By Tim Britton, Rustin Dodd and Chad Jennings
Baltimore Orioles get: OF/DH Eloy Jiménez
Chicago White Sox: LHR Trey McGough
The #WhiteSox have acquired left-handed pitcher Trey McGough from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez. pic.twitter.com/GzGwRtYiUy
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 30, 2024
Chad Jennings: The seventh bullet point on the Cot’s Contracts entry for Jiménez is this note: “most lucrative contract ever for (a) player with no Major League service.”
Oops.
This is the final guaranteed season of that $43 million deal, and Jiménez was just salary dumped to an Orioles team that doesn’t necessarily need him but probably figures it’s worth discovering whether a change of scenery can do something to unlock the Eloy of old. It’s worth noting here that Jiménez hasn’t homered since May 14 and has just a .642 OPS, but his hard-hit data is really good and his average exit velocity is among the best in the majors. Let’s see how many at-bats the Orioles actually give him.
McGough is a Triple-A reliever originally acquired by the Orioles in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft. So, they didn’t really give up much, though McGough does have good numbers, suggesting he might have a shot at a big-league role — which is probably more than the White Sox thought they could get for Jiménez at this point.
Orioles: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
White Sox: A-
Tim Britton: Entering this season, Jiménez had homered every 20 plate appearances and owned a career OPS+ of 118. That’s the track record the Orioles are banking on, more than the .297 on-base percentage and .345 slugging percentage he’s sported for the miserable outfit on the South Side this season. Camden Yards isn’t the friendliest place for right-handed power — matter of fact, it’s probably the unfriendliest place for right-handed power — but Jiménez is one of the few guys with the pop to consistently get the ball beyond Mount Wall-timore.
It’s not an inexpensive flier for the Orioles. Jiménez is owed $4.3 million for the rest of this season and then at least the $3 million buyout on his $16 million club option for 2025.
Therein lies the chief benefit for Chicago, which might finish with fewer wins than this year’s Bulls — which, coincidentally, is one fewer than the ’62 Mets. McGough was a Triple-A lefty reliever with the Orioles; he’ll be a big-leaguer with a White Sox team that dealt multiple bullpen pieces.
Orioles: B-
White Sox: B
Rustin Dodd: So this is how the Eloy Jiménez era ends in Chicago.
Acquired in July 2017 in a blockbuster deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs, Jiménez hit 31 homers as a rookie in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger Award in the shortened 2020 season. But after years of injuries and declining production, he is, at long last, a White Sox salary dump.
That the White Sox are saving more than $7 million in the form of salary and a coming buyout doesn’t alleviate all the sting. But it’s something, at least.
Jiménez is slashing .240/.297/.345 this season, posting an OPS well below league average. He has a track record of power that, if healthy, could offer some modicum of value to the Orioles. Credit Baltimore for spending some money to see if they can get Jiménez right — or at least hot in the postseason. In a perfect world, maybe Jiménez can be what Jorge Soler was for the Braves in 2021. Yeah, that’s probably a dream.
If nothing else, the Orioles didn’t give up any real prospect capital.
Orioles: B-
White Sox: B-
(Photo of Eloy Jiménez: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
