Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will start the 2025 regular season at Triple-A Durham. Jimenez started to come on strong of late at the plate in Grapefruit League action, but it wasn't enough for him to beat out Curtis Mead, who has been one of the best overall hitters this spring. The 28-year-old Dominican has hit .235 (8-for-34) with a homer, double, four RBI and a run scored in 12 spring games played. Jimenez continues to fall after slashing a combined .238/.289/.336 with a career-low .626 OPS, six home runs and 23 RBI in 98 games in 2024 with the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. The oft-injured outfielder continued to deal with injuries last year and made two separate trips to the injured list. Jimenez hits the ball hard when he makes contact, but he hit too many ground balls last year and hasn't displayed an ability to stay healthy long enough to make any real impact.
Eloy Jimenez Fighting For Bench Role During Spring Training
According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will have to earn a spot on the bench during spring training. Topkin noted that the newly acquired slugger will likely fight for one of the final bench spots alongside second base prospect Curtis Mead. Jimenez inked a minor-league deal with Tampa Bay earlier in the season. Last season, Jimenez played in 98 games at the major league level, spending time with both the White Sox and Orioles. He posted a .238/.289/.336 slash line with six home runs and three stolen bases. This was a steep decline from the .272/.317/.441 line and the 18 long balls he posted during the 2023 campaign. Despite the drop in production, Jimenez still generated a 49.0 percent hard-hit rate, which placed him in the 90th percentile. Fantasy managers in deeper AL-only formats should monitor his progression during spring training, as he could be a viable target for power if he makes the Opening Day roster.
Free-agent designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a minor-league deal on Monday, according to sources. The 28-year-old played for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles this past season and is now hoping to rebuild his career with the Rays. The 28-year-old right-handed hitter slashed only .238/.289/.336 with six home runs in 98 total games in 2024 with the White Sox and Orioles and is no lock to make it back to the major-league level, let alone find a significant role in Tampa in 2025. The Dominican outfielder was once a prized prospect in the White Sox system, but injuries have mostly derailed his career -- Jimenez has played in over 100 games at the MLB level just twice, with one of them being his rookie year in 2019, when he hit a career-high 31 homers and drove in 79 runs. He did hit the ball hard last year, but he also was on the injured list twice.
The Baltimore Orioles are declining their 2025 option on designated hitter Eloy Jimenez. Baltimore traded for the 27-year-old at the trade deadline and posted an underwhelming .232/.270/.336 line through his small stint with the Orioles. During the first half of the season in Chicago, Jimenez posted a low .240/.297/.345 slash line. This was the worst campaign of his six-year MLB career. Even though he held a strong 49.0% hard-hit rate, he could not generate much offense from it with a poor 25.1% LA Sweet-Spot%. In addition, he carried a low 6.3% walk rate and a high 33.0% chase rate, which lowered his value in points leagues. Fantasy managers should view Jimenez as a high-risk option for power later in drafts this upcoming season.
The Baltimore Orioles optioned outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday to make room on the roster for infielder Ryan Mountcastle (wrist), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Jimenez had to accept the optional assignment due to his service time. Jimenez had a part-time role in Baltimore since they acquired him from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline at the end of July, and he didn't do much for the O's in 33 games, batting .232 (22-for-95) with only one home run, five doubles, seven RBI, four walks and 23 strikeouts in 100 trips to the plate. It's been all downhill since Jimenez burst onto the scene with a career-high 31 homers and 79 RBI in 122 games for the White Sox in his rookie campaign in 2019, and he's played in over 100 games just once since then. It remains to be seen if Jimenez will rejoin the big-league club for the postseason next week.
Baltimore Orioles outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez is not in the team's starting lineup on Wednesday at Fenway Park against the division-rival Boston Red Sox. Jimenez finds himself on the bench again in favor of Anthony Santander, who is serving as the DH and batting third against Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta. Austin Slater is in right field and is batting seventh for the O's. Jimenez, 27, continues to see infrequent playing time in Baltimore towards the end of the season. He's now played in 29 games in Baltimore since being acquired in late July by the Chicago White Sox, and he's slashed a mediocre .253/.293/.345 with only one home run, five RBI and seven RBI in his 92 plate appearances. Without frequent playing time in Baltimore, it's hard to recommend holding Jimenez in most mixed fantasy leagues.
Baltimore Orioles rookie third baseman Coby Mayo and outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will both start Monday's game on the bench against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards. Emmanuel Rivera will get the start at third base and will bat ninth, while Austin Slater will start in right field and bat seventh against White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter and is batting cleanup. Mayo, the team's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, got the call-up on Sunday when rosters expanded and went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a strikeout in just his eighth big-league game. The 22-year-old has only two hits and 11 strikeouts in his first 23 major-league plate appearances in Baltimore, but he figures to see the majority of playing time at the hot corner for the O's with both Ramon Urias (ankle) and Jordan Westburg (hand) on the injured list.
Baltimore Orioles outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will take a seat on Thursday against the division-rival Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. With Jimenez sitting against a right-hander, catcher Adley Rutschman is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth, while Ryan O'Hearn plays first base and bats cleanup. James McCann is catching and batting ninth against Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta. Rutschman is a must-start in all fantasy lineups, while O'Hearn will be a nice low-cost DFS play at first base in the cleanup spot. He's also hitting .333 with a homer and two at-bats in his career against Pivetta with a 1.166 OPS. Jimenez has gone 12-for-29 (.414) with two doubles and four RBI in his first 10 games since joining the O's in a trade from the Chicago White Sox, but he's settled into the short side of a platoon with O'Hearn, which limits his fantasy upside to close out the year.
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Eloy Jimenez is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals. The O's have decided to give the oft-injured slugger the day off after he started in four straight games. Jimenez is off to a hot start with his new team. He's 12-for-24 with four RBI in eight games with the O's. Ryan O'Hearn will get the start at designated hitter and bat cleanup versus right-hander Jake Irvin. O'Hearn is hitting .274 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI against right-handed pitching this season. He could be a low-end streaming option against Irvin who has allowed four earned runs or more in each of his last two starts.
Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Eloy Jimenez is taking a seat on Saturday night as they face Drew Rasmussen and the Tampa Bay Rays. Anthony Santander will be hitting in the DH spot while Austin Slater will be taking Santander's outfield role and will hit seventh. Jimenez has been a great acquisition for the Orioles as the 27-year-old is 11-21 with his new club. Him taking a seat shouldn't worry fantasy managers as it appears Baltimore is taking more of a platoon approach to tonight's matchup. With Slater getting the extra opportunity tonight, he is hitting for a .576 OPS on the season and only has seven PA with his new team, though he is three-for-five with two walks in his short stint in Baltimore. DFS managers willing to take a chance on Slater may get him at a cheap cost, but the move may be risky. Fantasy managers should expect Jimenez to be back in the lineup tomorrow against Rays' scheduled starter Jeffrey Springs.
Eloy Jiménez
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Rays
