spots.

White Sox To Reinstate Tim Anderson

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White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters, including Scott Merkin of MLB.com, that Tim Anderson will be back on the roster for tomorrow’s game, hitting leadoff and playing shortstop. Anderson has been on the injured list for about three weeks due to a groin injury. The corresponding move is not known at this time.

The return of Anderson figures to be a huge boost to the Pale Hose, as Anderson has established himself as one of their most important players in recent seasons. He even seemed to be finding another gear in this season’s early going, before being slowed by this injury situation. His 2022 batting line is currently .356/.393/.503, which amounts to a wRC+ of 161, 20 points beyond his previous career high. He’s also dropped his strikeout rate to a mere 11.6% after being between 21 and 23% in the previous three seasons.

Without Anderson around the past few weeks, the club has given most of the shortstop playing time to Danny Mendick, who has held his own admirably. Coming into tonight’s game, he’s hitting .284/.330/.455, 127 wRC+. That might be enough to keep him in the lineup even with Anderson’s return, by shuffling over to second base. Both Leury Garcia and Josh Harrison are having disappointing seasons, meaning that the team might ride the hot hand and bump those two to the side.

Despite dealing with a rash of injuries this year, the White Sox have managed to tread water in the American League postseason race. Their 31-32 record puts them just 4 1/2 games behind the Twins in the Central division and just three games back of a Wild Card spot. With Anderson back in the fold, that should make things a little less shaky going forward, and there could be some further reinforcements a little down the road. Closer Liam Hendriks hopes to be back by July 1, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Eloy Jimenez could soon resume his rehab assignment, per James Fegan of The Athletic.

Rehab Notes: Adames, Jimenez, Giles

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Willy Adames is on his way to begin a rehab assignment, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The Brewers shortstop has been out since May 16th with a high ankle sprain, and it’ll take a couple of rehab starts before he’s ready to rejoin the club. He won’t join the team in Chicago for their series against the Cubs, but he could be ready by Thursday, when the Brewers come home to face the Padres. Adames, 26, has been a key piece for the Brewers since coming over from Tampa Bay. While he’s been out, it’s been Luis Urias sliding over from his regular spot at the hot corner, while Jace Peterson and Mike Brosseau have worked out a platoon at third. In other recovery news…

  • Eloy Jimenez got just two at-bats in his first rehab assignment before leaving the game with right leg soreness. The White Sox slugger is day-to-day, per the team. Jimenez was seemingly making a quick recovery from a torn right hamstring, but the good vibes may have been too good to be true. Jimenez has been out for only a month for an injury that was projected to require a six-to-eight week layoff.
  • Ken Giles began his rehab assignment in Tacoma today, per the Rainiers Director of Media Relations Paul Braverman (via Twitter). The Mariners bullpen could use a little help. Seattle’s relief crew ranks 24th in the Majors by ERA and 19th by FIP, though they haven’t been overworked, currently 26th in terms of their innings workload. The former closer will be a question mark until proven otherwise, however, having made just four appearances over the past two seasons.

White Sox Place Luis Robert On Injured List; Lynn, Jimenez Nearing Rehab Assignments

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The White Sox have placed center fielder Luis Robert on the COVID-19 injured list. Corner infielder Jake Burger was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take his place on the active roster.

Speaking with reporters (including James Fegan of the Athletic), general manager Rick Hahn indicated that Robert has been experiencing symptoms of the virus. Whether he’s tested positive isn’t clear, but Hahn indicated he didn’t expect the 2020 Gold Glove winner to return to the team until next week. In the meantime, it seems likely Adam Engel will handle the center field duties, as he is tonight against the Guardians.

Robert is off to another great start to the season. One of the game’s top defensive outfielders, the Cuba native also consistently posts quality production at the plate. This season, the 24-year-old is hitting .285/.319/.438. That’s far better than the .237/.308/.380 league average offensive output, and Robert has also chipped in six stolen bases. While he’s not likely to be out for an extended period of time, the Sox will be down one of their best players for the next few games.

Hahn provided more fortuitous news on a pair of key players rehabbing from injury. Both starter Lance Lynn and left fielder Eloy Jiménez are likely to head out on minor league rehab assignments within a week. That’s not particularly surprising in Lynn’s case, as the big right-hander had progressed to throwing to live hitters. It’s a more positive development for Jiménez, who is exactly a month removed from a hamstring tendon tear that initially came with a six-to-eight week recovery timetable.

