Brewers Were Interested in Eloy Jimenez at the Trade Deadline; Are They Still Interested?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I stay pretty plugged into rumors but don't recall hearing that the Brewers were pursuing enigmatic slugger Eloy Jimenez, as reported in this MLB Trade Rumors roundup.

Jimenez is a potent bat... about half the time. Over the past four seasons, he has posted an OPS+ of 139, 99, 141, and 104. And he's also injured often, playing only 259 games in the past three seasons.

Pretty much a DH-only, Jimenez would add a sizable right-handed threat to the Brewers but it's hard to see where he fits on this roster as currently constructed. And his contract won't be cheap. He is owed $13.8 million in 2024 and has two team options in 2025 and 2026 for $16.5 and $18.5 million, respectively.

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[Brock Beauchamp]

I just don't see this being a good fit for a variety of reasons.

But weirder things have happened in an offseason.

[brewerralph]

We are despite for right-handed bats. A small lottery ticket to the sox and they can drop payroll. I could see this as a 1year deal because in 25 we will have Chourio and Quero. Contreras will DH more in 25

[SF70]

No thanks.

DH needs saved for Yelich and others.

[Brock Beauchamp]

40 minutes ago, SF70 said:

No thanks.

DH needs saved for Yelich and others.

Yeah, that's kinda my take on it. Between Yelich and Contreras, paying prospect capital (and a pile of cash) for a dedicated DH doesn't make much sense to me.

[nate82]

If the Brewers decide to keep Adames, Burnes and Williams then I could see them trading for Jimenez.  They were at advanced talks with the White Sox for Jimenez at the deadline.  A framework is already there for a trade both teams know who is and isn't available in a trade. 

Maybe a Wiemer for Jimenez plus trade.  I think Wiemer's value is a bit low right now but he would be someone the White Sox would have interest in.  I am just not sure what Wiemer's value is right now probably somewhere around $5mm in excess value and Jimenez probably around $1.5mm.  Maybe something like Jimenez and Leasure for Wiemer could work out but I think the Brewers would be selling really low on Wiemer if they did this trade.  Though if Wiemer doesn't improve his strikeout issues this would be an absolute steal by the Brewers. 

[dave]

I feel like Wiemer for Eloy is pretty appropriate. Both are wild cards.  Who really knows if Weimer will hit? We're going to find out this year. It's a big if, but if Eloy can stay healthy, he's a right-handed bat on Ryan Braun's level. That contract is not bad.  It's a bit of a roll of the dice but it doesn't cripple them if it doesn't work out. I feel like it's the type of move the Brewers need to make if we're ever getting a World Series.

[sveumrules]

3 hours ago, SF70 said:

No thanks.

DH needs saved for Yelich and others.

Yeah, last year Yelich (20) and Contreras (29) started just under a third of the games at DH.

If Quero pans out behind the dish, that opens up Contreras to DH more games.

Depending how the various OF prospects play out could result in Yelich getting more DH time too.

All those factors lead me to believe any DH addition would likely be on a one year deal, maybe someone like Brandon Belt.

[SF70]

2 hours ago, nate82 said:

If the Brewers decide to keep Adames, Burnes and Williams then I could see them trading for Jimenez.  They were at advanced talks with the White Sox for Jimenez at the deadline.  A framework is already there for a trade both teams know who is and isn't available in a trade. 

Maybe a Wiemer for Jimenez plus trade.  I think Wiemer's value is a bit low right now but he would be someone the White Sox would have interest in.  I am just not sure what Wiemer's value is right now probably somewhere around $5mm in excess value and Jimenez probably around $1.5mm.  Maybe something like Jimenez and Leasure for Wiemer could work out but I think the Brewers would be selling really low on Wiemer if they did this trade.  Though if Wiemer doesn't improve his strikeout issues this would be an absolute steal by the Brewers. 

No.

All of our OF’s except TT should be held at this time. It’s sell low on all of them right now, so no reason to do that, unless the team has decided that one of them isn’t going to amount to anything, but guessing that it the case.

Jiminez has nowhere to play on this years team. We have many more options for DH this year than even last year, including Tyler Black.

[Redd Vencher]

3 hours ago, dave said:

I feel like Wiemer for Eloy is pretty appropriate. Both are wild cards.  Who really knows if Weimer will hit? We're going to find out this year. It's a big if, but if Eloy can stay healthy, he's a right-handed bat on Ryan Braun's level. That contract is not bad.  It's a bit of a roll of the dice but it doesn't cripple them if it doesn't work out. I feel like it's the type of move the Brewers need to make if we're ever getting a World Series.

That would be an absolutely awful trade for the Brewers.

[Brewcrew82]

I think we're better off getting our power infusion from the 1B position. Hoskins or even Garver would be a better fit and we wouldn't have to give up anything. 

