When Jon Jay will make his White Sox regular-season debut was still a mystery as the home opener arrived Friday afternoon on the South Side.
Jay, the offseason acquisition who figures to be a staple of the top of the White Sox lineup, is still recovering from an injury that is affecting multiple parts of his body. It limited his playing time during the final weeks of the team's Cactus League schedule last month and has now kept him out as the regular season has started. Jay has reported soreness in his hip, his back and most recently, his groin.
Talking Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field (he remained in Arizona while the White Sox went on their season-opening road trip through Kansas City and Cleveland), Jay said he was feeling better but had no update as to when he might come off the injured list.
"Doing better. Stayed back in Arizona for about a week, worked with the staff down there, got some rest," Jay said. "Met with a lot of doctors over here, but everything is progressing well. There’s no timetable right now, trying to get better every day. But it is getting a lot better.
"I still have a little bit of symptoms, but it’s a lot better than it was in spring training. Just working one day at a time and trying to get back out there as fast as I can."
Jay only played in 12 games during the spring but fared well, banging out 11 hits, including a pair of home runs, in his 34 at-bats.
Jay was one of two White Sox acquisitions this offseason fans mostly associated with the team's failed pursuit of Manny Machado. But he, along with good friend Yonder Alonso, should help make this an improved White Sox lineup. Both guys bring valuable on-base skills, something Alonso's already put on display with his seven walks in the season's first five games. Jay has a career .352 on-base percentage and is just two years removed from a career high in that category, when he reached base at a .374 clip with the Cubs in 2017.
MLB
As for where Jay will play in the outfield on a regular basis, that also remains a mystery. Jay has the versatility to play all three positions there, though manager Rick Renteria alluded during spring training that Jay might not be in the lineup every day or in the same outfield position every time.
Jay's eventual return could cause a crunch in the outfield. While Eloy Jimenez has a permanent spot locked down in left field, center and right are more up for grabs. The White Sox currently have a lot of outfielders on the active roster: Jimenez, Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, Daniel Palka and Ryan Cordell. When Jay returns, one of them might get squeezed out.
But there's no timetable for when that might happen.
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