Eloy Jimenez Eager To Return After Thinking He Was Going To Die

A couple of weeks ago, Eloy Jimenez thought he was going to die. Following the White Sox's May 5th victory in Cincinnati, he began feeling some stomach pain. Jimenez just assumed it had been something he ate and didn't think anything of it.

The next day his abs still hurt, and he began throwing up. He was unable to lie down or stand up, prompting the team to take him to Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.

"As soon as we got to the doctor, they said right away it was appendicitis, Jimenez told MLB.com. "At the beginning, I didn't even want to have surgery, but you know, health comes before baseball."

Jimenez wanted to avoid surgery, but there was no way around it. After missing significant time the last two seasons, he wanted to remain on the field. However, he is just thankful he will be able to return at all.

"It was good to know I wasn't going to die," Jimenez told MLB.com. "At the beginning, yes, I thought that it's over because it was super bad. I am thrilled I can even talk. But it's good to find out you're still alive, and you can go back to the field and play baseball."

Jimenez is chomping at the bit to return and has his sights set on the May 25th-28th series in Detroit. The timeline he was given after surgery was 4-6 weeks which means the soonest he would be when the teams home series against Detroit in the first week of June.

Adam Dunn returned to the White Sox lineup just five days after undergoing an appendectomy in 2011. He proceeded to hit .159 with just 16 doubles, 11 home runs, and 42 RBIs in 122 games in what turned out to be the worst season of his career. Taking some more time off probably would have done him some good.

At this rate, there is no point in the White Sox rushing him back. During his absence, Jake Burger has been everything Eloy Jimenez was supposed to be for the White Sox this season.

On Wednesday, Burger homered for a third straight game and fell just a double shy of the cycle. Burger is slashing .278//348/.747 with 20 RBIs in just 79 at-bats. He has the second-most homers on the team and owns a 1.095 OPS.

Jimenez has 18 more at-bats and still has fewer home runs (4) and RBIs (15). He also has a lower batting average (.258) and OPS (.744).

When he returned from his first IL stint of the season on April 14th, it took him a while to find his groove. In his first six games after returning to the lineup, he went 4-for-24.

Once he regained his form, he rattled off an eight-game hit streak, slashing .424/.472/.636 with two home runs and eight RBIs. His streak was halted by appendicitis.

Given that history, the White Sox would be wise to give Jimenez a rehab stint in Charlotte before inserting him back into the big league lineup. It's clear he had rust upon returning from his previous injury, and Burger is exceeding expectations as his replacement.

If it was up to Jimenez, he would be back on the field right now.

"I love that mentality because part of rehab is mental, just how fast do you want to go, want to push," White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. "At the end of the day, you can't break protocol.

"The mind is a really good thing when you're in rehab. It can take you many different directions. And the fact he's thinking of that, I love him thinking like that, I really do. I want him to push, and to the point where we have to back him off. And that's what he's doing right now. He wants to get back out there and be a part of this. I really like to hear that."

Jimenez has been running and playing catch. He has also very active in the dugout during games. When he does return, the White Sox will have to strongly consider putting him in right field to keep Burger's bat in the lineup.