This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin¡¯s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY -- Eloy Jiménez?didn¡¯t seem in a very talkative mood, at least at the start of his conversation with me and three other media members prior to Thursday¡¯s 10-1 loss to the Royals.

And to be honest, who could blame him? Jimenez once again was addressing what became Friday another trip to the injured list due to a left adductor strain, in this instance, and a role he has unfortunately played far too often during his six-year-career. When I asked Jim¨¦nez about frustration coming from these injuries, he forced out a smile and I thought was going to respond with a ¡°What do you think?¡±

Jim¨¦nez has answered that way before in his frequently upbeat, comical nature when quizzed about a topic deemed somewhat obvious. The White Sox designated hitter was not in a truly comical mood Thursday.

¡°It is frustrating, you know?¡± said Jim¨¦nez, with his usual gregarious nature reduced to low volume introspection. ¡°Right now, it's just move the page and keep going.

¡°Things are going to happen. Sometimes I want to go home, but I don't want to give up like that. I'm going to keep working. I'm going to be here for my team.¡±

The ¡°go home¡± part from the 27-year-old caught my attention. So, I followed up with whether that idea was born out of frustration.

¡°Yeah, sometimes. Remembering all these years with everything that happened, it's really frustrating,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°Especially when you've been feeling good, and you've been preparing yourself good and something happens.

¡°At the end of the day, I'm a warrior. I'm going to keep pushing and I'm going to keep working and I'm going to be there.¡±

Over 439 games and 1,788 plate appearances since joining the White Sox, Jim¨¦nez has been a productive force when healthy. He has 89 career home runs, launching 31 as a rookie in 2019, and won a Silver Slugger during the COVID-19 season of ¡¯20 when he played 55 of 60 games.

He's also injury prone, or better put, injury unlucky. It¡¯s not any sort of judgment on the 6-foot-4 designated hitter, but simply a fact when looking at the list of maladies from a rupture of his left pectoral tendon in Spring Training 2021 all the way through an appendicitis he suffered while the team was in Cincinnati from May 5-7 last season.

These problems won¡¯t make Jim¨¦nez more cautious.

¡°Not really. I'm never worried about pushing it,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°I'm just asking myself, 'What next? What are we going to do to get out of it?' It's just keep working.

¡°I've been working my [rear] off every single day, and I've been putting in the work that I need to put in. Sometimes things happen and you don't know what to do, but at the end of the day I'm going to find out.¡±

Running will be the biggest test for Jim¨¦nez after feeling something pull in his groin area after taking two steps out of the box on a ground out in Sunday¡¯s series finale against the Tigers. His grimace was noticeable on that first or second move, leaving him out of action for the time being.

Eventually, Jim¨¦nez believes good fortune will come his way as he plays in the final guaranteed season of a six-year, $43 million deal with a $16.5 million club option for 2025, an $18.5 million club option for ¡¯26 and a $3 million buyout. Or better put, it would be good healthy fortune.

¡°At some point, it's going to be,¡± said Jim¨¦nez, who hit 18 homers and 23 doubles over 120 games in ¡¯23. ¡°I know because I've been working. Someday it's going to be another side.¡±