The Blue Jays have signed Eloy Jimenez to a minor league contract, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. Jimenez’s latest deal with the Jays includes an invitation to Toronto’s Major League spring camp.
After signing a minors deal with Toronto right at the end of August, Jimenez only got into six games with Triple-A Buffalo, and he had a .508 OPS over 21 trips to the plate. This gave Jimenez an overall .247/.326/.347 slash line in 215 plate appearances in the Jays’ and Rays’ farm systems, without any games played at the Major League level.
Once a feared power bat who signed a six-year, $43MM deal with the White Sox before ever appearing in a big league game, Jimenez somewhat lived up to that potential by hitting .275/.324/.487 with 89 homers over 1777 PA during the 2019-23 seasons. However, Jimenez was set back by a laundry list of injuries, and his 122 games played in 2019 remains his highest game total in a regulation-length season. The 2024 season was a total calamity for Jimenez, as he hit .238/.289/.336 over 349 PA while missing time with an adductor strain and a hamstring strain.
The White Sox gave up on Jimenez by dealing him to the Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline, and Baltimore unsurprisingly declined a $16.5MM club option on the former slugger for the 2025 season. Jimenez then landed in Tampa Bay last winter on a minors deal, but between more injury woes and his uninspiring numbers, the Rays released him last July.
Jimenez is still only 29 years old, and is still posting decent hard-hit ball numbers and exit velocities. Considering his past history, there’s no risk for the Blue Jays in taking a more extended look at Jimenez in camp to see if a late-career turn-around is possible, even if it doesn’t seem likely Jimenez will be able to crack Toronto’s crowded roster. His best-case scenario might be a big Spring Training performance, and then heading to another interested team via trade or an opt-out in his contract at the end of camp.