The Brewers have claimed corner infielder Luis Jimenez off waivers from the Angels, Los Angeles announced via Twitter. Jimenez, 26, had been with the Halos organization since signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic back in 2005.
Jimenez has seen scant big league playing time, and owns a .234/.268/.291 slash with no home runs or steals over 151 plate appearances in 2013-14. He has, however, established himself in the upper minors. Since reaching Triple-A in 2012, Jimenez has slashed a healthy .295/.327/.485 while hitting between 16 and 20 long balls and swiping double-digit bases each year.
Rusty_Arcadia
LUCHO!!! Best of luck in Milwaukee.
spartanbill
The link clicks through to the wrong Luis Jiminez on b-r. Here is the correct one. baseball-reference.com/players/j/jimenlu02.shtml
dwarfstar
Hey guys you tied to the wrong Jimenez in the crossover.
Sage
Good idea. We badly need depth at 3B, and this is a young guy who has established himself as a very good hitter in the minors. If he can show any of that at the big league level, this is a great claim.
daveineg
I think it’s reasonable to project Jiminez to be able perform up to the level Ramirez could now with his diminished power and overall skills. Brewers have to be very, very wary of Ramirez who slumped badly down the stretch and given the cratering of guys like Konerko and Beltran in recent years. Plus Jimenez can run and oh yeah, he’s a lot cheaper. If the Brewers can’t get a FA or a vet via trade, expect to see competition between Jiminez and Jason Rogers in Arizona.
Sage
Yeah, I think we could reasonably project Jimenez to be a two win player. I just wouldn’t expect it in 2015. That said, if this move indicates that we are leaning towards not bringing back Ramirez, I will be happy. He was injured a lot in 2013, and slumped a lot this year (while still having injuries, just fewer of them). I would prefer not to have him back, though I’m wary of creating another hole in the infield, in addition to the one at 1B and the potential one at SS if Segura continues to hit how he did this year.
Yohan
You guys must surely be looking at the wrong player. Thinking this guy is more than fighting an uphill battle for the corner back up job is absurd. He managed -0.6 WAR in 16games last year and you two think it is reasonable to think he can be comparable to Ramirez? A 2 WAR player?
If this guy is anywhere near the starting 3B job the Brewers should just forfeit next season. This guy is not 2 WAR player offensively.
This guy would be worse than what we had at 1B this year.
Yohan
Glad we got 1B covered.
daveineg
He’s primarily a 3B. I suspect he was claimed to be in the mix for the everyday 3B job if they don’t find a veteran to replace Ramirez who I believe is gone one way or the other. All they had otherwise was Jason Rogers. This give Rogers legitimate competition and allows Rogers to return to his more natural position of 1B if both make the team.
First Bleed
Smart. Stack those 1B/3B types in case of emergency. No guarantee that the Brewers can sign ARam or any of the free agent 1B (Morse/Cuddyer/LaRoche).