Eloy Fought the Wall

Well, another year, another injury for Eloy Jiménez, battling inanimate objects in the outfield.

With none out in the top of the second at Camelback Ranch, Sean Murphy launched a blast out to left field off of Chisox starter Lance Lynn. Jiménez, as he has attempted in the past, made a try at robbing the home run by vaulting himself onto the wall.

The attempt was not outright ludicrous, as the arc of the ball appeared no more than 10 feet beyond his glove. But even understanding that instinct can be a hard thing to fight, the White Sox have to be drilling STAY AWAY FROM THE FENCE on a daily basis to their future DH.

To review, this should be pinned into Eloy’s locker:

No robbing home runs
Stay out of the fishing net
No diving catches
Don’t overzealously celebrate no-hitters

If this list seems like something you’d give to a full-time DH and emergency left-fielder, you catch on fast. (Two years ago, our Joe Resis mulled over what it would mean for Eloy to become a full-time DH.)

To be fair, this seems the least egregious of Eloy’s fielding forays. His previous meetings with the outfield wall have appear much more brutal, last year forcing him into concussion protocol. And even his loping into the outfield net would seem to breed more risk than this last fence attempt today.

However, Eloy left the game and is likely sidelined at least through the weekend. The injury appears to be to his left arm, an indication that he may have strained or dislocated his shoulder in the attempt.

(The White Sox have in fact confirmed a left shoulder injury and note he will be evaluated further after initial treatment.)

Matt Reynolds, of the five errors at third base Reynoldses, replaced Jiménez in left.