The White Sox have received “little interest” from rival clubs regarding DH Eloy Jimenez, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Jimenez was rumored to be garnering interest from teams early in the offseason, though there has been little in the way of specific rumors regarding his trade market in the months since.
It’s not necessarily shocking that the market for Jimenez’s services has gone dry. The 27-year-old is coming off a down season at the plate in 2023 where he posted a .272/.317/.441 slash line that was only a touch better than league average (105 wRC+). With nearly $17MM in guaranteed money owed to Jimenez between his salary and a $3MM buyout on a club option for next season, teams likely aren’t interested in paying a prospect premium to the White Sox for a pricey slugger who has struggled to stay on the field in recent years, is coming off a down year at the plate, and is limited defensively.
Those flaws figure to be exacerbated by the presence of comparable options such as Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez, and even Rhys Hoskins who are available to clubs looking to add right-handed pop to their lineup for nothing but money in free agency. Given that reality, it seems likely that the White Sox will retain Jimenez into the season and hope for a bounceback from the slugger, at which point they could re-evaluate the situation over the summer. Last year’s trade deadline saw Jimenez receive interest from multiple clubs, and the lack of free agent alternatives often pushes teams to get deals done they may have been more hesitant to work out the previous winter.
More from around the American League…
- Reporting earlier this week indicated that the Athletics planned to take their search for an interim stadium for the 2025-27 seasons to Salt Lake City. They did so this weekend, though Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the A’s have interest in a new ballpark being built in South Jordan, a southern suburb for Salt Lake City, rather than Smith’s Ballpark in the city itself as was previously believed. Akers relays that the Larry H. Miller Company, which owns the Salt Lake Bees minor league club and is building the aforementioned suburban stadium, has been in regular contact with the A’s and that company CEO Steve Starks said in a statement that the arrangement would delay the Bees’ move out of Smith’s Ballpark if agreed upon. The South Jordan stadium the A’s reportedly have interest in has a capacity of just 7,500, compared to the 14,500-seat capacity offered by Smith’s Ballpark.
- The Red Sox and right-hander Cooper Criswell agreed to a big league deal earlier this winter, and MassLive’s Christopher Smith recently relayed additional information regarding the club’s plans for the 27-year-old hurler. As noted by Smith, Criswell recently told reporters that club brass have instructed him to come to camp ready to start. That would seem to indicate that Criswell could join the likes of Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Josh Winckowski in a camp battle for the fifth starter job in Boston this spring, though Criswell was careful to note that building up as a starter during the offseason can be beneficial even if he’s eventually moved to a relief role. Criswell pitched in a bulk relief role with the Rays last year, posting a 5.73 ERA in 33 innings of work across ten appearances at the big league level.
Reminder: Mick Akers is a Vegas mouthpiece
Steinbrenner2728: Another reminder: Bruce Levine is a die hard cubs fan and 670 the score is the cubs radio outlet.
He is the shill, consistently wrong on his “scoops” and quite the drama queen when anyone dares questions his bonafides. Called out Carmen and Silvy when they were just starting out on the air calling them young punks- that was like 20 yrs ago!
Salt Lake City is not the best option for the A’s. I am surprised Mexico City is not being considered. 20,000 seat ballpark and a whole country of television revenue. Mexico City seems like a no brainer to me.
Actually, it is an excellent choice. They should have no problem selling out 7500 seats per game.
And SLC becomes a player for MLB expansion. A park between SLC and Provo with Ogden 45-60 minutes away rivals Nashville where everybody is counting their chickens already.
President of the LHM Group that owns the new utah ballpark said they would increase seats to 15k+ for the A’s
Would Utah really be that into a 100 loss team that doesn’t play on staying in the state? 15k capacity seems like about 10k more than is necessary.
There are a number of political and economic factors that make putting an MLB team in Mexico challenging, and there’s no way the Fisher regime would navigate those for just a couple years. Additionally, Mexico City is over 2,0oo feet more elevated than Denver – playing major league-quality baseball there would be difficult to impossible. The Giants/Padres games there last year were ridiculous with all the homers.
Orlando even if for just a couple of seasons because MLB Staduim already in place.
Folks need to remember geography and that the A’s are an AL West team when dreaming up locations. Mexico City is out — too far from any team. I’ve seen Nashville mentioned elsewhere, great city but it is not in the West!
Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque– OK… those are western cities. Pick one
As should play in all those rumored locations- a medicine show caravan roaming the mountain west like Brigham Young
I’m sure Mexico will be thrilled to host the worst team in the league. Don’t worry guys, management has no interest in running a ballclub and will only invest when they’re preparing to sell the team!
Would be fun to see the As playing some rinky dink in the old west when black Bart and his gang comes in and takes the infielders hostage, shoots at the relief pitchers feet tells him to dance. Robert Vaughn hires Yul Bruyner and his motley magnificent crue of 7 to save the damsel As in distress
I gravitate towards Futurama’s blernsball. Just hire an actual clown to play second base and clown about during AB’s.
Oh I need to see this
There is no trade market for Jimenez? I’m stunned. Nobody wants a 27 year old who can get a 6 month injury stubbing his toe getting out of the shower? H*ll you say! Another bat with no position. There are only 32 of those jobs available and nobody wants to pay one who’s never around. Huh
Eloy clearly has to stay healthy and adjust his swing so he is not hitting so many balls on the ground. He’d have modest value over his salary if he has 20hrs or so approaching deadline…. nothing crazy given trust in durability.
Agreed. I think the other issue is the game where he tweaked his knee and left what was a fairly critical series(if not game), only for Vaughn, in the same game IIRC, to get hit and stay in the game. Then after the BS excuses about how he hurt his knee (I think swinging his bat of all things) that he would miss a few games, then the media questioned his toughness and mysteriously he was back in the lineup the next day after they said he would be out for a few days.. Sad to say, but soft player and then he lost his ability to lift the ball after being a guy that used to destroy baseballs out of the park in the minors. While he was fairly good at driving runs in, He is awfully expensive for a DH singles hitter. Never mind the silly injuries he hes had like hurting a pec jumping for a homer that was about 30 feet over his head in Spring training..
The play you mention is maddening. “Trying” to go over the wall for a ball that was 50 ft over the wall.
Just as bothersome was chasing a foul ball in left and not being able to stop (although he should have been able to) and jumping into the netting because he wants to make Sport Center.
Also, after him telling everyone he was coming into the season and “shocking” people with how great he looked after losing 30 pounds. I don’t think anyone noticed actually. He looked like the same chubby guy whose frame looks like it has trouble carrying the weight
Eloys not chubby, he’s tall and athletic tho awkward. Maybe you’re confusing chubs with the reflection in your monitor
Athletic…? Which means you’re delusional. One thing we can both agree on, he’ll likely be the DH again in ’24 for a 100 loss team, cause no one other team wants him.
Remember when Benetti said Eloy was turning into a great outfielder… Bwahahaha…
32?
Was there an expansion that the rest of us didn’t know about?
In all seriousness, between the MLB and NFL, I do this all the time, too.
Thanks for the correction, Although that just makes it worse. LOL
The A’s might as well play in Minor League Parks it’s a Minor League operation with a Minor League owner. It fits.
That’s why I can’t stand watching the movie “Moneyball.” You would think that Billy Beane was transforming the A’s into a powerhouse for years to come only to realize that it never happened. About 20 years since Beane got a team to the playoffs now right??
Usually the Billy Beane A’s would go on a 3-4 year run, trade everyone once they started making money, suck for 3-4 years, then go on another 3-4 run. This time around, I think it’ll be at least 2030 before they’re semi-relevant again.
The A’s have made the playoffs 7 times in the last 20 years
Seems low, but compare that to:
Angels 6
Rangers 6
Giants 5
Nationals 5
Tigers 5
Blue Jays 5
DBacks 4
Rockies 4
Padres 4
Reds 4
Mets 4
White Sox 4
Orioles 4
Pirates 3
Marlins 2
Royals 2
Mariners 1
Their a fluxuating success in my opinion. 17 franchises have less playoff appearances in the past 20 years and I’m sure the money spent in the past 20 years is bottom tier
Jgoody, I don’t think what you just laid out changes anyone’s perception of the A’s. They certainly are not a “fluctuating success” as you say. I see your point. I just don’t think it means anything in the scheme of contemporary success. You are talking about 20 year old “success.” Long time ago my friend!