A full-time DH with multiple years of control not really a fit with Yelich on the roster and the imminent crunch for OF spots we're facing, as well as the possibility of Quero supplanting Contreras defensively at C. 

[BrewerFan]

10 hours ago, brewerralph said:

We are despite for right-handed bats. A small lottery ticket to the sox and they can drop payroll. I could see this as a 1year deal because in 25 we will have Chourio and Quero. Contreras will DH more in 25

I think he costs substantially more than a lottery ticket.

That's among the reasons I wouldn't do it, but...he's a proven hitter. Hasn't proven he can stay healthy and he's a butcher in the field, not great on the bases...but he can hit and hit for power.

I'd guess you'd be looking at a prospect like Black at least. 

[BrewerFan]

6 hours ago, dave said:

I feel like Wiemer for Eloy is pretty appropriate. Both are wild cards.  Who really knows if Weimer will hit? We're going to find out this year. It's a big if, but if Eloy can stay healthy, he's a right-handed bat on Ryan Braun's level. That contract is not bad.  It's a bit of a roll of the dice but it doesn't cripple them if it doesn't work out. I feel like it's the type of move the Brewers need to make if we're ever getting a World Series.

Ok...they may both be wildcards to a degree. But if Wiemer hits, he's a 6-7 WAR player and Jiminez is a DH only bat...and you're already paying a premium to fit him into our payroll.

I also don't see the Braun comps. Braun was better at everything. His best season(Eloy) he had an .891 OPS. That's Braun's career average. 

Now you throw in his ability to play the field, his speed, base running. There's no area I'd say he's Braun's equal(or more specifically on his level as you didn't actually say equal). He IS absolutely a big time RHed bat, but I just think you're spending too much money and giving up a potential star for a guy who may not play half the games. And I'm sure you'd respond Wiemer may end up hitting .210...and while that's true, at least you're not paying 18M to roll those dice.

[Redd Vencher]

3 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I think he costs substantially more than a lottery ticket.

That's among the reasons I wouldn't do it, but...he's a proven hitter. Hasn't proven he can stay healthy and he's a butcher in the field, not great on the bases...but he can hit and hit for power.

I'd guess you'd be looking at a prospect like Black at least. 

You would not be looking at a Black type prospect going back for Eloy Jimenez at $16 M guaranteed for 1 season. He'd have to have a pretty big year to exercise any of his options. He's a lottery ticket type acquisition.

[sveumrules]

9 hours ago, Redd Vencher said:

You would not be looking at a Black type prospect going back for Eloy Jimenez at $16 M guaranteed for 1 season. He'd have to have a pretty big year to exercise any of his options. He's a lottery ticket type acquisition.

Yeah, even if the options are exercised it would be 3/48, so you essentially need to get at least five WAR just to break even.

Eloy has 5.4 WAR for his entire career spread out over five years and 1,777 PAs.

The odds of him staying healthy and consolidating similar value over the next three years has to be pretty low.

Only three players put up five or more WAR while DH-ing from 2021-23…Ohtani (13.1), Yordan (6.8) and JDM (6.1).

[Fear The Chorizo]

While I don't necessarily want the Brewers to trade for Jimenez specifically if the asking price is too large in terms of prospects, I'll continue to disagree with the notion that DH for the Brewers is just fine with a multiplayer approach assuming Contreras and Yelich cover roughly 1/3rd of the games at that position.  That still leaves 2/3 of those starts given to guys like Winker or other marginal hitters pulled off a bench that has consistently been built with defensive versatility as the priority.  And again, giving Contreras and Yelich DH starts on days they would typically get a day off in the field winds up not really giving them days off they need to avoid burning out or getting injured down the stretch.  That was a necessity more than a luxury for last year's Brewers team, because they were putrid enough offensively without those two in the lineup that they had to keep them in the lineup.  Yelich OPS'd under 0.700 in August after playing basically every day from June on and then missed about half of September with a nagging back issue.  Swinging a bat and back issues don't go well together, so I struggle to see how Yelich DH-ing in games once or twice a week is actual rest that he needs at this stage in his career.  Contreras was strong down the stretch last season, no doubt, but asking that much of a catcher at any age is a recipe for him breaking down, too.

I would much rather have the Brewers allocate significant payroll to acquire a quality RH bat that profiles as a DH (Soler) for a multiple year deal, than go into another season with a piecemeal approach and repeat the same roster building mistakes they've been doing for several seasons.  They have plenty of youth set to play everyday in 2024 to offset any payroll dedicated to an impact veteran DH, heck it doesn't even need to be much more than the ~$8M thrown at Winker last year.  This team NEEDS offensive impact from the RH batters box, and it has to be a priority to improve that sole position on a 26 man roster that emphasizes offense ONLY to give the Brewers another lineup anchor along with Contreras and Yelich.

