Eloy Jimenez crushed spring training last year, a precursor to crushing Double-A pitching and Triple-A pitching. So when he entered Cactus League play on Tuesday just 2-for-14 with five strikeouts, Jimenez had earned the benefit of the doubt when he chalked it up as a minor timing issue.
He took a step in the right direction against the Padres. He went 1-for-3 with a strikeout, but the other out was comebacker that caromed off the pitcher, and the hit was his first homer of the spring.
But even before he took Luis Perdomo deep, Jimenez was already on my radar for a play he made in left field an inning earlier. He ended the third inning by picking a sinking Ty France liner off the turf with a fine, honest diving effort:
That's Jimenez's lone web gem from the spring to my knowledge, but on the other side of the ledger, I haven't seen or heard a discouraging word about Jimenez's defense this spring. It's not for a lack of attention from beat writers. They've been dutiful about logging even the mundane events:
- Chuck Garfien, March 3: "Eloy has made two solid catches in left field, battling the sun."
- Daryl Van Schouwen, Feb. 27: "Eloy Jimenez has handled everything in left without incident."
- James Fegan, Feb. 27: "Top of the third and ... it's good for Eloy to get all these game reps in throwing to the cutoff man."
- Van Schouwen, Feb. 23: "Eloy Jimenez fielded his position in left, catching a routine fly and charging in on single with runner on second and up throwing, runner holding at third."
From what I've seen, Jimenez isn't going to threaten the center fielder by ranging into territory that isn't his, but his reads and routes have been respectable, which is no small feat under the dreaded Arizona high skies. His defense wouldn't warrant a mention in either respect had the White Sox not pinned their service-time manipulation on that premise last September.
If Jimenez doesn't pick up the production, I could see the Sox shifting the onus to his offense, and that'd be more acceptable. The defense thing was always a sham. The same front office that converted Nicky Delmonico to outfield work by dropping him in front of the Green Monster and saying "good luck" can't abruptly pivot to piousness without raising suspicion. It works as well for Rick Hahn as it does for Ray Lewis.
However, if Jimenez scuffles through the Cactus League season with an uncharacteristic amount of strikeouts and an average around .200, I could actually buy framing a season-starting assignment in Charlotte as beneficial. The expectations for Eloy are enormous, and the last thing the White Sox rebuild needs is another reason to call it off. If Hahn said, "We want him to find his timing, and then we can party," OK.
But there are still nearly three weeks to reverse the flow. If Jimenez's homer turns out to be the proverbial flipped switch, he lays waste to Cactus League pitching, and he continues looking competent in left field, are the Sox going to revert to the lie?
Kris Bryant, who filed a grievance against the Cubs for their service-time chicanery under similar circumstances, sympathized with Jimenez.
“I literally saw that the other day,” Bryant said about the tweets. “And that infuriated me. Stop promoting the guy if you know exactly what’s going to happen. It’s a total money grab on everybody’s side. You’re putting the kid in a tough situation too. He’s seeing all this stuff. He’s kind of getting excited about it because, ‘Oh, MLB’s posting stuff about me!’ But at the end of spring training, he’s probably not going to be in the major leagues until that certain date. I totally feel for them. I can see how it’s going to hurt them.”
It's all gross, but it wouldn't feel as dirty had the White Sox used the financial flexibility afforded by suppressing Jimenez to improve the team. They did not. In fact, Kenny Williams blamed as-of-yet unrealized salary trajectories for players like Jimenez as the reason they wouldn't go all-in for Manny Machado or Bryce Harper. That makes it uglier, and when an injury or a disappointing spring are the only things that can make it honest, it's a possible nadir of fandom.
If you adhere to the categorical imperative, knowing we're all in on the lie doesn't make the lie any better. The real world is more flexible about truth, and the Sox had an opportunity to show what patience (and maybe a temporary, limited immorality) could yield by making a major investment in the product. After failing on that front, reverting to the delayed gratification kick should get more tenuous in the eyes of the other parties, if only out of self-protection. When everybody gets comfortable with one lie, it's important to make sure others don't sneak their way in.
