White Sox DH/OF to begin rehab assignment

The White Sox announced today that designated hitter/outfielder Eloy Jimenez has been sent to the Arizona Complex League White Sox on an injury rehab assignment. Rehab assignments for non-pitchers come with a 20-day maximum before they need to be reinstated from the injured list, if there’s no health setback.

Jimenez, 27, suffered a left hamstring strain about three weeks ago. Manager Pedro Grifol said at that time that Jimenez was going to miss an “extended period of time” without putting a firm timeline on it. Now it seems that he’s ready to get back into games and, barring a setback, return to the major league club by the beginning of July or perhaps sooner.

The timeline is notable since Jimenez is an obvious candidate to be traded before the trade deadline. The White Sox are deep into a rebuild, having traded away players like Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Aaron Bummer, Robbie Grossman, Reynaldo López, Jake Burger and others in the past year. They have a dismal record of 17-52 this season, the worst in the majors by a significant margin.

Jimenez is in the final guaranteed season of the six-year, $43M extension he signed with the Sox going into 2019. He’s making $13M this year and then there are two club options. Next year’s is priced at $16.5M with an $18.5M option for 2026, with each of those having a $3M buyout.

Over the course of that deal, he has shown the ability to be a significant threat in the lineup, but he has often struggled to deliver on that promise due to injuries. He has a career slash line of .271/.321/.479, which translates to a wRC+ of 116, indicating he’s been 16 percent better than league average overall.

However, his 122 games played in his rookie season are still a personal best. Since then, he has only once hit the 85-game mark. He has spent time on the IL due to a high right ankle sprain, a right ulnar nerve contusion, a left adductor strain, a ruptured left pectoral tendon, an appendectomy, a torn hamstring tendon and multiple left hamstring strains.

It’s possible that the compounding injuries are taking a toll on his body. He slashed .276/.327/.504 from 2019 to 2022 but has hit just .263/.310/.427 since the start of 2023, the latter line translating to a wRC+ of 102. Since Jimenez isn’t really a burner on the bases nor a strong fielder, the lesser offensive output is a blow to his value.

With the health problems and his diminished results of late, the interest is likely to be muted. What might help the Sox, however, is the expanded playoff field. As of this moment, the Sox are one of just five clubs that are more than 4.5 games away from a playoff spot. All other clubs will have to make some difficult decisions about how much to sell or whether to do any at all. The Rays and Blue Jays are reportedly putting off the decision until later while Astros general manager Dana Brown has said he plans on buying even though his club is near the back of the playoff race.

The Orioles could reportedly be looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder. The Mariners are leading their division but fired their offensive coordinator but of their struggles at the plate. Atlanta lost Ronald Acuña Jr. for the year and has been scuffling offensively lately. The Royals have a terrible outfield, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored for Front Office subscribers. Teams like the Cardinals, Guardians, Reds, Rangers, Cubs, Blue Jays and Twins could be looking for some extra firepower.

Before any of that can even be a consideration, Jimenez will have to get healthy and stay that way for long enough to show some promise against major league pitchers. This year’s trade deadline is on July 30.