Eloy Jimenez came to spring training 30 pounds lighter, having trained in the offseason with a determined intent to stay healthy, only to get hurt again on the day of the White Sox’ home opener.
Jimenez landed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday morning with a low-grade left hamstring strain, which is expected to keep the Sox’ No. 4 hitter in the lineup sidelined for two to three weeks. He was hurt running from first to third in the seventh inning of the Sox’ 12-3 loss to the Giants Monday.
It wasn’t all that noticeable at the time, and Jimenez was prepared to take another at-bat. He won’t be taking any for a while, but manager Pedro Grifol was encouraged with how Jimenez looked and felt when he came to Guaranteed Rate Field Wednesday morning.
The Sox, who were off Tuesday, recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte.
“He worked hard this off-season, he put the work in, he put the time in,” Grifol said of Jimenez. “He’s in great shape. It’s just one those things that happens, unfortunately. But the good thing is today he came in and he felt strong. We’re extremely optimistic he’s going to be available for us here in the near future.”
The injury is yet another setback for a player who had surgery to repair a right hamstring tear last season, when he was limited to 84 games. He missed almost the first four months of the 2021 season due to a pectoral tear suffered during spring training, and was sidelined with various other injuries throughout his major- and minor-league career.
When healthy, Jimenez can be a force. He homered 30 times and knocked in 79 runs in 122 games in 2019, finishing fourth in the voting for American League Rookie of the Year. He hit .296 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in 55 games in the abbreviated 2020 season, winning a Silver Slugger award.
Determined to stay healthy in 2023, Jimenez arrived at spring training about 30 pounds lighter. Injuries limiting Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert, Lance Lynn and Garrett Crochet marked a 2022 season that saw the Sox finish 81-81, and the hiring of sports performance senior director Geoff Head in the offseason underscored the organization’s heightened focus on better health.
Significant setbacks were avoided in spring training.
“It’s just one of those things, man,” Grifol said. “Going first to third, he felt it and here we are. That’s it.”
Grifol said Jimenez’ work in the offseason should bode well for his recovery.
“The harder you work in the off-season the better you’re prepared to withstand something like this,” he said.
Kopech in review
After Michael Kopech gave up five home runs to the Giants Monday, Kopech and the coaching staff suggested tipping pitches might have been a factor.
“We talked about it,” Grifol said. “We’ve looked at it, we’ve had our people look at it, our team look at it. I’ll keep that in-house but there’s going to be some adjustments made for sure.”
