Recent Call-Up Spells Bad News For Eloy Jimenez
Death, taxes, and Eloy Jimenez heading to the injured list. These are the three constants in life. In the game earlier today, Eloy left the game after running to first base on a ground ball to third base. You could tell he was in pain as he made it down the line, and he was taken out shortly after.
The White Sox announced that he was dealing with left adductor soreness and that he is being further evaluated. This is not a good sign, as Eloy could be headed for an IL stint.
This seems to be the case, as White Sox beat reporter James Fegan reports that manager Pedro Grifol has confirmed that Eloy is dealing with a left adductor strain, similar to the one that he suffered in 2018. They have not announced the severity of the injury, but in 2018, Eloy was sidelined for two weeks for the same injury. If this is anything like what he had in 2018, he is likely to hit the injured list once again. Also, considering it is early in the season, they might add him to the injured list as a precautionary measure to ensure he is healthy enough to build some trade value by the trade deadline.
There hasn’t been an official move as of yet, but James Fegan reports that a source says that the White Sox are calling up utility infielder Lenyn Sosa.
This is an interesting move, as the position the White Sox will need to fill is designated hitter. Sosa doesn’t profile as a designated hitter, but he will add infield depth. They likely promoted Sosa due to his major league experience, as it seems likely that Robbie Grossman still is not ready to be promoted quite yet.
Now, the real question is who will take over Eloy’s DH spot. There are a few routes the White Sox can go. They can allow Braden Shewmake to take over shortstop and let Paul DeJong DH, potentially rotating with Gavin Sheets depending on the matchup. They could also let Korey Lee get some at-bats, as he could get an extended look at the plate, as that is where the question marks with him are.
I’d imagine that Grifol rotates the DH depending on the matchup. I think he will mix in Sheets against some righties while rotating everyone else depending on who has the hottest bat. Additionally, he can now get both Shewmake and DeJong at-bats if they desire, as starting shortstop has now become more contested than people have originally thought.
This is a bad situation for the White Sox, as they needed Eloy to play well so they could field trade offers for him at the deadline. They are not likely to pick up his option next year, similar to Tim Anderson, but they will need another team to want to trade for him. Perhaps this extended time can allow Eloy to reset, as he has not looked good in the first three games.