How Can Eloy Jiménez Best Fit on the Blue Jays’ MLB Roster?

After a disastrous couple of seasons, Eloy Jiménez is doing everything in his power to earn a shot back in the majors. But will it happen on Opening Day?

We’ve seen the first couple of rounds of spring training cuts in Toronto Blue Jays camp, and a notable name left remaining is Jiménez himself. The 29-year-old spent the entirety of 2025 in the minors (splitting time between Triple-A Durham, the FCL Rays, and Triple-A Buffalo), and only slashed .247/.326/.347 across the three teams.

Not to mention, across the 54 games he played, he only appeared in the field 35 times, splitting time mostly between right field and first base. I bring up his defence because in his last MLB season (2024), he played a grand total of 8 innings (all in right field). He also hasn’t played more than 50 defensive games in MLB since 2020, and had ridiculously bad numbers then: -3 Outs Above Average, -3 Defensive Runs Saved, and 22nd percentile arm strength.

If we’re going solely off of spring training numbers, it would be a no-brainer to include Jiménez on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. He would slot in as the DH against lefties, with the potential of maybe seeing some time in the outfield. The only thing is, he’d likely be carving out a spot over Davis Schneider, who brings more versatility and is a fan favourite.

Looking at his 17 games so far, Jiménez has slashed .275/.326/.500, while seeing a bit of time in the field. This spring, he has lined up at first base, as well as in both outfield corners. These are numbers Toronto would love to see in 2026; however, it’s important to take them with a grain of salt. Remember George Springer’s spring training last season? They’re not always indicative.

How Did Eloy Jiménez Get Here?

For those unaware of Jiménez’s history, he came over from the Dominican Republic as a highly touted prospect. Arguably the game’s top international free agent in 2013, he signed with the Chicago Cubs for $2.3 million as a 16-year-old, and spent four years in the Cubs’ system before being dealt stateside to the White Sox in July of 2017.

This would also be a breakout year for Jiménez, as he slashed .312/.379/.512 between High- and Double-A, ending the season as MLB’s #14 prospect, and the White Sox #1. That high praise would continue in 2018, when he was bumped all the way up to MLB’s #4 prospect behind only Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr., and current teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

That’s some good company.

The praise was earned, as Jiménez slashed .337/.384/.577 with 22 home runs between Double- and Triple-A in 2018. Following Ohtani and Acuña’s MLB debuts, Jiménez was bumped even higher in 2019, up to #3 overall. Before he had a single plate appearance for the White Sox, the team decided to buy in early, signing him to a six-year, $43 million contract.

While it’s been passed over multiple times now, it previously held the record for the richest contract ever for a player before his major league debut.

His rookie season of 2019 was productive, as he slashed .267/.315/.513 with 31 home runs with the White Sox, but the warning signs were there. He’d spend two trips on the IL (right ankle sprain, right ulnar nerve contusion), and put up an MLB-worst -11 DRS in left field.

As previously mentioned, his defense again struggled in the shortened 2020 season, but his offense continued to flourish, evidenced by a .296/.332/.559 line with 14 homers in 55 games. If you’ve seen the photo of Jiménez’s teammates holding his jersey (as if it were an in memeorium), it was because he missed the first 4 months of 2021 due to a torn pectoral muscle, and when he returned, he was used more as a DH (only appearing in the field in 37/55 games).

First the Rise, Then the Fall

His numbers also took a bit of a blip, dropping to .249/.303/.437, and his home run production dropped from 14 to 10. He’d spend a large chunk of 2022 injured as well, missing time from April-July with a hamstring strain. For the third consecutive season, he played under 100 games but put up a productive .295/.358/.500 line with 16 homers, while appearing defensively in only 30 of his 84 games.

The 2023 campaign was a relatively healthy one (120 games), he was pretty much exclusively a DH, and hit .272/.317/.441. He’d spend two trips on the IL in 2024, had his power drop off significantly (only six home runs), was dealt to Baltimore in July, and struggled post-acquisition. In 33 games for Baltimore, he slashed .232/.270/.316 with one home run.

He was bought out by Baltimore after the season, signed a minor league deal with Tampa, failed to make the team out of spring training, failed to hit for power in Triple-A, spent time injured, and was waived by the Rays in July. A month and a half later, he’d worked up in the Blue Jays system via a minor league contract.

But Does He Fit on the Blue Jays?

All that’s to say Jiménez has got the potential to make an impact. Unfortunately, there’s not much space for a DH (or emergency corner outfielder) on this team. That’s not to say his path back to the majors is completely gone, as his contract’s opt-out date is after spring training concludes (July 1st).

So, in the likely scenario, he would report to Triple-A Buffalo at the end of March, probably being one of the first guys called up when needed. If Toronto is comfortable enough with him seeing the field (or can find some kind of scenario where he can DH regularly), he’d be a solid platoon bat opposite Jesús Sánchez. That is a big if, however.

The good news through all of this, though, is that Jiménez himself has said before that he’d be happy to accept an assignment to Triple-A to open the season if that’s what the Blue Jays had in mind for him.

This kind of team-first attitude is huge. If he doesn’t end up making the season-opening team, don’t be surprised to see him down the line, as he’s looking to turn his career around with a team that’s got World Series aspirations.