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

Yeah, even if the options are exercised it would be 3/48, so you essentially need to get at least five WAR just to break even.

Eloy has 5.4 WAR for his entire career spread out over five years and 1,777 PAs.

The odds of him staying healthy and consolidating similar value over the next three years has to be pretty low.

Only three players put up five or more WAR while DH-ing from 2021-23…Ohtani (13.1), Yordan (6.8) and JDM (6.1).

WAR for the DH position is a poor metric - basically a 0.0 WAR full time DH would be a huge upgrade to who the Brewers have had at that position.  Shifting Yelich and Contreras to DH in games then significantly diminishes the offensive impact the Brewers would get from LF or C in those games, too.

Specific to Jimenez, much of his WAR limitations have been a mix of being an awful defensive player and injuries.  His career OPS is north of 0.800 in the range between Yelich and Contreras' 2023 production.  At many points of last season, I would've paid $25M plus for another hitter of their caliber in the everyday lineup, so $16M seems more than reasonable.

[SF70]

4 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

While I don't necessarily want the Brewers to trade for Jimenez specifically if the asking price is too large in terms of prospects, I'll continue to disagree with the notion that DH for the Brewers is just fine with a multiplayer approach assuming Contreras and Yelich cover roughly 1/3rd of the games at that position.  That still leaves 2/3 of those starts given to guys like Winker or other marginal hitters pulled off a bench that has consistently been built with defensive versatility as the priority.  And again, giving Contreras and Yelich DH starts on days they would typically get a day off in the field winds up not really giving them days off they need to avoid burning out or getting injured down the stretch.  That was a necessity more than a luxury for last year's Brewers team, because they were putrid enough offensively without those two in the lineup that they had to keep them in the lineup.  Yelich OPS'd under 0.700 in August after playing basically every day from June on and then missed about half of September with a nagging back issue.  Swinging a bat and back issues don't go well together.

I would much rather have the Brewers allocate significant payroll to acquire a quality RH bat that profiles as a DH (Soler) for a multiple year deal, than go into another season with a piecemeal approach and repeat the same roster building mistakes they've been doing for several seasons.  They have plenty of youth set to play everyday in 2024 to offset any payroll dedicated to an impact veteran DH, heck it doesn't even need to be much more than the ~$8M thrown at Winker last year.  This team NEEDS offensive impact from the RH batters box, and it has to be a priority to improve that sole position on a 26 man roster that emphasizes offense ONLY to give the Brewers another lineup anchor along with Contreras and Yelich.

When Chourio is installed (hoping it’s OD) and if the team holds Mitchell-Frelick, I think Yelich’s days as a LF for this team will be reduced and his days as a DH will increase, probably substantially. 

A Jiminez trade handcuffs the team in a big way since he’s unplayable for an Arnold-led team anywhere in the field, and as a full-time DH will absolutely limit the teams options of moving Yelich there and giving the team the blazing fast and elite defensive OF of Frelick-Chourio-Mitchell.

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 minute ago, SF70 said:

When Chourio is installed (hoping it’s OD) and if the team holds Mitchell-Frelick, I think Yelich’s days as a LF for this team will be reduced and his days as a DH will increase, probably substantially. 

A Jiminez trade handcuffs the team in a big way since he’s unplayable for an Arnold-led team anywhere in the field, and as a full-time DH will absolutely limit the teams options of moving Yelich there and giving the team the blazing fast and elite defensive OF of Frelick-Chourio-Mitchell.

Then what happens with the blazing fast and elite defensive OF winds up having just 1 player providing anywhere close to replacement level offensive production at those positions?  You're expecting way too much from young talent - there will be hiccups.  I'm hopeful Chourio is in Milwaukee this coming season, too - but that doesn't mean I want most of the diamond occupied by prearbitration talent in the field behind what will most likely be a thinner pitching staff in 2024.

A trade for Jimenez would likely be a 1 year stopgap, and Yelich could easily wind up as the team's primary DH in 2025 making his $26+ million salary.  Let Yelich make that much in LF i 2024 and give him actual days off - particularly against LH starting pitching.

Simply put, even if Yelich is one of the team's best hitters, I don't want him getting significant playing time as the team's DH when he is given days off in the field that are necessary to preserve his back.  In order to do so, the Brewers need to add more offensive-minded talent to their roster - and hitters like Jimenez do make a ton of sense to achieve that goal.  I don't care if you can't play Jimenez anywhere in the field - again, there is plenty of room on a 26-man roster for an offense-only slugger you can pencil in the lineup almost everyday as the team's primary DH.

[TURBO]

14 hours ago, Redd Vencher said:

You would not be looking at a Black type prospect going back for Eloy Jimenez at $16 M guaranteed for 1 season. He'd have to have a pretty big year to exercise any of his options. He's a lottery ticket type acquisition.

Black for Jimenez would be gross.  No thank you.

[SF70]

2 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Then what happens with the blazing fast and elite defensive OF winds up having just 1 player providing anywhere close to replacement level offensive production at those positions?  You're expecting way too much from young talent - there will be hiccups.  I'm hopeful Chourio is in Milwaukee this coming season, too - but that doesn't mean I want most of the diamond occupied by prearbitration talent in the field behind what will most likely be a thinner pitching staff in 2024.

A trade for Jimenez would likely be a 1 year stopgap, and Yelich could easily wind up as the team's primary DH in 2025 making his $26+ million salary.  Let Yelich make that much in LF i 2024 and give him actual days off - particularly against LH starting pitching.

Simply put, even if Yelich is one of the team's best hitters, I don't want him getting significant playing time as the team's DH when he is given days off in the field that are necessary to preserve his back.  In order to do so, the Brewers need to add more offensive-minded talent to their roster - and hitters like Jimenez do make a ton of sense to achieve that goal.  I don't care if you can't play Jimenez anywhere in the field - again, there is plenty of room on a 26-man roster for an offense-only slugger you can pencil in the lineup almost everyday as the team's primary DH.

It’s not just Chourio-Frelick-Mitchell, let’s add Wiemer-TT to the trio. That’s 5 OF’s, not including Yelich. 

The performance of Chourio since the tacky balls were no more including the winter-league explosion has to have potentially sped-up the timeline of Chourio and the team already has multiple other talented OF ‘s they need to make room for.

Guessing they hold their OF’s that have sell-low probabilities, which to me are all of them except TT. Based on the aforementioned information, filling the DH position with Jiminez doesn’t seem like a wise move.

[Harold Hutchison]

Elvis Peguero and Blake Perkins for Jimenez

[BrewerFan]

3 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

WAR for the DH position is a poor metric - basically a 0.0 WAR full time DH would be a huge upgrade to who the Brewers have had at that position.  Shifting Yelich and Contreras to DH in games then significantly diminishes the offensive impact the Brewers would get from LF or C in those games, too.

Specific to Jimenez, much of his WAR limitations have been a mix of being an awful defensive player and injuries.  His career OPS is north of 0.800 in the range between Yelich and Contreras' 2023 production.  At many points of last season, I would've paid $25M plus for another hitter of their caliber in the everyday lineup, so $16M seems more than reasonable.

That and you also can't just plug any of this into a mathematical equation and say "this is the player with the appropriate surplus value it'd take to acquire Eloy."

We've heard all about the White Sox outlandish requests. Unless they went from wanting multiple top prospects for Eloy to wanting to dump him, I do think it'll take a Black-type prospect to get him. 

If it just took a lottery ticket, he'd have been on the Brewers when we were searching for RHed bats so hard this past deadline. His value, on a last-place team, most likely didn't go from multiple top prospects at the trade deadline to a low level lottery ticket in what amounts to a salary dump after 2 more months of Baseball. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 hour ago, SF70 said:

It’s not just Chourio-Frelick-Mitchell, let’s add Wiemer-TT to the trio. That’s 5 OF’s, not including Yelich. 

The performance of Chourio since the tacky balls were no more including the winter-league explosion has to have potentially sped-up the timeline of Chourio and the team already has multiple other talented OF ‘s they need to make room for.

Guessing they hold their OF’s that have sell-low probabilities, which to me are all of them except TT. Based on the aforementioned information, filling the DH position with Jiminez doesn’t seem like a wise move.

I expect Wiemer to open next season in AAA and don't really want him back in a MLB batters box until he quiets down his swing/approach.  TT is a great fit as a reserve OF, being able to give any of the LH hitting OF starters (Yelich, Mitchell, Frelick) a day off and still wind up with a few hundred plate appearances - although he's getting kind of expensive in that role.

The other side of this is between all the young OF's you mentioned, at least one of them should be dealt to make room for Chourio, and that should happen this offseason (or at the latest by next year's deadline if they plan on keeping Chourio down for service time reasons to open the 2024 season).  That's just a roster spot #'s game with guys all having a bunch of team control and a guy who's more talented than all of them beating the MLB door down for everyday playing time.

To me, the DH position should be independent from any other position grouping for their roster - so the outfield logjam they need to sort out has no bearing on what the Brewers should do at the DH position, which IMO is bring in a veteran RH hitter via free agency or trade.

[wntrtxn21]

Rather than put any money towards Garver or lose prospects and money for Jimenez, I would like to see the Brewers put any money that would go to them and go all-in on Hoskins. He has a career 920 OPS and .400 OBP against lefties and fills a big need. Let the young OFs play more and use Yelich at least 50% of the time as a DH.