Eloy Jiménez Is Ready To Perform for the White Sox in 2024
Eloy Jiménez is one of the most talented hitters you'll see, but he has yet to reach his full potential for the White Sox.
As the 2024 season looms for the Chicago White Sox – a year that will be defined by internal growth on the South Side – a few players are in make-or-break mode as they look to define their future.
Eloy Jiménez is one of the most talented hitters you’ll see, with 500-foot power and impressive contact skills for a guy of his stature. However, he has yet to realize that upside aside from a mini breakout during the shortened 2020 season and half of an excellent 2022 campaign.
Injuries have defined his career to this point, but Jiménez is focused on the next step of his career as he approaches his last season under a guaranteed contract with the White Sox. Chicago holds team options for him in 2025 and ’26 valued at $16.5 million and $18.5 million, respectively.
I recently had the chance to hear Jiménez talk about his offseason, adjustments, health, and expectations for the upcoming year. So far this spring, he has been the most impressive player on the White Sox roster in Cactus League play. He’s hitting .545 with a 1.338 OPS in 22 at-bats this spring.
Jiménez stated that he feels better than he ever has at this point in the spring, and it shows with the way he has performed on the field and in practice at Camelback Ranch. He is setting expectations high for himself and wants to prove that he can be the player we all know he’s capable of being.
When asked about his numerical goals for the upcoming year, Jiménez agreed that 40 home runs is realistic. He answered, “That’s my key, 40-plus. I know I can do it because of my first year in the league.” The slugger was referencing his rookie year, in which he hit 31 homers in just 122 games. He further explained that his confidence is there and he knows he can do it again.
He was then asked if he could hit .300 again, as he nearly did in 2020, and responded, “I can do it. I’ve done it in the past, why not?”
As a former top-20 prospect in baseball, Jiménez has the ability to be a middle-of-the-order bat and drive in plenty of runs hitting behind Luis Robert Jr. this season. It really comes down to his health and ability to drive the ball consistently. He talked further about adjusting his hands this season to try and elevate more and hit line drives with authority.
In terms of his outlook for the season, Jiménez talked about what he has learned from his past years of injuries and challenges. He acknowledged how disappointing it has been, but also said, “You learn a lot about how to prepare your body, be mentally prepared because that is not easy when you get hurt.”
He recognizes that things have not fully panned out so far, but he’s locked in on the present and becoming the player he wants to be moving forward.
Jiménez enters this season trying to either earn his club option or prove himself worthy of a new contract, with the Sox or another team. He knows that this is a business and wants to prove himself.
When asked about whether or not he expected to be with the White Sox this year, given the organizational and roster changes that have taken place, Jiménez showed he clearly wants to be with the Sox. He added, “At the end of the day, this is a business. I expect to be here and I’m here.”
This year is going to dictate the future for Jiménez and the White Sox, as the direction of the team becomes the focus. With no pressure to play the field as the full-time DH in Chicago, performing at a high level at the plate and being able to generate runs is the sole focus for him this season.
Jiménez is one of the most talented players on the team and is more than capable of putting things together and turning in a huge season in 2024.
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Elijah is a Chicago native with a passion for baseball from an early age. He is one of the social media managers for Just Baseball as…