White Sox Win Big By Locking Up Eloy Jimenez Before He Hits The Majors

Eloy Jimenez is a hell of a prospect and is expected to transition well to the major leagues. That said, he hasn’t played a single game in the big leagues. Despite that, the Chicago White Sox are reportedly set to lock him up to a long-term deal.

Honestly, this is a great deal. Jimenez is a 22-year-old five-tool prospect from the Dominican Republic who has dominated the minor leagues. He split time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018 and hit .337, with 22 home runs, 75 RBIs, a .384 on-base percentage and a .961 OPS. He was arguably the best hitter in minor league baseball.

Baseball America has ranked him as the 17th-best prospect in baseball in 2017, the fourth-best in 2018 and the third-best before this season. His continues to jump up the ranks and will almost certainly be in the big leagues this year.

Locking him up for six years and $43 million and getting a pair of club options is brilliant. The deal could max out at eight years and $77 million. It’s a great deal for the White Sox to get a young star locked up long term. They are clearly confident he can do big things in the majors and now have him on board for a below-market deal.

After missing out of the big-name free agents this offseason, Chicago needed to do something positive. This is positive.

The Chicago Cubs have to be kicking themselves. They shipped Jimenez across town to the White Sox as part of the deal for Jose Quintana, who has not been as good as advertised.