DH Jim¨¦nez agrees to join Rays on Minor League deal (sources)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Looking to bounce back after a tough season at the plate, designated hitter Eloy Jiménez has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Rays, multiple sources told MLB.com on Monday.
The club has not announced the deal, which was first reported by ESPN, and terms of the agreement were not available. Jim¨¦nez will have a chance to return to form with the Rays, who are taking a low-risk opportunity to potentially add power to their lineup.
Jim¨¦nez, 28, was a productive-when-healthy hitter for the White Sox from 2019-23. The Dominican slugger hit .275/.324/.487 with 89 homers and 275 RBIs in 436 games for Chicago during his first five seasons in the Majors, although injuries prevented him from ever topping the 122 games he played as a rookie in ¡¯19.
But Jim¨¦nez¡¯s production fell off dramatically last season, when he hit just .238/.289/.336 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 98 games between the White Sox and Orioles. Baltimore acquired him from Chicago at the Trade Deadline and gave him a shot as a part-time DH, but he struggled for the playoff-bound Orioles and became a free agent when they declined his $16.5 million club option for next season.
Still, betting on Jim¨¦nez to rebound is a worthwhile, low-cost gamble for Tampa Bay. The Rays likely view him as an option at DH, as he¡¯s played only 15 games in the outfield the past two years and only 82 dating back to 2021. Their current DH options are Jonathan Aranda and a handful of regular position players, including first baseman Yandy D¨ªaz, second baseman Brandon Lowe, third baseman Junior Caminero, left fielder Christopher Morel and right fielder Josh Lowe.
But there¡¯s no doubt the Rays need more offense overall after scoring only 604 runs, second fewest in the Majors, in 2024. The Rays also ranked among the league¡¯s worst in terms of home runs (147, 28th) and slugging percentage (.366, 29th), and their designated hitters produced a combined .238/.304/.373 slash line on the year.
Jim¨¦nez was once one of baseball¡¯s top prospects, peaking at No. 3 overall on MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 list before the 2019 season. The White Sox inked him to a six-year, $43 million contract extension in March 2019, making him the third player in history to sign an extension before his MLB debut.
Jim¨¦nez lived up to the hype over his first two seasons, recording 45 homers with 120 RBIs and an .848 OPS in 177 games across 2019-20 and earning a Silver Slugger Award at the end of the shortened '20 campaign. However, his offensive production declined over the past four years (50 homers, .745 OPS) while the injuries piled up, and he has essentially become a full-time designated hitter due to his defensive limitations.
Jim¨¦nez missed the first 99 games of the 2021 season after sustaining a rupture of his left pectoral tendon during Spring Training. The following year, a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee cost him another 65 games.
Jim¨¦nez made two trips to the injured list in 2023, the first with a left hamstring strain and the second after undergoing an appendectomy. He made two more in '24, going on the IL with a left adductor strain in April and a left hamstring strain in May.
His tenure with the White Sox came to an end on July 30 when they traded him to the O's for Minor League pitcher Trey McGough, but Jim¨¦nez struggled over 33 games in a Baltimore uniform, recording just one homer with a .586 OPS.