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Chicago White Sox DH Eloy Jimenez spent considerable time on the shelf in 2023 — just as he did in 2022 and 2021. That's not stopping him from setting his sights on a rather lofty home run total for the 2024 season.
The 27-year-old slugger joined White Sox legend AJ Pierzynski's "Foul Territory" podcast on Tuesday and shared some goals for the upcoming season.
"If I'm healthy, more than that!"
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 23, 2024
We asked @The_bigbaby74 if he was going to smack 40 home runs in 2024
▶️ https://t.co/tUhxJWt4Jg pic.twitter.com/yfL5qLkeiq
You heard it from Jimenez himself, "more than 40 home runs, if healthy."
We're not that far removed from a time when one of my cohosts on Sox On Tap predicted Jimenez to be the first White Sox player to surpass the 50-home run mark in a season. At that time, it was a pretty reasonable expectation. It's the staying healthy part that seems to be the caveat here.
We all remember the power that Jimenez displayed in his rookie season. He burst onto the scene in 2019 by smacking 31 homers in 504 plate appearances across a career-high 122 games. In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, he appeared in 55 games and finished the season with 14 long balls while slashing .296/.332/.559 with a career-high .891 OPS. While neither campaign was exactly a "full" season, Jimenez's first 177 MLB games were extremely promising.
However, it's been a different story since. Jimenez, who began his career in left field, missed extended time to start the 2021 season due to an injury he suffered while trying to scale a wall in a Spring Training contest. The failed home-run robbery resulted in a torn pectoral muscle.
The power Jimenez displayed in his first two seasons hasn't completely disappeared, rather, it's just left more to be desired. This is at least partially attributed to the fact that he was rarely in the lineup in 2021 or 2022. His 10 home runs in an injury-plagued 55 games in 2021 were within a stone's throw of the 14 homers he hit in a relatively healthy shortened 2020. His 16 long balls in 84 games during the 2022 season also track along with the previous seasons' HR% rates.
Despite nearing his previous career-high in games played in 2023, Jimenez put together a rather pedestrian season by power-hitter standards. He clubbed just 18 home runs in 120 games and saw his HR% fall below 4% for the first time in his career. Considering he was able to hit 31 homers in his rookie season, many likely didn't expect him to hit below the 20-homer mark if he reached the 120-game mark and nearly 500 plate appearances. Dismal team results coupled with injury issues that never seem to stop piling up for Jimenez, many fans on the South Side began to sour on the once highly-touted prospect.
They weren't the only ones. As Chris Getz looked to retool his roster during his first offseason as general manager of the White Sox, trade buzz initially swirled around Jimenez. With three years of team control remaining, Jimenez's contract can be viewed as team-friendly, provided he — wait for it — stays healthy. However, as the offseason progresses, there don't seem to be many teams in the market for an oft-injured DH that showed a bit of a decline in power in the previous season.
Can Eloy Jimenez Hit 40 Home Runs in a Season?
A fully healthy Eloy Jimenez hitting more than 40 home runs in 2024 would certainly be a welcome sight for White Sox fans as well as Chris Getz. Save for Luis Robert Jr., the White Sox lineup is in desperate need of power. It would also go a long way to help change the narrative that Jimenez simply just can't stay healthy.
Most importantly, it would make the front office's decision on Jimenez's $16.5 million club option for 2025 an easy one. At the very least, it would potentially help revitalize his trade value a bit. Either way, both would be positive outcomes for the White Sox.
The flip side is much scarier. Another injury-riddled season and continued downward power trajectory is a disastrous scenario for all parties involved.
First and foremost, the White Sox will likely be unable to move him at the trade deadline or next offseason. His market is already reportedly non-existent. Jimenez's 2025 club option at that price will also likely become money that Jerry Reinsdorf and Getz don't want to spend.
Suddenly, we're living in a world where Jimenez enters free agency next offseason, and he won't exactly be the hot commodity that he would have expected. This isn't a scenario that anyone in White Sox land, including Jimenez, would've predicted when former GM Rick Hahn inked him to his current deal in 2019. With that said, there's quite a bit riding on his performance this upcoming season.
Here's to good health and home runs.
More must-reads:
- Why did the Orioles activate star player during last week of season?
- MLB approves Patrick Zalupski as new Rays owner
- The 'Switch-hitter single-season HR leaders' quiz
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