Pitchers are allotted up to 30 days on rehab assignments; those stints can last as many as 20 days for position players. Lynn is still at least a few weeks from his return, as he’s on the 60-day injured list and not eligible to make his season debut until June 6 at the earliest. Jiménez, meanwhile, seems to be trending towards the earlier end of his initial timetable. The power-hitting outfielder had scuffled through the season’s first couple weeks, hitting .222/.256/.333 with a lone homer in 11 games.

Eloy Jimenez To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

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April 26: Jimenez underwent surgery to “repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee,” the White Sox announced. It’s a similar injury to the one incurred by Lynn earlier this year. Jimenez’s estimated timeline remains unchanged; he’s still expected to miss six to eight weeks.

April 24: The White Sox released a statement today in regards to outfielder Eloy Jimenez, who left yesterday’s game with an injury. Jimenez has a right hamstring strain and will be heading to the injured list. While further updates are coming, the statement says that he is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. (Statement relayed by James Fegan of The Athletic.) The club later announced that Jimenez has been placed on the 10-day IL, with Lucas Giolito being reinstated and starting today’s game.

This is yet another blow to a White Sox team that has been pummeled by injuries in the first few weeks of the 2022 season. Lance Lynn, Garrett Crochet, Yoan Moncada and a handful of other players are already on the shelf, with Jimenez now set to join them. Giolito had been a part of that group as well, though the bit of good news is that he has now returned and rejoined the rotation.

The absence of Jimenez will put a dent in the club’s lineup for a second straight season. Last year, a ruptured left pectoral tendon kept him out of action beyond the halfway point of the season. He eventually returned to play 55 games down the stretch, but he only hit at around a league average level with a line of .249/.303/.437, 101 wRC+. That was certainly a few notches below his 2019-2020 output of .276/.321/.527, 122 wRC+, though perhaps understandable given the long layoff.

This year, he was off to a slow start, hitting .222/.256/.333, 74 wRC+. That’s a tiny sample of just 11 games and he surely would have improved it as time went on, but he will now have to sit on the injured list for around two months, give or take, depending on what further testing reveals. Once healthy, he will have to ramp back up and get back into game shape, just like last year.

The White Sox will now have an awkward situation on their hands for their outfield picture, as center fielder Luis Robert has also been dealing with an injury. Although he hasn’t been placed on the injured list, Robert’s groin injury has kept him out of the lineup for the past two games. AJ Pollock was just activated from the injured list on Friday after missing time with a strained hamstring. Pollock is starting in right field today, with Andrew Vaughan in left and Adam Haseley in center. Gavin Sheets and Adam Engel will likely be in the mix for some outfield time as well, with Robert eventually getting folded back in as he heals.

Eloy Jimenez Leaves Game With Hamstring Injury

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9:56PM: The “initial diagnosis” on Jimenez is a hamstring tear or strain, Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets.

7:07PM: Jimenez’s injury is thought to be “significant,” manager Tony La Russa told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters.  While more testing is taking place, the team believes for now that Jimenez won’t miss the rest of the season, and this absence won’t be as long as his four-month IL stint following his pectoral surgery last year.

4:03PM: White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez left today’s game with what the team described as right hamstring soreness.  While trying to beat out a grounder in the second inning, Jimenez seemingly took a bad step after hitting first base and had to lay down on the grass.  A cart was required to take Jimenez off the field.

Considering how ominous the situation looked, “only” a sore hamstring would seem to represent a best-case scenario for Jimenez and the team, though the outfielder is continuing to undergo more tests.  It would certainly seem like Jimenez will miss at least the next couple of games for rest and evaluation purposes, and a trip to the injured list seems like a possibility.

Losing Jimenez would represent yet another major absence in what has already been an injury-riddled season for the White Sox.  While most of the injuries have come on the pitching side, Yoan Moncada (oblique strain) and Yermin Mercedes (hamate surgery) have yet to play in 2022, and AJ Pollock only just returned from a hamstring injury of his own.  Luis Robert and Josh Harrison have also recently missed time, leaving the Sox particularly shorthanded for this weekend’s series against the Twins.

