Eloy Jimenez out five to six months with ruptured pectoral

White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

White Sox OF Eloy Jimenez out five to six months with ruptured left pectoral tendon

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/25/21

The worst fears of the Chicago White Sox and fans of the club have been realized.

Chicago confirmed on Thursday that Eloy Jimenez suffered a ruptured left pectoral tendon during Wednesday's game against the Oakland Athletics and will require surgery to repair the problem. He's expected to miss five-to-six months of action:

White Sox OF Eloy Jiménez yesterday suffered a ruptured left pectoral tendon. The injury will require surgery and the expected recovery period is 5-6 months.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 25, 2021

In the top of the second inning of Wednesday's matchup, the 24-year-old attempted to catch an out-of-reach home run ball but instead caught his arm on the top of the wall:

MLB insider Jon Heyman added that Jimenez "will seek a second opinion" but that "surgery is likely" following the brutal injury that occurred in a meaningless exhibition contest.

Across his first 177 regular-season games, Jimenez hit 45 home runs with 120 RBI and 32 doubles with a .276 average and .848 OPS. Before Thursday's development, Dayn Perry of CBS Sports projected Jimenez could contend for the American League home run title later this year.

The harsh truth of the matter is there's no direct replacement for Jimenez on either the Chicago roster or the open market. Depending on where the White Sox are in the standings by Labor Day weekend, they may choose to sit the young slugger until the spring of 2022 to play things safe.

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