Small Injuries Piling Up For The White Sox
Eloy Jimenez Leaves Today’s Game With An Injury
Eloy Jimenez has unfortunately left today’s spring training game with a possible injury. According to James Fegan, after Eloy’s first at-bat in the second inning, he was seen leaving the field with the White Sox trainer James Kruk.
The injury looks to be sustained running out a soft ground ball up the third baseline. It has now been reported by the White Sox that he is dealing with right calf cramping. In the video, it was unclear originally what the injury was. He did not appear to favor any part of his body, so it shouldn’t be anything too serious. Regardless, this is not the news you want to hear as a White Sox fan.
This comes after Eloy returned to camp after a very successful World Baseball Classic that saw him hit .455 with two RBIs for the Dominican Republic. After returning, it was reported that manager Pedro Grifol was going to sit him for a couple of days, but Eloy pushed to be in the lineup right when he got back.
Injuries Have Plagued Eloy Jimenez’s Young Career
The biggest problem with Eloy since joining the White Sox has been staying healthy. After mainly healthy rookie and Covid years, Eloy has played less than half the games he possibly could have played. In 2021, he tore his pectoral muscle while trying to rob a home run in a spring training game that cost him half his season. In 2022, he dealt with a plethora of leg injuries that cost him 70 games. Eloy staying on the field is imperative if both he and the White Sox want to take a major step forward. For a team that believes they have a chance at the World Series, having arguably your best hitter on the IL is not where you want him to be.
After plenty of major injuries to star players in the World Baseball Classic, it was nice to see Eloy return healthy. On the heels of Yoan Moncada bruising his ribs in a collision in Sunday’s USA v. Cuba WBC game, another injury is not something the White Sox can afford if they want to be in contention. These two injuries paired with the report that Andrew Vaughn is sidelined with back issues are not ideal for the White Sox.
The White Sox Need To Stay Healthy If They Want To Compete
Injuries have killed the Sox over the last couple of years. Hearing a player was out for four to six weeks has been a common occurrence for White Sox fans. To make matters worse, the most durable player the White Sox had, Jose Abreu, has departed to the Astros.
Injuries have cursed the White Sox. Luis Robert has missed over half the games possible the last two years. Even when he did play in the later part of the season, he could not swing a bat. Moncada missed 60 games last year and was dealing with injuries the whole season. Yasmani Grandal has played only a little over half the possible games, and he also was someone who battled injuries throughout the season. He even declined surgery last year which would have held him out for the majority of the year. Even Tim Anderson, who is mainly healthy, played only 79 games last year while dealing with a groin and finger injury.
The White Sox have felt the injuries pile up, as a majority of the starting nine barely had any consistent playing time together the last two years, as it seems like it was one injury after another. Luckily, it does not seem that any of these reported injuries are anything serious, but it is not something White Sox fans like to see or hear about.