White Sox have an ideal replacement for Eloy Jimenez after IL stint

The White Sox have the perfect backup plan in place for Eloy Jiménez’s recent injury, calling up Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez was recently placed on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain. In Jiménez’s place, the White Sox have Jake Burger as a solid replacement.

Jiménez is expected to miss two to three weeks following his hamstring injury, a deja vu of last season when he also missed a chunk of games in the beginning of the year. That time, he tore his right hamstring and had to undergo surgery.

The 26-year-old suffered his most recent injury while running the bases in the seventh inning of the White Sox’s blowout against the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

The slim good news for Chicago is that the club has a capable replacement for Jiménez ready to go: Jake Burger.

White Sox call up Jake Burger from Triple-A to take Eloy Jiménez’s spot

Burger enjoyed an impressive Spring Training, slashing .262/.300/.491 with four home runs and nine RBI. He couldn’t produce quite as much success for Triple-A Charlotte at the start of the season, batting a paltry .167 in three games.

However, the burden of filling in for a former Silver Slugger award winner won’t fall completely on Burger’s shoulders; Chicago can pair Gavin Sheets with Burger in a platoon to share hitter duties.

In an ideal world, Burger and/or Sheets would be able to replicate Jiménez’s production for the next few weeks, and in the meantime, Jiménez will recover to full health.

Injuries have plagued Jiménez’s career and cast doubt over his ability to stay healthy in the 2023 season. Seeing Jiménez develop into an All-Star-caliber designated hitter will be key to Chicago’s success, and the club can only hope and pray Jiménez’s injuries won’t become more of a nagging problem in the long term.