All I’ve laid out is the original argument you laid out “About 20 years since Beane got a team to the playoffs now right??” is invalid. I agree it’s not a valid way to measure success, but just using the initial argument you provided.
I’ll try and put it a different way…You can’t compare the A’s to any other team. They are terrible and hopeless in their own personal and special way. Too much time has elapsed since they were last competitive. So you don’t have to lay out how many playoff appearances they have had compared to other teams. You don’t compare a team like them to any other team. They are so bad to the naked eye that that is all that matters.
Since 2000:
Big three era:
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 (missed in 2004 on last day of season)
Cespedes era:
2012, 2013, 2014
Matt Olson era:
2018, 2019, 2020
According to history they should be good around 2025-2026 again
That’s a lot!
Not with Forst running things. Looks like he didn’t learn anything from Beane nor Zaidi for that matter.
Trumbo – I have this theory, last year’s Athletics were so bad to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 2003 Tigers who went 43-119 which is the worst 162-game record in MLB history.
What do you think? Maybe?
Fever, absolutely true! They wanted to honor those guys and prove that they could be every bit as bad! 20 years from now, a team will be honoring the 2023 A’s in the same fashion!
Not fluctuating at all.
Straight downhill at this point.
How many in the last 5 years? 10 years?
OK.
You’d hardly know Zito, Hudson, Mulder, or Chavez existed if you watched Moneyball
I wanted to hate on the movie after consuming the book and hearing they totally distorted it. But then starlord and “its incredibly hard”. And the essence of John Henry and the Brahmian Billions. Gotta like
I mean it would be a really boring movie if they took everything straight from the book. They had to throw in some typical sportsball movie clichés like “oh my god the old school scout hates that Beane listens to the new guy now!” or “oh no Art Howe’s character won’t play Hatteburg so we better trade Pena!” when in reality they all worked together as a cohesive unit to turn a bunch of scrubs into a division winner and for the most part had nothing bad to say about each other.
True dat and while they defamed Art Howe who wouldn’t want the brilliant Phillip Seymour Hoffman depicting one
I find funny that Bruce Levine has any story about the Chicago White Sox good or bad.
This most of his time Is been a mouthpiece for the Tommy Rickett and Chicago Cubs.
Jimenez a DH is available and Breslow hasn’t jumped on the redundant player? We lost JT so we are down a DH. We only have two. What if injuries happen? Why get a SP1 or SP2 or 3B when you can add another DH? I know that’s how Bloom thought and Breslow is cut from the same cloth so go for it!!! We can always play Yoshi in left and sit a young star prospect trying to develop, after all, isn’t that the same thinking we used to get O’Neill and are considering Duvall?
I say jump on Eloy, he’ll love hitting in Boston just like Duvall and his highs and lows are far less apart.
In other good news, Hader signed with the Astros at age 30 for 5 seasons. Ironic that it’s the exact deal I suggested the Red Sox should do. I guess our eggs are all in one basket now. Kenley will be 36 in 2024, maybe we can sign him until he’s 40!!! Why get the young lefty you need when you can re-sign a 36 year old to an extension. Breslow being Breslow. Wait maybe there is a closer who was good three years ago that he might want to pay too much for!!! Hadn’t thought of that but it makes perfect sense!!
TF – I totally agree, the Hader deal was very reasonable …. under $20M AAV and under 6 years.
Kenley will likely not be with the Red Sox on Opening Day, I’m guessing Henry’s top priority is unloading that $16M salary.
You make the assumption (once again) that the Red Sox hold some sort of control over the rest of the league. That the player has no say in where he plays. If Red Sox match any deal they’ll automatically be required to sign in Boston.
No way players chose Boston over Houston at the same price.
1) Weather
2) Fans
3) Cost of Living
4) Playoff Potential
5) Traffic
Weather…? I like the city of Houston, I’m there at least 8 times a year for business, but I do not want to live there May – Sept. Boston winter is MLB off-season, so I’d be vacationing. Boston’s fans are as good as any in the league. Traffic, players don’t have the standard commute times and can generally choose where they want to live.
