White Sox Slugger Is Back After 10 Week Layoff

It's been a long two-and-a-half months, but the Chicago White Sox are finally on the verge of getting their big bopper Eloy Jimenez back in the lineup. 

Eloy Jimenez is in the White Sox clubhouse. His rehab stint is over

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 5, 2022

It was only last night that manager Tony La Russa said Jimenez' Monday rehab game in Charlotte would go a long way towards determining his return date. Seeing as his rehab is now said to be over, let's assume that it went well. He hasn't been activated for Tuesday night's game, but his return is surely imminent.

The 6'4", 240-pound slugger underwent surgery on a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee on April 26, and the original projection was for Jiménez to return to action in 6-8 weeks. Leg soreness, however, during his rehab in early June, pushed the timeline out a bit. 

Eloy Jimenez on the longest rehab ever. They trying to get him to lose 50 lbs?

— チェイス (@chase_33) July 4, 2022

The 25-year-old is a key component of the White Sox lineup, if he can only stay IN the lineup. A torn pectoral muscle kept him out of 100 games last season, and this year's hamstring tendon tear limited him to only 11 of the South Siders' 78 games this year. 

He finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, smashing 31 homers, then followed that up with a power-packed 2020 as well, hitting 14 home runs in 55 games in the shortened season, with an .891 OPS.

Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports