With the signing of Andrew Benintendi this morning, the White Sox introduced their left fielder of the future. However, in doing so, they also provided some long-term clarity on their powerful, though defensively limited, outfielder in Eloy Jimenez.
Per Vinnie Duber of CHGO Sports, when asked about Eloy Jimenez’s role in 2023, new manager Pedro Grifol was quite clear about one thing: Andrew Benintendi came to the South Side to be the team’s everyday left fielder. That means that Eloy Jimenez will no longer have a place there – though he is willing to do whatever it takes to help the ballclub win.
It’s pretty easy to read between the lines here: Grifol doesn’t see the best fit for Jimenez on a day-to-day basis in the outfield. While the team may publicly encourage him to expand his outfield versatility by playing some right field, it’s clear that Jimenez’s day-to-day role will be as the team’s designated hitter.
Jimenez, 26, has been far from a stellar outfielder throughout his career. After posting -12 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 2019, he followed that with seasons of -4 OAA in 2020, +/- 0 OAA in 2021, and -2 OAA in 2022. However, all three seasons from 2020-2022 came with very few chances in the outfield – 218 total chances combined, compared to 228 chances in 2019 alone. It stands to reason that, while Jimenez may be improved in the outfield, it may make the most sense to have him avoid the outfield most of the time in 2023 and beyond.
While he will likely serve as an outfield option once and a while, it seems very likely that Jimenez will be the team’s full-time Designated Hitter moving forward. How that works for the White Sox may depend on whether or not they add a fourth outfielder moving forward – someone like Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, or David Peralta who can help fill in any outfield gaps as they arise.
However, as a new manager, Pedro Grifol was careful not to box Jimenez into a DH-only role.
It’s a smart thing for a manager to do in order to give his players some confidence in their abilities – especially someone like Jimenez, who has been historically opposed to being a full-time designated hitter.
In Jimenez’s defense, following a multitude of injuries in 2021 and 2022, he’s softened his stance a bit on designated hitter moving forward. Perhaps his .843 OPS (.274/.343/.500) in 2022 at the designated hitter position was the necessary driver to convince Jimenez he could be successful in the role – sometimes, it’s a mental hurdle for players to get over.
At the end of the day, the White Sox should do whatever it takes to keep Eloy Jimenez on the field for as many of the 162 games as possible. Signing Andrew Benintendi and moving Eloy Jimenez to the full-time DH role is a step in that direction.
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My degree is also in economics with minors in political science and history. I look forward to your analysis as our new manager needs help in stating out the team.