White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez has been medically cleared to resume baseball activities, the team said Monday, an encouraging development for their Silver Slugger Award winner who suffered a torn pectoral muscle in spring training.
The phase of this rehabilitation process is estimated to take a minimum of four weeks, after which Jimenez could be cleared for a rehabilitation assignment with a Sox affiliate, the team said.
The timetable for Jimenez’ return to the Sox has not been set.
“Great news, great news,” manager Tony La Russa said. “The guys have been in contact with him. I had a message from him today so I called him back and talked to him. He was letting us know he’s excited about getting back to baseball activities and ‘see you soon.’ “
La Russa said he cautioned Jimenez about wanting to rush back too soon.
“I said, ‘whoops, soon, no no. Patience, patience, patience,’ ” La Russa said. “We have a lot of season left. But it’s great news.”
Jimenez had surgery to repair the ruptured tendon before Opening Day and while the Sox said the expected time for him to be out would be five to six months, they left the door open for an earlier return.
