Baltimore Orioles Acquire Eloy Jimenez from Chicago White Sox

Eloy Jimenez is switching teams…

The 28-year-old Dominican professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder has been acquired by the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday for minor league left-hander Trey McGough.

Eloy Jimenez, Jimenez is hitting .240 with just five home runs and 16 RBIs this season. He’s been limited to 65 games in 2024 because of adductor and hamstring issues after reaching double figures in homers each of his first five seasons.

Jimenez went from the Chicago Cubs to the crosstown White Sox in the 2017 deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs. In his debut season of 2019, Jimenez hit 31 home runs, but he’s never played more than the 122 games he did that year and hasn’t surpassed 18 homers since.

Before he’d even played a game in the majors, Chicago signed Jiménez to a $43 million, six-year deal. That contract includes a $16.5 million team option for 2025 with a $3 million buyout, and an $18.5 million team option for 2026, also with a $3 million buyout.

Baltimore received another outfielder Tuesday when Austin Slater was traded for the second time this month. Slater, who went from San Francisco to Cincinnati on July 7, was dealt to the Orioles along with minor league infielder Livan Soto and cash. The Reds receive cash or a player to be named.

In a separate deal Tuesday, Baltimore also acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Seth Johnson.

Soto, 29, has a 4.08 ERA and two saves across 35⅓ innings this season for the Phillies.

Johnson, 25, has spent the season in Double-AA and has a 2.63 ERA.

Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Gregory Soto from Detroit Tigers

Gregory Soto is heading east…

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the 27-year-old Dominican hard-throwing professional baseball pitcher and infielder Kody Clemens from the Detroit Tigers, the tam has announced.

Gregory SotoIn return, Detroit received infielder Nick Maton, outfielder Matt Vierling and catcher Donny Sands.

Soto was an MLB All-Star the past two seasons, including 2022, when he went 2-11 for the fourth-place Tigers. Despite that record, he had a respectable 3.28 ERA, although his command has been an issue the past couple of seasons. He walked 34 batters in 60⅓ innings last season while producing a career-high 14.5% walk percentage in 2021.

Soto joins an evolving, formidable bullpen in Philadelphia. The Phillies also added veteran Craig Kimbrel to the mix this offseason, and holdovers Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado helped the organization to the World Series last year.