Chicago White Sox fans annoyed as Eloy Jimenez on the injured list yet again due to leg injury: "It hasn’t even been a week" "Here we go again"
It's becoming as much a part of every Chicago White Sox season as disappointing results: slugger Eloy Jimenez is on the injured list once again. This time, it's a low-grade hamstring strain that's the culprit.
When healthy, Jimenez is one of the most feared power hitters in MLB. However, he has a harder time staying on the field than he does putting balls in the seats. This is the third time in three seasons that Jimenez has gone on the injured list early in the season.
Prior to today’s game vs. San Francisco, the #WhiteSox placed outfielder Eloy Jiménez on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 4) with a low-grade left hamstring strain and recalled infielder Jake Burger from Class AAA Charlotte.
Jimenez played just 84 games in 2022 due to a right hamstring tear suffered in April. In 2021, he ruptured a left pectoral tendon in spring training and played just 55 games.
Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told the Chicago Tribune that Jimenez's run of bad injury luck is mind-boggling:
"It’s one of those things. He worked hard this offseason, he put the work in, he put the time in. He’s in great shape."
However, for White Sox fans, they've seen this before, and they're getting tired of it.
@whitesox Who had Eloy the first injury of the year in White Sox 2023 bingo??
@whitesox Mannnn it hasn’t even been a week 😭 https://t.co/1sIfY0PLK9
@whitesox Fantastic, here we go again🤦🏻♂️
Jimenez has played one season of more than 100 games just once. He logged 504 at-bats over 122 games during his MLB debut in 2019, hitting 31 home runs with a .267 batting average and finishing fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year vote. He's hit just 40 home runs combined since.
In hopes of reducing the wear-and-tear on Jimenez, the Chicago White Sox took him out of left field and made him the team's full-time designated hitter this season. The experiment lasted five games.
@whitesox I was told this would never happen if he was a DH. Core is made of glass
@whitesox Eloy Jimenez every season https://t.co/081f3BdkaR
@whitesox Someone teach this dude how to stretch. Season isn’t even a week old
Jimenez was acquired by the White Sox, along with top-flight starting pitcher Dylan Cease, from the crosstown Chicago Cubs on July 13, 2017, for starting pitcher Jose Quintana. At the time, Jimenez was seen as "the next big thing," but Cease has far eclipsed him as far as the jewel of the White Sox's prospect haul for Quintana.
While many Chicagoans still love Jimenez, they are ready to move on from the constantly-injured slugger. What's the point of having a heavy hitter if he's never able to hit heavily?
@whitesox Is it too much of a over reaction to call him a bust (due to injury) already? He’s been chasing his best year of 31HR/79RBI/122GP for the last 4 years!
@whitesox As much as I love eloy if some team offered a top bullpen arm for him I’d take that in a heart beat. This guy is a injury bust.
@whitesox @JesseRogersESPN Is there a position in baseball that doesn’t require any exertion? Cuz that’s what Eloy’s position is.
For the record, Jimenez is a native of the Dominican Republic, not Italy.
@whitesox When the Sox un-box Eloy at the beginning of every season..... https://t.co/ioUUfR2EnF
Chicago White Sox call up Jake Burger in Eloy's absence
To take Jimenez's spot on the roster, the Chicago White Sox called up infielder Jake Burger from the minor leagues. In 66 games over two seasons with the Sox, Burger is hitting .252 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs.