ST. PETERSBURG —The Rays are taking a low-risk gamble on a potential big bat, signing designated hitter/outfielder Eloy Jimenez to a minor-league contract.
The team also added to its depth in signing versatile infielder Coco Montes, a former USF standout, to a minor-league deal with a spring training invite.
Jimenez, 28, is coming off a rough 2024, hitting .238 with six homers, 23 RBIs and a .625 OPS between the White Sox and Orioles.
But over the previous five seasons in Chicago, he put up solid numbers when healthy, posting a .275 average with 89 homers, 275 RBIs and an .811 OPS.
His most productive season came as a rookie in 2019, when he hit .267 with 31 homers, 79 RBIs and an .828 OPS. He won an American League Silver Slugger award in 2020, when he hit .296 with 14 homers, 41 RBIs and a career-best .891 OPS over 55 games during the pandemic-shortened season.
Injuries have been an issue, including left adductor and hamstring strains that limited him last season.
Jimenez is a right-handed hitter and could impact a Rays lineup seeking an offensive boost if he shows well in spring training. Despite his down 2024 season, he still ranked in the 90th percentile in average exit velocity (92 mph) and hard-hit percentage (49.0).
The Rays currently have Jonathan Aranda (a lefty swinger) and Yandy Diaz in position to share time at first base and DH, and four players on the 40-man roster targeted for time in the outfield — Jonny DeLuca, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel and Richie Palacios. Morel and Palacios also play infield. Jimenez, who is listed at 6-feet-4 and 250 pounds, has made only 15 outfield starts over 2023-24.
If Jimenez shows he can help and gets added to the active roster, the Rays’ commitment reportedly isn’t much — a $2 million salary, per Dominican journalist Hector Gomez, and up to another $2 million more in incentives based on plate appearances. Jimenez made $13.8 million last season and had a $16.5 million option for 2025 that the Orioles declined, having acquired him in a July trade.
Montes, 28, made it to the majors with Colorado in 2023 for a three-week stint, hitting .184 over 18 games (with a homer and three RBIs). He spent most of that season at Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .317 with 22 homers, 89 RBIs and a .951 OPS over 105 games.
He went back to Albuquerque in 2024 and was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .335 average in late June when he took an offer to go to Japan. He played for Yomuiri, hitting .272 with a .699 OPS in 46 games.
Montes, a right-handed hitter, can serve as a valuable utility player, with the versatility to play shortstop, leftfield, and second and third base.
The contract he signed with the Rays includes some out clauses if he doesn’t make the big-league team. If he does, he has the opportunity to be a free agent after the season rather than be under team control and subject to a pre-arbitration salary structure.
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Montes, a Miami native (whose full name is Robert Patrick Montes), has Tampa Bay area ties. He played 2016-18 at USF, teaming at times with Rays ace Shane McClanahan and other Bulls who reached the big leagues, including Phoenix Sanders and Peter Strzelecki, and was a 15th-round pick by the Rockies. Montes is represented by Tampa-based agent Tom O’Connell.
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