It’s bittersweet to say I told you so. I’ve said it since Spring Training that Eloy Jimenez would not be in the big leagues in 2018. However, he made me worry I’d have to eat my words.
Jimenez finished with a serious slash line of .337/.384/.577 and a .961 OPS. He added 22 home runs and 75 runs batted in between Double-A and Triple-A in 108 contests. Jimenez missed two weeks in April with a pectoral strain that delayed the start of his 2018 campaign. But it seemed impossible to cool the slugger’s hot bat the entire season. He batted .355 in Triple-A and flirted with the insane numbers I threw out as benchmarks for promotions all season long — .400 BA, 40 HR and 100 RBI.
It’s virtually impossible to reach those statistics in a minor-league season but Jimenez came close. Still, Rick Hahn refused to reward Jimenez with a promotion to Chicago.
“As you ‘ve heard me say throughout this process,” Hahn told the media before Monday’s game against Detroit “this is a year in which patience is going to be of the utmost importance in this rebuild. And you heard me say at times we were going to be tested and this is one of those times.
“However, at this point, we don’t feel it makes sense at age-21 to make an appearance at a third level this season. From a baseball player-development standpoint- we view him as continuing to improve. He has had a very good season offensively and in our opinion, it is in everyone’s best interest for him to continue to develop into the well-rounded, impactful player that we project him to be.
“One thing that I hope does not get lost in this is how excited we are about his future and how big of a part he is of our future. Eloy understands that. He has heard it from me. He has heard it from others. His agents have heard it from me. And he is very well positioned to make a significant impact at the big-league level at age-22 next year, which is a fantastic path for Eloy”
Despite the calls from most bloggers and pundits about how the White Sox have fumbled good faith with Jimenez’s camp and widespread consternation over the injustice Jimenez is facing, the White Sox made the appropriate decision.
Here are the facts: Jimenez was in A-ball last season, he’s only 21 years old and giving him meaningless at-bats (don’t worry. I’ll explain) in September would be a foolish business decision.
Yes, baseball is a business and although Eloy has demonstrated that he seems ready for a big league challenge, ignoring the rules collectively bargained by both MLB and the player’s association would be a negligent move by the Sox and induce crying and wailing from the other side of the fanbase that repeats — ad nauseum — that Sox management is asleep at the wheel.
Regardless of the White Sox history of extending players at a hometown discount, if Jimenez turns out to be the player many believe him to be, having the extra year to make the decision is something that could prove prescient. Remember, the majors is much different than the minors. We’ve seen it far too often with pitchers and hitters alike, there is a decent timeline of development for players — even ones with enormous wells of potential — to figure out the highest level of baseball.
And pulling Jimenez into a situation where teams can pitch with an altogether funky approach in September doesn’t serve anyone’s interest but the fans. If promoted, Eloy’s at-bats this month would be relatively useless and drain valuable service time. It is much better to give Eloy a brief rest, let him play winter-ball in the Dominican Republic (Hahn confirmed this in his presser) and hit the ground running in 2019.
The only mistake for the White Sox would be to ignore service-time rules in April and let Jimenez break camp with the big-league club — and there are arguments to made on both sides of this.
My feeling is that Jimenez should be in Chicago on Opening Day. He seems ready and if the White Sox scouting department believe he’s ready he should be in the big leagues. But, although the Sox cannot admit they are deliberately withholding a promotion in deference to service time, it seems appropriate to keep Eloy in the minors for two weeks to gain a year.
I know it seems unfair and disappointing, but if they deferred a promotion in September, they are unlikely to ignore service time in April. Michael Kopech‘s promotion this season is a completely different scenario than Eloy’s considering Kopech spent the entire season in Triple-A. As a pitcher, Kopech has fewer appearances and a higher risk of injury with each pitch, so promoting Kopech mid-season in 2018 does not signal an organizational philosophy in either direction. Some might argue that Kopech’s promotion was a red herring to deny accusations of deliberately pausing Jimenez’s promotion, but Kopech was undeniably ready for the next step.
Jimenez’s delay is not a new story. We’ve seen this before with Kris Bryant and Maikel Franco, both of whom filed grievances with the league and still await a decision on their cases. And still, when compared to Bryant, Eloy will still be two years younger than Bryant was when Theo Epstein took heat for keeping Bryant down. Franco, on the other hand, was 21 when he earned a promotion and has gone from a scud missile of promise to an explosion of disappointment — there has been plenty of trade chatter around Franco in recent years.
The easy take is to highlight the injustice of the system. Should Eloy be in the bigs? Absolutely. But ask yourself if the feels you’re feeling are more anticipation and emotion rather than fair-minded review.
Us regular folk want our athletic stars to shine bright like comets burning hot and fast. We don’t like to wait for our rewards just like toddlers hate the phrase “in a minute.” We want it now and we don’t want it to break. But if you play with your toys the wrong way they are sure to break.
Listen, this may not be an apt metaphor but the idea is sound; good things come to those who wait. This wisdom can be applied on both ends: to fans and to Eloy Jimenez. And if that doesn’t suit your fancy then don’t hate the player, hate the game.
