Orioles ‘Unlikely’ to Pay $16.5 Million Option for 27-Year-Old Slugger

The Baltimore Orioles deal for Eloy Jiminez is looking like one of the steals of the 2024 trade deadline. But a future with his new team is unlikely, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic.

“I liked the Orioles’ acquisition of Eloy Jiménez at the trade deadline and think he’ll help them down the stretch,” Bowden wrote on August 12. “Jiménez has a $16.5 million club option ($3 million buyout) from his White Sox tenure and it’s unlikely the Orioles will pick that up.”

Jiminez signed a six-year, $43 million contract with the Chicago White Sox in 2019. The final two years of the deal are options for $16.5 and $18.5 million respectively.

Baltimore traded left-handed pitching prospect for Jiminez prior to the MLB trade deadline on July 30. Chicago sent $4 million in cash as a part of the deal, according to Ronald Blum of AP News.

Relocation has revitalized Jiminez, who’s batting .500 with 4 RBIs in 8 appearances with the Orioles. Bowden ranked the 27-year-old 41st on his top-50 free agency rankings.

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Ryan Fuller: Eloy Jiminez is ‘Working Really Hard in the Cage’

Over 65 appearances with the White Sox this season, Jiminez posted a .240 batting average with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs.

Baltimore’s co-hitting coach, Ryan Fuller, talked about the trade for the slugger, and how he’s approached batting adjustments prior to an August 11 game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

“If he wants to hit the ball in the air more often, he hits the ball extremely hard, so he’s working really hard in the cage every day,” Fuller said. “While we make those adjustments we told him to just keep getting hits, make it look good out there until he starts elevating it a little bit more.”

Team skipper Brandon Hyde thinks highly of Jiminez, as he told reporters after an August 3 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

“Eloy is just a professional hitter, against left and right,” Hyde said, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. “Eloy won a Silver Slugger, so he can flat-out hit.”

In an August 8 interview with MASN Sports, Jiminez said he’s starting to settle in to his new clubhouse and at the plate, too.

“I’m starting to feel better, I’m starting to feel more comfortable,” Jiminez said. “I know good things are going to happen. So, I’m just gonna keep swinging and keep playing hard.”

Sometimes, a lot of the times, a change of scenery is all it takes for a professional athlete to catch a rhythm. Baltimore’s seeing that in real time with Jiminez.

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Bowden Ranks Corbin Burnes 2nd on Top-50

In the same column where he labeled Jiminez’s future with the Orioles “unlikely,” Bowden tabbed Corbin Burnes as the 2nd-best talent approaching free agency this winter.

“Corbin Burnes won the National League Cy Young Award with the Brewers in 2021 and now has a chance to join the shortlist of pitchers who have won a Cy Young in both leagues,” Bowden wrote. “He’s in a close race for the AL honor with the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal. Burnes will be the most sought-after pitcher in this free-agent class.”

Burnes, acquired in a February trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, has been stellar in his debut season with Baltimore.

The 29-year-old ace has pitched 149.2 innings, allowed 16 home runs, and thrown 137 strikeouts. He holds a 2.71 ERA as of August 12.

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