White Sox receive bad news regarding Eloy Jimenez's injury

The team with the worst record in baseball has taken yet another big blow. The Chicago White Sox have just 15 wins and are already 18 games back in the division with stars Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada on the injured list, and they are now adding designated hitter Eloy Jimenez to that group.

Jimenez was placed on the injured list on Wednesday after straining his hamstring. Manager Pedro Griffol discussed the matter on Thursday, saying in part, "he beat it up pretty good," and that "it will be an extended period of time," that Jimenez misses.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz provided further elaboration during the game on Thursday night, saying Jimenez could miss a month or more.

In his pretty young career, Jimenez has already gained a bit of a reputation for being injury-prone. In his six-year career, Jimenez has only played over 100 games twice. His career high came in his rookie year of 2019 where he played 122 games, and the second most was in 2023, which was 120. Other than that, his career high is 84, but he did play in 55 of the 60 games in the shortened 2020 season.

Now that he is hurt, it changes what the White Sox may have done at the deadline, depending on how much time he misses as well as the outlook for Jimenez going forward.

What does this injury mean for White Sox and Eloy Jimenez?

With the White Sox clearly ready to blow it up this year, Jimenez was the prime candidate to be traded. He's a free agent in 2025 and provides plenty of power, so he likely would've been a coveted rental bat.

The 27-year-old had struggled before hitting the IL, posting just a .668 OPS and 90 OPS+. That being said, every time he is healthy, he usually posts big power numbers, which is part of what makes him such an intruiging player. Though he hasn't quite showed the power he did in his rookie season with 51 extra base hits, he has always shown the capability and that would be enticing to a team who needs a bat down the stretch.

The injury changes that outlook of a trade for Jimenez, especially if he is going to miss extended time. There has been no real update on exactly how much time he will miss, but it is almost June. It may be unlikely the White Sox can move Jimenez while he is either injured or rehabbing. But, there are in sell mode, so anything is possible.

As for the White Sox going forward, Jimenez going down is not going to do any favors for their DH slot. Tommy Pham has been excellent since his signing, so maybe he gets kicked over to DH for the time being, but the rest of the replacement options don't exactly inspire a ton of confidence.

The three most likely options to replace Jimenez in one way or another that are on the current roster are Robbie Grossman, Dominic Fletcher or Corey Julks.

Grossman has yet to homer in 25 games and Fletcher has a 52 OPS+, but they recently acquired Julks from Houston and he is 4-for-10 in four games with the White Sox, so he may be who they go to first. It is also possible we see more of Oscar Colas, their top outfield prospect from last season, and Zach DeLoach, who was called up in the wake of the injury.

No matter what the White Sox do to replace Jimenez going forward, it doesn't seem like much will go right for them in 2024. If Jimenez is traded, even despite the injury, he won't be the only one.