White Sox 2B Nick Madrigal Done For The Season After Surgery For Torn Hamstring

CHICAGO (CBS) -- White Sox rookie second baseman Nick Madrigal will miss the rest of the season, after having surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn hamstring he suffered last week.

Madrigal collapsed and had to be helped off the field after running out a ground ball in the 7th inning against the Blue Jays last Wednesday. He was placed on the 60-day injured list with a proximal tear of his right hamstring.

The White Sox said, while Madrigal will miss the rest of the 2021 season following Tuesday's surgery, he's expected to be ready to play by the start of the 2022 season.

Madrigal, the 4th overall pick in the 2018 draft, recently appeared to be playing his best baseball since joining the team last year, both offensively and defensively. He was batting 305/.349./425 on the season, and in the middle of a seven-game hitting streak, and had committed only one error in his past 17 games. He was batting .359/.412/.551 with nine extra-base hits and 10 RBI over his last 21 games.

Word of Madrigal's season-ending surgery comes just one day after the White Sox got good news on the injury front for another key player, as left fielder Eloy Jimenez was cleared to resume baseball activities on Tuesday.

While there is still no timetable for Jimenez to return to the team, the White Sox announced the next phase of his rehabilitation process will take at least four weeks, after which he could begin a rehab assignment in the minors.

Jimenez suffered a torn pectoral tendon while trying to make a leaping grab at the wall on a home run during spring training on March 24.

The White Sox have managed to weather several injuries to key players this season, and currently are tied with the San Francisco Giants for the second-best record in the majors, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat Chicago in the first game of a three-game series on Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The White Sox are also playing without star center fielder Luis Robert, who suffered a hip flexor strain in April; star relief pitcher Michael Kopech, who is recovering from a hamstring strain; backup outfielder Billy Hamilton, who is recovering from an oblique strain; and starting second baseman Nick Madrigal, who suffered a torn hamstring last week.

The White Sox are also playing without star center fielder Luis Robert, who suffered a hip flexor strain in April; star relief pitcher Michael Kopech, who is recovering from a hamstring strain; and backup outfielder Billy Hamilton, who is recovering from an oblique strain.

Fellow outfielder Adam Engel also missed the first two months of the season with a hamstring injury he suffered in spring training.

Reliever Jace Fry also has yet to appear in the majors this season after recovering from offseason back surgery, but has been rehabbing in Triple-A Charlotte since May 27. Fellow reliever Jimmy Cordero likely won't be back until next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this spring.

Kopech recently resumed throwing bullpen sessions and could soon begin a rehab assignment. Robert's recovery timetable is still unclear, but general manager Rick Hahn said last week he's optimistic Robert will be back with the team this season.