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.