Rays sign Eloy Jimenez to Minor League deal

3.13pm: Jimenez will earn a guaranteed salary of $2 million if he makes the team, Héctor Gomez of Z101 Digital reports. He can earn an additional $2 million in playing time incentives.

12.13pm: The Rays are agreeing to designated hitter Eloy Jimenez on a minor league deal, according to a report from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The deal presumably includes an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Jimenez, 28, signed with the Cubs from the Dominican Republic as an international amateur and made his pro debut in 2014. He quickly climbed the prospect rankings and was eventually included alongside Dylan Cease in the trade between the cities which he brought Jose Quintana at Wrigley Field. Jimenez’s best star prospect continued to shine with the White Sox, who eventually signed him to a long-term contract before his big league debut in 2019. The $43 million guarantee gave Chicago control over Jimenez for eight seasons in a record-breaking deal for a prospect who hadn’t yet made his big league debut.

The deal initially looked like something of a coup as the slugger burst onto the scene in the majors with a fourth-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 before Jimenez slashed .295/.332/.559 (138 wRC+) with 14 homers in just 55 games during the shortened 2020 season. Jimenez’s excellent hitting helped lead the White Sox to their first appearance in the playoffs since 2008, and even though they fell to the A’s in three games, it looked like the South Siders were capable of competing for years to come with Jimenez as a key part of the core.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go that way. Jimenez was limited to just 139 games and 558 road trips over the next two seasons due to myriad injuries, and while he posted a 125 wRC+ during that span, the missed time combined with Jimenez’s poor outfield defense led to Chicago to make him more or less a full-time DH from now on. While Jimenez remained healthy enough to play 120 games in 2023, his offense left a lot to be desired as he slashed just .272/.317/.441 with 18 homers in 489 trips to the plate. This was good for a 105 wRC+ which, while above average, left him as a more or less replacement level DH (0.6 fWAR).

After losing 101 games in 2023, the White Sox were certainly hoping that Jimenez would recover enough in 2024 to increase his trade value and bring in an interesting piece or two for the rebuild they started by trading Dylan Cease and losing ground. Tim Andersonthe club option during the low season. Unfortunately, the slugger did anything but, turning in the far worst performance of his career in 2024. In 98 games with the White Sox and Orioles, Jimenez hit a paltry .238/.289/.336 and was worth -0, 9 fWAR. That below-replacement-level production made it an easy decision for Baltimore to release him this winter, making him a free agent for the first time in his career.

That led him to the Rays, who are coming off a disappointing 2024 season, largely thanks to a lackluster offense. Given Jimenez’s offensive struggles, it’s hardly a guarantee he can help him. But adding a bat with his potential upside in a minor league deal can’t hinder the club’s efforts to present a stronger lineup in 2025, and even if Jimenez only managed the 105 WRC+ he posted in 2023, he’d still be an upgrade compared to 97. In wRC+ the Rays moved out of their DH slot last year. If Jimenez were to leave the field, he would join the young likes Christopher Morel, Jonathan ArandaAND Jonny DeLuca vying for playing time in the outfield and at DH.