Eloy goes on injured list with right ankle sprain

CHICAGO -- Despite being placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game with the Tigers, White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez seemed in good spirits when talking with the media in the home clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Maybe it’s because Jimenez now knows he’s dealing with a high right ankle sprain as a result of his wall collision in the third inning Friday while chasing Grayson Greiner’s home run. The White Sox will re-evaluate Jimenez in two weeks, with not much known about the extent of his absence past that fact.

Then again, Jimenez might feel better with two days of treatment on the injured area. When asked what the White Sox training staff was employing to help him heal, Jimenez smiled and said, “Ice. Ice and ice again.”

“Yeah, it feels much better,” he continued. “The first day, I couldn’t even walk. Now, I feel better. I can walk better. There’s no pain a lot now, just a little bit.”

Jimenez, 22, is hitting .241 with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored over 21 games during his rookie season. The No. 3 prospect overall per MLB Pipeline had just returned from the bereavement list on Friday after returning home to the Dominican Republic due to the death of his paternal grandmother.

According to healthline.com, high ankle sprains can take anywhere from six weeks to three months to heal. But Jimenez is thinking more about what he can do in the present.

“It was a little bit disappointing the first day to be back on the field. But now I feel good. I just feel a little bit of pain, but I feel good,” Jimenez said. “They just tell me we are going to work day by day and see how I feel.”

Right-handed reliever Nate Jones also was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, with left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer and right-handed reliever Thyago Vieira recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Jones, 33, has a 3.48 ERA in 13 relief appearances under careful usage by the White Sox, who did not work Jones in back-to-back games during Spring Training and have done so only on April 16 and 17 during the regular season.

Manager Rick Renteria didn’t want to speculate on how Jones would be used when he returned, adding Jones was a little sore and the team was being cautious. He also didn’t want to speculate how this absence for Jimenez could impact his development.

“He'll be back, and I'm sure he'll continue to move forward,” Renteria said. “Ultimately he’ll become the player that everybody expects him to be.”

“I’ve been progressing good. I feel more comfortable at the plate. Fielding, too. Besides that play, I’m feeling good,” Jimenez said. “It’s going to be all right. When I come back, I’m going to play hard. No matter what. If the wall is in my way, I’m going to play hard and hustle for my team.”

The White Sox placed right-handed reliever Ryan Burr on the injured list minutes before Sunday’s first pitch because of A/C joint inflammation in his right shoulder. Right-hander Dylan Covey was recalled from Charlotte on Monday. Covey, 27, opened the season with the White Sox, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 1 1/3 innings over two relief appearances before being optioned on April 3. He spent most of the 2018 season with the Sox, going 5-14 with a 5.18 ERA in 27 games.