Bad timing for White Sox: Jimenez has mid-foot sprain
White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez has a mid-foot sprain and will likely not face the Cubs this weekend. Jimenez will be off his feet for a few days, and the Sox will reevaluate him Monday.
"There's some inflammation in there that they want to calm down," manager Rick Renteria said.
Adam Engel played LF and batted eighth against the Cubs on Friday.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Jimenez is hitting .296 with a .332 on-base percentage and .559 slugging percentage. He has 14 home runs and 41 RBI, ranking second on the Sox in both categories behind Jose Abreu.
Jimenez said the injury occurred during Thursday's loss at Cleveland when he touched third base on his way home after a Nomar Mazara base hit.
"For me right now it just kind of (stinks), but it's still a possibility too that I can play," Jimenez said. "I'm not going to give up. I'm going to do whatever I need to do and play and help the team."
Comes with job:
Over the course of a season, White Sox manager Rick Renteria understands that he's going to be second-guessed by fans and media for all kinds of decisions.
The latest one came when Renteria asked Carlos Rodon to come on in relief with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning at Cleveland on Thursday.
The Sox were ahead 4-1, but Rodon gave up back-to-back 2-RBI hits and the Sox went on to lose 5-4.
The decision to insert Rodon, who hadn't pitched since August 3, confounded just about everyone who was watching and prompted a great deal of backlash on social media.
"I'm a human being just like anybody else. I don't necessarily like it, but it happens," Renteria said, referring to comments from the outside. "Bottom line, it comes with the job. ...
"Trust me, it hurts us to lose a ballgame or have a moment get away from us just as badly as it hurts everybody else. I think that needs to be understood ... and I think most people understand that."
SoxFest canceled:
The White Sox announced that their annual fan fest, scheduled for January 22-23, 2021 at McCormick Place has been canceled. The Sox said they "are exploring new ways to connect with fans this winter. Additional updates about virtual programming will be announced in the coming months."