Tampa Bay Rays Ink Former White Sox, Orioles DH Eloy Jiménez to Minor League Deal

Eloy Jiménez got cast aside by the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles in 2024, so the former Silver Slugger winner will have to revive his career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025.

Apr 20, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez (74) reacts after hitting an RBI single against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a minor league contract with designated hitter Eloy Jiménez, ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported Monday.

Jiménez spent six seasons with the Chicago White Sox before getting traded to the Baltimore Orioles at the deadline this past summer. The Orioles had a $16.5 million club option on Jiménez for 2025, but they opted to decline it, paying him a $3 million buyout and sending him into free agency.

The 28-year-old finished 2024 with a .238 batting average, six home runs, 23 RBI, a .626 OPS and a -0.7 WAR, all of which were career-lows. Baltimore sent Jiménez down to Triple-A on Sept. 24 and left him off their playoff roster.

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.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) December 23, 2024

It wasn't all too long ago that Jiménez was viewed as one of the top rising stars in the game, though. The White Sox believed in Jiménez enough to give him a six-year, $43 million contract before he ever made his MLB debut.

Back in 2019, he hit .267 with 31 home runs, 79 RBI, an .828 OPS and a 1.5 WAR across 122 games, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. That success spilled over into the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, when Jiménez won a Silver Slugger by batting .296 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, an .891 OPS and a 1.4 WAR.

The injury bug bit Jiménez hard over the following few seasons, as a ruptured pectoral tendon, bone bruise, hamstring strain and an appendectomy limited him to an average of 86 games a year between 2021 and 2023. Still, he hit .274 with a .785 OPS in that span, averaging 28 home runs, 97 RBI and a 1.7 WAR per 162 games.

Jiménez will join the Rays for their major league Spring Training camp, where he will compete for an Opening Day roster spot. With utility men Jonathan Aranda, José Caballero and Richie Palacios currently slated to split time at designated hitter, there is a path for Jiménez to become an everyday MLB player again.

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