Luis Robert leaves game with hip flexor strain

Sox Reporter

Luis Robert leaves game with hip flexor strain

The White Sox, already without left fielder Eloy Jiménez for months, saw one of the last things they wanted to see Sunday.

Center fielder Luis Robert motored down the first-base line to beat out an infield single in the first inning, but he pulled up at the end of the play and fell to the ground in obvious pain.

Robert stayed down while the trainer came out to check on him, and though he attempted to walk off the field under his own power, he could not and was helped off while putting no weight on his right leg.

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The team later updated Robert’s injury as a right hip flexor strain, adding that X-rays were negative and that their center fielder would be further evaluated Monday.

The White Sox outfield has been plagued by injuries, the most severe of which was the ruptured pectoral tendon Jiménez suffered at the end of spring training, an injury that will keep him sidelined for months and, possibly, the entire campaign. Adam Engel, the team’s fourth outfielder, has not played during the regular season, still recovering from a hamstring strain suffered during the spring. White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Saturday that there is no date for Engel’s return.

Robert is a Gold Glover in center field, and he’s been showing off his outrageous talent at the plate so far this season. He came into Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Indians with a .309/.353/.457 slash line, with nine doubles, a homer and eight RBIs. After he spent the second half of last year’s shortened season in a woeful slump, an improved Year 2 in the majors for him figured to be make the White Sox potent lineup even more dangerous.

Should he be forced to miss any amount of time, the White Sox will likely turn to a couple of the players they’ve used to plug the hole created by Jiménez’s absence in left field. Leury García and Billy Hamilton figure to be the go-to candidates for La Russa. Those two being needed to man center could create more regular playing time in left field for Andrew Vaughn.

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