Why the White Sox continue to play Eloy Jimenez as he continues his recovery process

White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez has been noticeably laboring over the past couple of games when he’s asked to run the bases.

After pinch-hitting and knocking a single to left field, manager Pedro Grifol immediately sent outfielder Corey Julks in as a pinch-runner in Saturday's 11-3 win. The team needs his bat, but Jimenez doesn’t look right on the bases.

“We measure all this stuff every day and he gets up between 75 and 83 percent,” Grifol said. “The thing we are looking at is making sure that instead of doing that in short spurts, we measure it out by feet, too."

Jimenez’s lack of mobility also showed in Friday’s 5-3 win. Standing on third, Jimenez scored after a catcher Korey Lee groundout, but if first baseman Michael Toglia had elected to throw home, there was a good chance Jimenez would have been thrown out. If Jimenez is compromised, why is he active?

“Because in past history, it’s taken him even when he’s come back, it’s taken him 10 to 12 days, 10 to 14 days, to really get into sync with everything,” Grifol said. “Not just at the plate, but running around, the workload and all that stuff.”

Getting Jimenez up to speed is the Sox’ priority and they want him to work through his struggles — both physical and at the plate — at the majors.

“You can go down there and try to get a rehab assignment and get it down there, but it’s never the same as getting it here in the big leagues,” Grifol said. “The most important thing is if he feels good at the plate and he’s swinging the bat, he can really help us.”

Soroka starting again?

White Sox reliever Michael Soroka has been much improved lately, working a four-game scoreless streak heading into Saturday’s game. Since moving to the bullpen on May 14, Soroka has pitched 20 ⅓ innings with a 3.54 ERA and 35 strikeouts to 14 walks.

Opponents are slashing .200/.333/.307 against Soroka since he’s started working in relief. As a starter, Soroka had a 6.39 ERA.

“Sometimes you need that to remind yourself how good your stuff is,” Grifol said. “And when you start again, don't worry about pacing yourself. All you've got to do is build your work capacity up, maintain your stuff and then go get it and see how far you can go.

"There's always a possibility of him coming back to starting again, and he'll probably be better off because he's been in the pen for some time now."

Sosa’s struggles

Third baseman Lenyn Sosa has struggled in June, slashing .232/.276/.341. Sosa is still young enough, 24, that he still has room to grow.

It was a confidence booster for Sosa to hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 11-3 win against the Rockies.

“Having the opportunity to play every day is good,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “It’s a huge factor in the way you play. Two days ago, I was able to identify something that I needed to adjust, and I think the results are starting to show up.”

Sosa said he’s been working on his timing and staying ready for the fastballs thrown his way.