TORONTO — After exiting the game Tuesday against the Blue Jays, White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez landed on the injured list Wednesday.
Again. For the eighth time in his five-plus major-league seasons.
This time, it was Jimenez’s left hamstring that put him on the 10-day IL, five weeks after he returned from an adductor strain. The injury occurred as Jimenez was running between third and home to score a run in the Sox’ 5-0 win. It goes on an IL list that includes stays for a sprained right ankle (2019), a bruised right ulnar nerve (2019), a torn pectoral tendon (2021), a torn right hamstring (2022), a strained left hamstring (2023) and an appendectomy (2023). The only season Jimenez survived unscathed was the abbreviated 2020 season, in which he played in 55 of 60 games and won an American League Silver Slugger Award.
Jimenez also has encountered ankle, heel, foot, hip, leg and groin issues as well as lightheadedness that have kept him off the field during his career.
Jimenez pulled up lame as he ran to first base on a groundout in the sixth inning.
The designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right foot Wednesday.
Jimenez felt tightness in his groin in the Sox’ 5-3 win over the Cubs Tuesday.
Jimenez, who hit into a double play in his only at-bat Sunday, will be further evaluated Monday, the team said.
Jimenez experienced discomfort Friday night and was sent to a hospital for further evaluation Saturday morning.
The club recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte.
Jimenez will be further evaluated by team physicians in Chicago before treatment plan put in place
Eloy Jimenez was injured while running out a ground ball.
Jimenez was injured leaping at the wall on a home run hit by A’s catcher Sean Murphy on Wednesday.
White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez was injured when he collided with center fielder Charlie Tilson on the warning track in the first inning.
Jimenez is expected to miss a couple of weeks because of a high ankle sprain. Reliever Nate Jones also was put on the IL.
“He was feeling good,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He was power-shagging [fly balls in the outfield] yesterday; he played right field in New York on Sunday. He actually stole a base [his third], wanted to steal third, was moving around well. It’s unfortunate that happened.”
In the last year of a six-year, $43 million contract, Jimenez joins Luis Robert Jr. (strained hip flexor) and Yoan Moncada (strained adductor), who have had their own issues with injuries during their careers, on the injured list.
Thought to be the offensive core of the last Sox rebuild that produced one wild-card berth and one division title before fizzling, Jimenez, Moncada and Robert have been in the same lineup together 147 times since the start of 2020, Robert’s rookie season.
Grifol is at a loss for why. He sees players working to get in and stay in playing shape. He sees the weight rooms and massage tables at full capacity. He saw videos sent by Jimenez, Robert and Moncada during the offseason showing their intense workouts.
“When they came to spring training, you could tell they worked — Moncada’s numbers were spectacular,” Grifol said.
“And they’re running at high speed before games because one of the main things was making sure we’re practicing at game speed, getting the percentage up, your high-speed sprints. I don’t know what else to tell you. Maybe guys are wired differently. Maybe the good Lord says you’re not going to be healthy right now; you’re going to be healthy next year.”
Right-hander Steven Wilson also will be out of action after going on the 15-day injured list with a back strain. That cleared room on the pitching staff for righty Nick Nastrini, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to start the series finale Wednesday against the Jays.
Jimenez made a swing adjustment that paid immediate dividends during spring training, then suffered the adductor strain in the third game of the season. After two weeks on the injured list, he struggled to get that good rhythm back, and he takes a .231/.288/.381 batting line, .668 OPS and five home runs to the IL. He declined to talk, putting it off till Thursday, when he gets evaluated and knows more about the extent of the strain with the Sox in Chicago to open a four-game series against the Orioles.
“I’m not one to make excuses,” said Grifol, whose team took a major-league-worst 15-34 record and minus-100 run differential into the game at Rogers Centre. “We’ve got other guys. Really good organizations, their depth gets tested. That’s what we’re trying to build, an organization that can withstand injuries and adversity.”
Grifol has had the trio on his lineup card together in 48 of the 212 games he has managed the Sox.
On Wednesday, he had none of them.
“We have to build this to where we say, ‘OK, [an injury is] unfortunate, we’ve lost three of our best players, but we have to find a way to win a baseball game,” Grifol said.