White Sox OF Eloy Jiménez has surgery to repair torn tendon

CHICAGO - The Chicago White Sox are sticking with a six-to-eight week timeline for Eloy Jiménez after the outfielder had surgery Monday morning to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee.

Jiménez got hurt during Saturday’s 9-2 loss at Minnesota when he stretched for first base while running out a grounder to third. The 25-year-old slugger stumbled after the play and his right knee appeared to lock up.

Jiménez’s injury is similar to the one that sidelined White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal for almost two months last season. Right-hander Lance Lynn also is on the injured list with a similar issue after he was pulled from his final start of spring training with right knee discomfort.

"On the positive side of things, we obviously have some track record here and feel pretty confident in that six-to-eight-week return timeframe being the outer bounds, depending on any potential setbacks," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.

Jiménez was sidelined for much of last year after he ruptured his left pectoral tendon trying to make a catch on a home run during a spring training game. He played in 55 games during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, batting .296 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs.

He hit 31 homers in 122 games as a rookie in 2019, and Hahn disputed the idea that Jiménez is injury-prone.

"Just couldn’t be further from the truth," Hahn said. "In terms of the fact that he’s missing significant time this year and last year, that’s the extent that you could call the guy injury-prone.

"He made a bad decision last year trying to make a play. This year, again, trying to get to a level that he had barely accessed all year. That’s more a guy ... trying to do everything he can to help his team win, even if it’s perhaps not the right decision at that time. That’s not a guy who’s injury-prone."

Also Monday, the White Sox reinstated reliever Matt Foster from the family leave list and optioned outfielder Adam Haseley to Triple-A. The 27-year-old Foster has no record and a 1.42 ERA in five relief appearances this season.