When Eloy Jimenez made his MLB debut back in 2019, it looked like the Chicago White Sox had a gem. He played 122 games, smacked 31 home runs, slashed .267/.315/.513 and had 79 RBI. I’m sure the White Sox would have liked him to build on that. Instead, he hasn’t had a better season since his first.
That’s why the White Sox traded him to the Baltimore Orioles last year and why he’s now playing with the Tampa Bay Rays, Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls in 2025, where he started the year after not making the Rays’ roster. It’s all been downhill for Jimenez and the White Sox, as they rid themselves of the worst losing season in MLB history. They couldn’t be happier to move on from Jimenez.
Eloy Jimenez struggling in the minor leagues is a good omen for the Chicago White Sox
This season Jimenez is proving exactly why the White Sox and Orioles were right to part ways with him. He’s currently slashing .232/.308/.337 in 95 plate appearances. Struggling in Triple-A ball after being a former top prospect is quite the drastic drop off.
Chicago has to be thrilled to be done with Jimenez as they’re trying to move past a miserable season that rewarded them just 41 wins last year. I guess kicking Jimenez to the curb was the start of them forgetting everything about the 2024 season.
The White Sox aren’t much better now than they were 28 games in last year. They’re 7-21 and they were 6-22 this time last April. It could be worse I guess, but it’s not a great sign. The White Sox had a historic 121 losses last year.
Jimenez was only around for 48 of them. The White Sox will need a lot more than just the ghost of Jimenez out of the locker room if they want to get back to MLB relevance for the right reasons. There’s no guarantee they will get there either.
While the White Sox are trying to figure out where to go from here, Jimenez is probably doing some soul-searching of his own. At one point, he was in line to be one of the best players on the White Sox roster and potentially in the MLB.
He’s far from that now. And his recent slump in the minor leagues is proof we may never see the slugger we saw in 2019. Between his MLB debut and 2024 when he last played in the major league, he basically hasn’t improved any of them since his debut. That’s a sign he may end up being a what if that White Sox fans won’t have to toil over.
