Eloy Jimenez starting rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte

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Among a bout of bad news general manager Rick Hahn delivered Monday, he did have one update that should make White Sox fans smile.

Eloy Jimenez is nearing a return from the ugly looking ankle sprain that landed him on the injured list late last month, and he’ll begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. Hahn said that Jimenez will likely be back within a week, perhaps before the end of the six-game homestand the White Sox started Monday night.

“He is progressing nicely, as we’ve talked about before, and should — knock on wood — everything go smoothly, hopefully be able to activate him by the start of the next road trip against Houston, if not potentially sooner,” Hahn said. “We’ll see how the next week goes.

"He’s going to DH (on Tuesday) for Charlotte. After that he’ll play part of the game in the field and then nine innings in the field and we’ll assess where he’s at then. At the very least he’ll be there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday before we even consider what’s next for him. It shouldn’t take long."

Jimenez suffered a sprained ankle when he jumped in an attempt to catch a home-run ball in the April 26 game against the Detroit Tigers. His foot stuck in the padding on the outfield wall, and after falling to the ground, he remained on the warning track for quite a while before leaving the field and getting some help into the White Sox clubhouse. In the moment, it sparked “here we go again” feeling for White Sox fans, who have dealt with a lot of significant injuries to the team’s future stars in recent seasons — including more Monday.

Initial fears from the fan base were that Jimenez could miss a month or more, but the White Sox didn’t provide a frightening timeline, saying he’d be reevaluated in two weeks. A little more than two weeks later, Jimenez will begin a rehab stint with eyes on keeping his injury-induced absence to about three weeks’ time.

Jimenez isn’t off to a rip-roaring start in his rookie season, the owner of a .241/.294/.380 slash line and three home runs in his first 21 games in the major leagues. But as the White Sox rebuild rolls on, having Jimenez on the field and in the lineup is critically important to his continued development.

Well, it sounds like he’ll be back on the field and back in the White Sox lineup very soon.

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