(670 The Score) The White Sox’s loss of center fielder Luis Robert on Sunday to a complete tear of his hip flexor brought back the bad memory of left fielder Eloy Jimenez suffering a torn pectoral in late March.
Robert and Jimenez are both young, premier talents who are going to be sidelined for months and who are impossible to replace. In the case of Robert, the best-case scenario is for him to return to baseball activities in August and perhaps return to action in final month of the season. Jimenez is on a similar timeline. The worst-case scenario is both could miss the entire season depending how their healing process and rehab goes.
For his part, veteran first baseman Jose Abreu has been in contact with Jimenez plenty, and he plans to do the same with Robert.
“I have been talking to Eloy,” Abreu said. "We have been talking. He is in a good place mentally. He has a positive mindset. I have said this before, you need to stick up for these guys during difficult times.
“We are here for them. We need to back them up and support them. That is what I am all about with Eloy and Luis.”
Abreu shared an update of on Jimenez’s progress as well.
“He has a big faith in coming back to the team this season,” Abreu said. “He is progressing much better. I hope he comes back, because I am betting on him to do so.”
Despite the White Sox’s injury adversity, Abreu expressed faith in his teammates to move forward positively and for the front office to help fill the void with moves. Entering play against the Reds on Tuesday, the White Sox sat at 15-12, one game behind the AL Central-leading Royals.
“This has been a difficult month,” Abreu said. “It’s like life. In baseball, you have your challenges. And in life, it will throw you a curve. You must keep your head up and keep moving forward. We need to do this as a unit, and hopefully we will produce on the field and play better baseball. We need to control only what we can control and move forward.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.