Jimenez is no stranger to the IL, as he played only 55 games in 2021 due to a ruptured left pectoral tendon that delayed his season debut until July 26.  Between this layoff and some other minor injuries, it isn’t surprising that Jimenez hit a modest .249/.303/.437 over 231 plate appearances last season.  While the White Sox were still able to win the AL Central even without Jimenez (and Robert) for big portions of 2021, all of this year’s injuries have contributed to Chicago’s 6-7 record heading into play today.

AL Central Notes: Perez, Jimenez, Dobnak

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“Everyone destroyed that deal,” a rival executive tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal about the general opinion of the Royals’ four-year, $82MM contract extension with Salvador Perez last March.  Though that extension doesn’t kick in until next season, it is now looking like a shrewd move in the wake of Perez’s huge 2021 numbers.  Perez entered today’s action with 42 homers, a .276/.316/.548 slash line, and a league-best 104 RBIs over 569 plate appearances.  While Perez had shown some big power in the past and delivered a .986 OPS during 156 PA in the abbreviated 2020 season, nobody saw this type of slugging breakout coming in the veteran catcher’s age-31 campaign.

What looked like an overpay in March now looks pretty close to what the market value would’ve been for Perez as a free agent this winter, as 2021 was the final year of Perez’s previous deal (a five-year, $52.5MM pact) with Kansas City.  Given Perez’s importance to the Royals organization, the team might have been willing to engage in some form of a bidding war to retain Perez in free agency, though that is a scenario the Royals are undoubtedly pleased to have avoided.

More from around the division…

  • White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez has missed his team’s last two games due to a bone bruise on his right knee.  The injury is “significant,” manager Tony La Russa told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters, though there is some hope Jimenez can return to the lineup in relatively short order.  While sitting in the dugout on Tuesday, Jimenez suffered the injury after being hit by a line drive of an Andrew Vaughn foul ball, and eventually had to leave the game.  The increasingly banged-up White Sox are missing a few key players on the injured list already, though Chicago has plenty of cushion atop the all-but-decided AL Central.
  • The Twins placed right-hander Randy Dobnak on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to September 8) due to a strain in his right middle finger.  Left-hander Andrew Albers was called up from Triple-A to take over Dobnak’s scheduled start in today’s game against the Indians.  Dobnak already missed over two months of the season with another strain involving the same finger, and given both the late date on the calendar and the apparent recurring nature of the injury, it is possible that Dobnak might not pitch again in 2021.  It’s been a tough season for the righty, who pitched so well in his 2020 rookie season that Minnesota inked Dobnak to a five-year extension worth at least $9.25MM in guaranteed money.  Working as both a starter and a reliever this year, Dobnak struggled in both roles, en route to a 7.64 ERA over 50 2/3 innings, with 11 home runs allowed.

Eloy Jimenez Activated From Injured List

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The White Sox have officially activated outfielder Eloy Jimenez from the 60-day injured list, according to a team announcement.  Infielder Jake Burger was optioned to Triple-A to open up room on the roster.

Jimenez required surgery after suffering a ruptured left pectoral tendon near the end of Spring Training, and he will now return at the shorter end of his initial four-to-five month recovery timetable.  He began a minor league rehab assignment earlier this month and has already banked 12 games in the minors to make up for all the lost time.  Luis Robert also began a rehab assignment this week, after Robert went on the injured list in May with a hip flexor strain.

Chicago has built a commanding lead in the AL Central even without Jimenez and mostly without Robert, as the White Sox have thrived due to excellent starting pitching and a lineup that is still one of the best in baseball.  A mix of somewhat unheralded veterans and youngsters have filled in admirably for Jimenez, Robert, and other injured White Sox like Nick Madrigal and (more recently) Yasmani Grandal.  Rookie Andrew Vaughn has become a fixture in left field, and La Russa said that Vaughn will remain in the lineup as either a left fielder or DH, possibly splitting time at the two positions with Jimenez.

Over his first two MLB seasons, the 24-year-old Jimenez did nothing but mash, hitting .276/.321/.527 with 45 home runs over 730 plate appearances.  Jimenez finished fourth in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2019 and he won a Silver Slugger last year as he helped lead the White Sox into the postseason.  With the AL Central title looking like a distinct possibility for 2021, Chicago’s chances of taking another step forward in the playoffs will look a lot better with Jimenez, Robert, and (eventually) Grandal all back in the mix, besides what other acquisitions might be in the works at the trade deadline.

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