White Sox looking forward to having Jimenez's potent bat back in lineup
He's been waiting almost four months to get back in a baseball game, so what's one more day?
For an overly anxious Eloy Jimenez, still not too much.
After being added to the White Sox's high Class A Winston-Salem roster for a rehabilitation assignment Friday, Jimenez and the Dash were rained out.
Jimenez, who ruptured his left pectoral tendon trying to make a catch in left field during a March 24 spring training game, was scheduled to hit third for Winston-Salem and fill the designated hitter spot.
It will be interesting to see if he's the DH or left fielder when he rejoins the Sox. No matter where he winds up, Jimenez's power bat will be welcomed back in the lineup.
"I'm really excited for him because rehab is so difficult," White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "More excited for us. It's not just his presence when he goes to bat, I saw it before he got hurt, but how he lights up that dugout, clubhouse. He's got a great personality. A beautiful guy.
"The smile makes the bad days good. In all respects, we're looking forward to getting him back. Just be patient."
Jimenez undoubtedly is going to push to come off the injured list as soon as possible, and the 24-year-old slugger did have more than three weeks of baseball activities at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, before heading to Winston-Salem.
"He has sent videos, I have three or four that I've kept," La Russa said. "I saw one, he had 12 swings in the cage where it looked normal, the sound of the bat. We've seen him in simulated games. He did some cage work, tee work, soft toss.
"Based on how strong he was and what he could take and they built him up to where now, the videos we've seen, he says he's ready, which hopefully means he's physically ready. We'll see if he can get his timing together. He's gone through all the work you normally would in spring training."
While he was in good spirits when talking to reporters Thursday, Jimenez admitted he hasn't been watching too many Sox games on TV "because it sometimes makes me sad."
"It started the day he was hurt," La Russa said. "He was bouncing around and hiding. He was really distraught. We had a meeting about going ahead without him and we made sure he was in there. We told him, between the staff and players, we were more concerned about what he was going through.
"It wasn't like we weren't going to miss him. But he was going to rehab, go through it, and we were going to do our darnedest to stay in contention until he got back. So we made it personal, taking turns communicating with him. He feels like he's a part of it."