Latest Eloy Jiménez injury does little to hurt these White Sox but stings as reminder of what might have been

At this point, Eloy Jiménez means very little for the Chicago White Sox‘ long-term future.

Once upon a time, Jiménez was a cornerstone of a team that appeared set up for perennial championship contention. His big-money contract extension before he played a major league game showed how high the expectations were.

That much-anticipated contention window opened only slightly and definitively slammed shut last summer, on the way to a 101-loss season that ranked among the worst in franchise history and launched a new rebuilding cycle on the South Side.

[MORE SOX: Slumping Andrew Benintendi knows ‘the game will humble you real quick’]

And so despite him still harboring 30-, 35-, 40-homer potential, that Jiménez is injured once more — the latest, a strained hamstring suffered running the bases in Tuesday’s win over the Blue Jays, is being counted by some on the internet as the 20th he’s had as a big leaguer — shouldn’t frustrate anyone thinking a White Sox team that got off to a 3-22 start and was 20 games below .500 (checks notes) yesterday had a playoff push in them.

If there’s any frustration to be had from the fan base, it’s that yet another Jiménez injury twists the knife, reminding why what was supposed to be the most successful era of White Sox baseball ever never came to fruition.

Injuries like these are why the White Sox are rebuilding again instead of planning annual postseason parties in Grant Park. It’s not fair to put all that on Jiménez’s shoulders, of course, even if he’s been the poster child for an entire group that couldn’t stay healthy. His Vince Carter impression over the left-field wall in spring training three years ago is perhaps the single most maddening injury for White Sox fans, even if the ensuing monthslong absence came in a year the team won the AL Central.

Those long absences — and the many shorter ones along the way — have prevented Jiménez from reaching his envisioned potential as a home-run machine in the middle of the White Sox’ lineup. Glimpses have undoubtedly come, and even this season he’s had positive moments, with homers, hard-hit balls and legs that have felt good enough lately for him to up his career stolen-base total from zero to three. But as has been the case throughout his career, those positive moments have been fleeting, brought to a screeching halt by terrible luck on the health front.

But while Jiménez has racked up a whole lot of time on the injured list — his trip there Wednesday was his second this season — he’s one of many. Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada are still part of this team, though they’ve both been out since the season’s opening games. Robert figures to be back soon, after playing in complex-league games in Arizona and heading out on a minor league rehab assignment. Moncada is expected back after the All-Star break. But those two have also spent a ton of time either on the injured list or playing through injuries in their respective big league careers, two more cornerstones the White Sox missed often during the years when Rick Hahn’s rebuilding project was supposed to be reaching championship-level heights.

Tim Anderson. Yasmani Grandal. Michael Kopech. Nick Madrigal.

The list of White Sox to experience significant injuries that cost them gigantic chunks of seasons is a long one.

Jiménez’s most recent one might not rob him of the kind of playing time others have during his career. The team hoped to decrease the chances an injury would occur by moving him from the outfield to a DH role that he openly dislikes. But the injuries have still come, most from running the bases, something the White Sox can’t remove from his game and still get the player they envisioned.

Jiménez is no $16.5 million pinch-hitter.

But even before this latest injury, he was unlikely to be a $16.5 million anything for these White Sox, whose budget-conscious behavior last offseason and state as a team only embarking on a long-term rebuilding project made it a seeming foregone conclusion that Jiménez will be playing elsewhere next season, that $16.5 million club option for 2025 not fitting the team’s plans.

And so the biggest impact more Jiménez injuries have on the White Sox is their inability to trade him, perhaps, as it seems like Chris Getz could be holding a fairly extensive garage sale leading up to the trade deadline at the end of July. A power surge from Jiménez might have netted the White Sox a notable piece or two as they try to stockpile the talent necessary to turn the franchise’s fortunes around. It’s easy to see multiple injuries preventing that from happening, or at least producing a less-than-thrilling return, should any deal materialize.

Without much in the way of stakes, a new Jiménez injury does little to impact the 2024 team. But it’s a major reminder of how big the impact all the injuries that came before had.

A strained hamstring in 2024 doesn’t do much of anything to hurt the White Sox.

But all the injuries prior did everything to hurt them. It’s the No. 1 reason why they’re in the position they’re in.