Eloy Jimenez signs minor league deal with Tampa Bay

[Sleepy Harold]

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Sleepy Harold

[WhiteSox2023]

Minor league deal.  Talk about a fall.

Edited 20 hours ago by WhiteSox2023

[The Mighty Mite]

This is surprising, the Rays front office is smarter than this.

If he does make it to the big club, he better hustle, Kevin Cash won’t put up with the Eloy we have witnessed the last few years.

Edited 20 hours ago by The Mighty Mite

[PaleAleSox]

A minor league deal? Made some money but probably should have taken this whole baseball thing more seriously. Bum. 

[WhiteSox2023]

5 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

This is surprising, the Rays front office is smarter than this.

It’s a minor league deal.  He’s likely going cost the Rays nothing.  If he sucks, they’ll just cut him.

Edited 20 hours ago by WhiteSox2023

[Falstaff]

Likable guy but his body is too fragile

[Balta1701]

Rays look pretty good in the OF although you could always have backups there, but they spent the latter 2 months of the season in 2024 with Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz rotating through their DH spot. Both of those guys are under contract, which means the Rays could certainly consider parting with either of them.

[Ducksnort]

That's right, he's a DH, not an OF. Glad Rogers got that correct. I wish the best for Eloy but man, he's got a body made of glass and I just think the injury bug will prove to be too much for him.

[Quin]

If any non-Dodgers team could fix a dude, it's Tampa Bay.

Also, their temporary field dimensions:

• Left Field – 318 ft (97 m)
• Left-Center – 399 ft (122 m)
• Center Field – 408 ft (124 m)
• Right-Center – 385 ft (117 m)
• Right Field – 314 ft

[southsider2k5]

Smartest thing he could have done.

[WBWSF]

Eloy was never the same hitter after he got hurt in that 2021 Spring Training game.

[chw42]

5 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

Eloy was never the same hitter after he got hurt in that 2021 Spring Training game.

He was pretty good in 2022. I think the hamstring injuries ruined him more than anything.

[vilehoopster]

2 hours ago, Quin said:

If any non-Dodgers team could fix a dude, it's Tampa Bay.

Also, their temporary field dimensions:

• Left Field – 318 ft (97 m)
• Left-Center – 399 ft (122 m)
• Center Field – 408 ft (124 m)
• Right-Center – 385 ft (117 m)
• Right Field – 314 ft

Do the dimensions of the park matter when you never lift the ball and are always hitting it hard through the infield?

I remember a month or so listening to the Chuck Garfien podcast with new director of hitting Ryan Fuller. Fuller talked at length about this and that he can do to help a player, and one of the thinks he talked about was getting a player to lift the ball more. I wanted to ask if he discussed lifting the ball with Eloy in his short time there. Somehow I would bet he did. 

Between the Sox and the Orioles coaching staff, how many players and coaches preached, talked, and worked with Eloy to try to get him to lift the ball more? What do you think: 15 to 20?  It never sunk in. 

[Quin]

6 minutes ago, vilehoopster said:

Do the dimensions of the park matter when you never lift the ball and are always hitting it hard through the infield?

I remember a month or so listening to the Chuck Garfien podcast with new director of hitting Ryan Fuller. Fuller talked at length about this and that he can do to help a player, and one of the thinks he talked about was getting a player to lift the ball more. I wanted to ask if he discussed lifting the ball with Eloy in his short time there. Somehow I would bet he did. 

Between the Sox and the Orioles coaching staff, how many players and coaches preached, talked, and worked with Eloy to try to get him to lift the ball more? What do you think: 15 to 20?  It never sunk in. 

I mean, we briefly had a hitting coach that said "f*** the home run," so, there's that. He was with the Orioles for only a few months.

So if the Rays get him to lift the ball, a small outdoor park in a warmer climate may indeed help him.

[southsider2k5]

26 minutes ago, Quin said:

I mean, we briefly had a hitting coach that said "f*** the home run," so, there's that. He was with the Orioles for only a few months.

So if the Rays get him to lift the ball, a small outdoor park in a warmer climate may indeed help him.

And very quickly wasn't wanted back for another year.

And as to Eloy, hopefully getting him out of this toxic stew and into a well run organization brings his love of the game back.  Baseball is so much better with a vintage Hi Mom Eloy.  It would be nice if TB could figure out a way to keep him relatively healthy more than anything.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Since the trade, Cease has produced ~18fWAR, Quintana ~13 fWAR, and Eloy ~4 fWAR. At the time of the trade I never would have predicted Eloy would be by far the least productive of the 3 main pieces involved.

[kitekrazy]

5 hours ago, The Mighty Mite said:

This is surprising, the Rays front office is smarter than this.

If he does make it to the big club, he better hustle, Kevin Cash won’t put up with the Eloy we have witnessed the last few years.

Maybe its roster filler so when they bring AAA player up they don't have to push AA players in.

[joejoesox]

man, what a colossal failure he was.

[Texsox]

Nice to know he still wants to play.