Eloy Jiménez out at least a month after appendectomy

Pregame, we learned that Eloy Jiménez had been hospitalized with stomach pain and wouldn’t be playing on Saturday night.

And before a single Skyline Chili joke could slip from lips, we learned how serious Eloy’s discomfort was: appendicitis.

Eloy will return to Chicago as soon as tomorrow, to begin a recovery process that will have him sidelined from four to six weeks.

All of us at South Side Sox wish Eloy well, and hope for a speedy recovery.

Looking ahead to a month without Jiménez, the immediate thought turns to which Charlotte Knight will be called up to help out in the outfield. The choices seem to be two: Oscar Colás and Clint Frazier.

In Frazier’s case, never was a titanic home run so well-timed as his was tonight:

Frazier, once a blue-chip, tops-in-baseball outfield prospect, just recently caught on in the White Sox organization and has already had a two-homer game prior to tonight, during his first series playing for Charlotte. He would seem the logical choice.

Colás, of course, broke camp with the team as the heir (finally!) apparent in right field. While he had his moments, overall there were lapses. Colás was returned, with reluctance, to Triple-A in order to hone specific aspects of his game, and presumably he has not had enough time back out of the spotlight to sharpen up any dull edges.

With Billy Hamilton in Chicago, the White Sox would not have to bring up an outfielder, especially given Eloy was often DHing this season. On the other hand, if you don’t consider Gavin Sheets an option in right field (we don’t, but Pedro Grifol is currently running out an Adam Haseley/Sheets platoon in right), an outfielder coming up from Charlotte is imperative.

Option No. 3, though not an outfielder per se, would be activating Romy González off of the IL — although Romy’s injured stint seemed just a holding pen before sending him back to Charlotte as well.

No announcement has come yet from the White Sox, although we may have updates to this story as soon as later postgame.