Eloy Jimenez was supposed to be a major piece of a core group of exciting young players that would lead the Chicago White Sox to numerous championship parades.
After injuries and underperformance scratched that plan, he cannot even make an MLB roster anymore.
He will be spending the beginning portion of his Tampa Bay career in the minors after failing to make the Rays' initial 26-man roster.
Eloy Jimenez will not make the #Rays opening day roster and has agreed to go to Triple-A Durham. That means Curtis Mead has a roster spot as a swing guy at 1B/2B/3B.
— John Romano (@romano_tbtimes) March 21, 2025
The sad decline of his career continues.
Jimenez's failure to live up to the lofty expectations he established during his rookie season with the Chicago White Sox will always make him the biggest disappointment in team history.
The promising slugger, who joined the Sox organization along with stud pitcher Dylan Cease in the Jose Quintana trade with the crosstown rival Cubs back in 2017, produced an amazing .267/.315/.513 slash line with 31 home runs in 2019.
It was downhill after that.
He was constantly injured and unable to put the ball in the air when he was healthy enough to play.
The Sox finally cut bait with him last season when he was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles for a minor-league pitcher before last year's trade deadline.
A man who was supposed to help bring multiple World Series titles to Chicago's south side went from 31 home runs in 2019 to just six in 2024. His decline sort of falls in line with the organization's decline.
There was so much potential, but in the end, the result was failure.
The Orioles decided to move on from Eloy in the offseason. With his injury history and production decline, he was left with settling for a minor-league deal and an invite to camp with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Maybe Eloy would have been better served trying to revive his career in Japan or Korea. Instead, he will have to hope a stay at Triple-A Durham will do the trick.
Jimenez had a .244/.279/.415 slash line with two home runs in 14 spring training games for the Rays. He had a 27.9 strikeout percentage.
He also once again failed to put the ball in the air with a 21.4 flyball percentage during Grapefruit League play.
A man who stands so massive at the plate continues to play like he is some scrappy slap hitter. That is a big reason why his career has fallen on such hard times.