Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez was carted off the field with an injured right hamstring in Saturday's 9-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, but the team said the injury isn't believed to be season ending.
Jimenez, 25, landed awkwardly on first base after hitting a ground ball to Twins third baseman Luis Arraez in the second inning. He immediately went to the ground and stayed there until the medical cart came while the training staff attended to his injury.
Chicago manager Tony La Russa said Jimenez is getting an MRI, but the team doesn't feel the injury would rule him out for the season. The hope is the recovery won't be as long as the ruptured left pectoral tendon that caused the 25-year-old slugger to miss several months last season.
"Thinking about what he's going to go through and deny a chance to play, it just breaks your heart,'' La Russa said.
The ailment continues a two-year ongoing narrative for the White Sox, who lost Jimenez for nearly four months to a pectoral injury last spring training. Center fielder Luis Robert is currently nursing a groin problem after missing half of last season while third baseman Yoan Moncada hasn't played this year because of a hip issue. Outfielder AJ Pollock just returned from a hamstring injury.
"It reduces the importance of losing the game when you lose a player,'' La Russa said of Jimenez's injury. "It sounds kind of corny but that's exactly what it is; he's part of the family. And we did lose the game, so.''
The team also is down starters Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito, though Giolito is scheduled to start Sunday.
Jimenez was hitting .229 with one home run entering the game on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.