Eloy hits wall, exits with shoulder discomfort

White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez was removed from Wednesday's game in the top of the second inning with left shoulder discomfort after banging into the left field wall while trying to catch what was ultimately a home run by Oakland’s Sean Murphy.

Jiménez writhed in pain on ground after trying to make the leaping grab. He was escorted off the field by a member of the White Sox training staff. He will be further evaluated with an update coming Thursday, according to the White Sox.

Jiménez, who had an RBI single in the first inning, is hitting .319 with two doubles, one triple and two home runs this spring. He’s driven in 11 runs in Cactus League play while striking out nine times. He’s also scored five runs.

He has been open about trying to improve his defense in 2021.

Lynn 'smooth sailing'
Lance Lynn, who is penciled in as the club’s No. 3 starter, was charged with three runs on five hits over five innings in the White Sox 14-4 loss to the A’s on Wednesday. He struck out four and gave up two home runs. Lynn threw 74 total pitches of which 52 were thrown for strikes.

He is scheduled to pitch six innings March 29, but he’s not sure of the details of his next outing because the White Sox do not have a Cactus League game scheduled that day.

Overall, he was pleased with his outing.

“Five innings of 70 to 73 [pitches], that’s pretty smooth sailing,” Lynn said. “There’s not a whole lot of stressful and large pitch-count innings, so I felt good. I felt strong enough to get at least two more innings, so that’s a good spot when you look at where we are at with one more [start] to go. We’ll get up to 85 or 90 pitches on that in a controlled environment, so it will be perfect for that opening series.”

Hendriks on the mend
Liam Hendriks, who has not pitched in a week, is dealing with a kidney stone and he could return to Cactus League play as early as this week.

He threw a 20-25 pitch bullpen Wednesday and is expected to be ready for Opening Day.

“He's been dealing with that and I know people that have had it, it's very uncomfortable,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “It’s painful thing to go through, and it's a good test of his toughness, but he's passing it.”

Hendriks has allowed one run on one hit in three Cactus League innings this spring. He pitched a scoreless inning against the Dodgers in his last outing on March 17. He has recorded four strikeouts and hasn’t walked a batter this spring.

“I think there's a good chance that he can pitch this week if that's the case and he can make a couple or three appearances,” La Russa said. “He's in good shape. He's experienced. Without a setback, I think he'll be ready.”

Last season, Hendriks finished with a 3-1 record, a 1.78 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. He also notched 14 saves with 37 strikeouts and three walks over 24 appearances across 25 1/3 innings of work. He recorded a 1.99 ERA with 39 saves and 111 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched after taking over as the A’s closer on June 22, 2019.

Hendriks agreed to a four-year, $54 million contract in January.

Roster decisions looming
La Russa is scheduled to meet with general manager Rick Hahn and his staff on Thursday to discuss the roster decisions with Opening Day quickly approaching.

There is at least one spot in the bullpen to be determined.

“Sometimes, it's good to make a decision early enough to where the club settles in,” La Russa said. “But if the call is real hairy then you just got to face the reality of it. And there's real hairy calls.”