If it’s my decision, I “consider” the issues you listed, but most are small factors. #1 is comfort with teammates & coaches. Strength of the overall organization. Park and fans.
Ever hear a high-pitched knock when the ball hits the bat in cold weather, and it vibrates in your bones. Ive played in NE in cold weather (March, April and even early May) and its terrible. Lets agree to disagree.
1) Are you saying Red Sox have better teammates and coaches than Astros? From the sounds of Red Sox fans Houston gets a point there too.
2) You seem to have skipped right over ‘Playoff Potential’. What are you saying about that factor, players dont care or Red Sox have just as much potential as Stros?
Serious…take a breath. I’m not a Boston fan. I’m really sorry if you think my opinion challenge your biases.
I simply offered you my opinion, I’m sorry if you feel attacked. Wasn’t my intention.
I wouldn’t mind the jays adding Eloy Jimenez in a trade. With 2 options after this year, I look at him as a 2 yr $30M player with an option for 18.5 in a 3rd year. I think you could get him for quite cheap honestly and the sox would likely include 5M or so to get a decent prospect, that way they get out from 12M owed to him. I have to say that i haven’t followed him at all really and i realize is is injured fairly often but he always bring the bat and the Jays would be looking for an almost strictly DH. This guy has 10-14 HR power for every 200 or so ABs he has, he makes contact with a BA at 270+ usually so this guy isn’t dimensional in that its a low BA, Low OBP and power in the vein of a joey gallo type
5 years in the bigs and his rookie season was the only one where he hit more than 18 homers. Not good enough production for a bat only player
Belt had one more homer last year in 150 fewer AB’s and was 30 points higher in OPS+
Eloy has had 2 years where he was great and posted OPS+ in the same range as Belts from last year. In the other 3 years, he was only slightly better then league average
Can’t count on his reliability or his availability. If that’s the best the Jays can do, they’d be better off going back to Belt.
Yea i dont exactly disagree, i will say my first choice personally would be to see if a deal for Nick Castellanos could be worked out were they pay the 3 years and 60M owed to the 46-50 range and the jays trade them Zulueta and 1 of yimi Garcia or Trevor Richards. Its said philly needs bullpen help and would like to get ride of 1 of there 3+ bats best suited for 1b/DH in Schwarber, harper and Castellanos. Nick is the preferred choice by them and would like to get out from him while he still has value. If that can be done either sign Soler for 3 yrs maybe or Hoskins for 1 plus a player option i think is what he would want right now. Then and only then if that exhausted then trade for Jimenez. The team NEEDS a legit DH with power and also needs a platoon/4th OF whos RHH and hammers LHP while being able to play 100 games in the grass if injuries come up. I think that 3b is there least place of need this offseason as in a worst case they have 3 prospect who cam handle 3b, are at AAA and have had good to great seasons last year. I think Barger and dam palmegiani should be given all the runway in the world to wind the 3B job. Dam particularly im interested in. He has the least AAA experience but has been great with the bat, has either the best or 2nd best game power in the system, only had 1 season under am 800 ops and just barely, his contact isnt top tier and he may only have a Ba in the 225-240 area but he gets on base
This way Barger and Martinez get to stay in AAA and come up together in 25 when Vlad, Bo, Caban and company are just about to leave. Im a big believer in that if neither Vlad or Bo or any other big players wont resign they should be traded like Soto was this year in there last full season of control. The team could target close to MLB ready prospects and young players and would jump start a rebuild in major way. Likly be ready to compete in 2 years then in 6 or so if they go strictly thru the draft. Id rather trade them off and get 2-4 young players/prospects each then get 2 draft picks in the 3rd round range. A smart GM would see the writing on the wall and almost the whole team are FAs after the 25 season. Like by then 3 SPs, the while bull pen, 1B, SS, 3B C all will be gone if not resigned by then. Give the job to Click and lets go for the rebuild if they dont go far in the post season this year
Would rather go for broke and get Robert.
