When Eloy Jimenez hit 31 home runs as a rookie in 2019, with a 115 wRC+ as a 22-year-old kid with the Chicago White Sox, it looked like he was the king of the world. Fast forward five years, and the Baltimore Orioles declined a lucrative $16.5 million club option to make him a free agent.
Tampa Bay Rays sign Eloy Jimenez
On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays signed Jimenez to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training according to multiple reports. How the mighty has fallen.
“News: DH Eloy Jimenez and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a minor league deal, sources tell ESPN. Jimenez, 28, played for the White Sox and Orioles this year and hopes to rebuild his career with a Rays team that has high aspirations in the American League East,” ESPN’s Jesse Rogers posted on X.
Jimenez was a Silver Slugger award winner as recently as 2020, when he hit 14 home runs in 55 games with a 138 wRC+. He was basically a league-average hitter in 2021 with a 100 wRC+, and returned to the top (albeit in a limited sample) in 2022 with a 143 wRC+. He returned a 105 wRC+ in 2023 but his production fell off a cliff in 2024 with a 78 wRC+.
The Rays hope they can help Jimenez get back on his feet
If there is a team in MLB that has a shot at ‘fixing’ Jimenez, it’s the Rays. They know, however, that his body has been through a lot over the years. Since becoming a major leaguer in 2019, Jimenez has suffered ankle, elbow, hip, foot, pectoral, groin, knee, hamstring, leg, appendix, heel, and adductor ailments, some of them recurring and a couple required surgery.
He is still just 28, though, so there is a chance he returns positive offensive value for Tampa Bay if he is healthy enough. It’s a worthwhile gamble given Jimenez’s potential with a bat on his hands.