2018-2021 were competitive teams. 2018 and 2019 back to back 97 win teams. 2020 shortened season finished 1st, 86 wins in 2021 although missed playoffs. Then they dismantled teams and lost key free agents like semien, Hendriks. Because the cheap owner and incompetent GM making lousy rebuild trades
Criswell and his 5.73 ERA should put Boston back in competition this year. Another bullseye for Spendlow/ High Upside Breslow. Sam Kennedy, who do you think you are BSing. You are not in it to win it. Sell the team already! Three out of 4 last place finishes and now what you are going to give a guy who was not even on the radar to be hired, 4 years to fix this mess ? Bloom screwed up this team under Henry’s guidelines after 2019. You had an amateur running this team for four years in Bloom and now you have another amateur in Breslow at the helm now.What are we supposed to wait 4 more years totaling 8 to get back to winning again? Cut the BS with you and Werner and the “Full Throttle” off season. This team is a last place team again. Sell the team John Henry!
I’m sure Criswell saw this coming
Sadly, if Akers says it you can be sure its wrong. After the publication he works for for a huge investment from Fisher they suddenly started writing articles that were positive about him and complete misinformation like this one.
The Bees are the Angels AAA team and a division rival will not be playing in their brand new stadium in 2025. It would interfere with the development of Angels players and before someone tries to claim otherwise, the Angels do have a day in the matter.
Also, the new ballpark being built is 7500 seats and would have be expanded to meet the MLB minimum. It was not designed to MLB standards for the lighting, media, and other requirements so construction would need to stop and the park be redesigned.
Adding 2500 seats would cost tens of millions, not to mention the lighting, camera wells, etc… to bring it up to MLB requirements.
Gail Miller would have to be in conversations with the A’s about it because they would need her permission to play in that market whether its in the Smith’s ballpark or on a high school field. The A’s playing there would have a detrimental effect on her team’s revenue and they would have to negotiate payments to her even no matter what ballpark they would be playing in.
So many common sense things wrong with Akers article.
Jimenez injured himself while opening the MLBTR app to read the article about himself…
Awesome!
Yeah, I see people looking at his MLB stats and say, “If he can only stay healthy…” He had injury issues throughout the minors as well.
I’d be shocked if it wasn’t Sacramento when all is said and done. It’s the only real option that wouldn’t require another organization to help Fisher out.
Sacramento is giants AAA team. They’ll be doing their part in aiding the A’s so they can have the entire bay area for themselves
7,500 capacity and still probably wouldn’t sell out.
I disagree. The draw is seeing the MLB talent on the other team that the A’s are playing.
Jimenez, another Rick Hahn career destroying contract. Take away your entire team’s motivation and give everyone a long-term extension. No need to fight through the arb years. Just take the free money and chillAx.
Remember when he was LAUDED for all that nonsense?
I just laughed.
Yet the Braves did the same thing with their budding superstars, and it worked. Go figure.
I’m old enough to remember that. The key is proper evaluation of players mental side as well as their on-field ability. Not just, throwing a pre-arb contract at a guy cause, he had a good year and he’s cheap.
Boycott time at Fenway Park is where Redsox Nation has found themselves unfortunately…it’s time to send a clear message upstairs from our lowly fan seats individually and as a collective power source. If we stick together and withhold our dollars and time they might understand. If we don’t nothing will change here and everyone in RSN would need to shut their traps for condoning this lack of spending in Free Agency.
The only rational response imo is to deliver anything related to the A’s time in Oakland to John Fisher’s address and set it on fire.
Want a good laugh? Check out NBC sports Chicago site, where Eloy is proclaiming he’s hitting 40 homers in 2024 and, if healthy, more than that…
Looked at the article. This guy is a clown.
When asked what went wrong last year. “We all tried to be a hero, and everyone lost focus on what we needed to do.”
They lost focus real quick. 8-21 at the end of April. And couldn’t get focused for 6 months?
What better way to make the point about being focused and being “together” as a team in ’24, than to talk about your personal stats.
He’s had injury issues his entire career, dating back to the minors. Why would anything change? I’d wager he won’t hit 30 HRs and he’ll end up on the IL.
Just goes to show you Minority managers and coaches have a longer leash then there White counterparts.