The White Sox have agreed to a minors deal with outfielder Alex Presley, with a club announcement confirming the report of MLBTR’s Steve Adams (on Twitter). The Sports Pro Services client will report to the organization’s top affiliate in Charlotte.
Presley had recently opted out of his deal with the Orioles, taking his release when the team decided not to add him to its MLB roster. The 32-year-old had turned in a productive opening to his time at Triple-A Norfolk, slashing .288/.362/.385 on the year.
Of course, it’s not surprising to see Presley reaching base in the highest level of the minors, as he owns a .361 on-base mark (along with a .296 batting average and .425 slugging percentage) in over two thousand total trips to the plate at Triple-A. That skillset has earned him quite a few chances (1,502 plate appearances) in the majors over the years, though Presley has yet to sustain success there, with a cumulative .263/.306/.388 batting line.
The Chicago organization represents a fairly appealing landing spot at the moment, as the team has dealt with some outfield injuries and promises to have quite a few opportunities over the course of a rebuilding season. Presley will join recent Orioles minor-league teammate Michael Saunders in trying to earn a shot at the major-league level with the South Siders after failing to do so in Baltimore.
Signing both of these veteran outfielders to minor league deals this past week might suggest the White Sox are in no hurry to promote top OF prospect Eloy Jimenez to AAA or even their MLB roster anytime soon. If that’s the case then it’s a shame. Jimenez would instantly upgrade the White Sox anemic offense while his Super Two status deadline date will also pass in the coming weeks.
Which is fine. Let the kid mash in AA and build up confidence. When he is ready to move up he will force the issue.
Also, these are just depth signings. If they provide value to the big league club then it was worth the gamble. if not, then goodbye.
I believe that Eloy Jimenez is more than ready to hit MLB pitching now, and I’m not alone in my thinking either. I would also have no problem if he were to spend a month or so in AAA starting asap. There is also no guarantee that the White Sox will gain anymore victories by promoting Jimenez at some point this summer over either Michael Saunders or Alex Presley. However, they might gain more wins starting in 2019 by letting him gain some valuable MLB experience.
The organization would also make their fan base extremely happy by promoting not only Jimenez but top pitching prospect Michael Kopech sooner rather than later. We would all enjoy a glimpse of two future anchors at some point this season and not have to wait until next April, May or June.
Eloy Jimenez is hardly a “kid” either. He’s 21-years old and is now in his fifth season of minor league ball. After a slow start as a 17 and 18 year old in the Cubs organization Jimenez has managed to elevate himself to the upper echelon of OF prospects which also includes having the best combination of hitting and pure power. Jimenez is so advanced as a hitter he’s now being compared to Giancarlo Stanton. He also has a solid chance to be the best generational hitting talent to debut on the South Side since Frank Thomas did so in 1990.
I would also add that Jimenez does not lacking in confidence. He feels he is ready to hit MLB pitching and proved as much with an outstanding spring camp in Arizona that unfortunately was cut a little short due to an injury.
Speaking of Thomas, it should be noted that the “Big Hurt” was drafted at 21 out of Auburn University in the first round of the 1989 June Draft. He played slightly more than one season of minor league ball and made the jump straight from AA Birmingham on August 2nd of 1990. I believe that Jimenez is equally capable of making such a jump or that at the very least the White Sox ought to promote him to AAA Charlotte as soon as now and let him check all the remaining boxes before making his MLB debut later this summer.
If he’s 21 years old , then yes, he’s a kid still !
Eloy doesn’t need a confidence boost. He already knows he’s a major league hitter, and demolishing AA pitching won’t make a difference. He’s slashing .357/.379/.661 in his last 124 plate appearances after an 0-10 start coming back from injury. That includes a 15 game hit streak – which also included a 9 game multi-hit streak. The hand has been forced. Unless they plan on moving him directly from AA to the bigs once all the special dates pass, which is an option, there is absolutely no reason he shouldn’t be in AAA right now.
Yes. Jimenez is also already on the White Sox 40-man roster due to his minor league service time. The White Sox needed to protect him from being Rule 5 Draft eligible which was a no-brainer.
Had Jimenez been available he would not have slid past the Tigers at #1. He would have remained on their active roster all season and likely would have been their starting LF and paired with Miguel Cabrera in the middle of their batting order. If he could have started with the Tigers this season on opening day there is no reason he couldn’t do the same with the White Sox at some point this summer. Jose Abreu will be the first one to the airport to pick him up when that moment arrives.
Don’t forget the draft choice they were going for last year only to lose out to Detroit and 2 others for the we suck more bowl and now will pick 4 th in draft. Don’t screw yourself out of meaningless wins like the bears and go all in for first choice. Cubbies did it quite well and look how successful their tanking was
The Cubs never actually had a #1 overall draft pick in their recent rebuild. The Astros “earned” the top pick in three consecutive June’s from 2012 though 2014 for sucking even more. Houston also pissed those last two away by selecting Mark Appel and Brady Aiken in 2013 and 2014. They did hit a home run with Carlos Correa in 2012.
They also got Bregman though because of Aiken
Of course they wouldn’t have had the need for a third baseman had they selected Kris Bryant at #1 instead of Mark Appel in 2013. Alex Bregman was a SS coming out of college but the Astros already had Carlos Correa so he was shifted to 3B.
Bregman was the overall #2 pick for Houston in the 2015 Draft because they balked at signing Brady Aiken the year before due to a medical issue. Oddly enough the top 3 picks in the 2015 were all shortstops including Dansby Swanson at #1 by the Diamondbacks and Brendan Rodgers at #3 by the Rockies. The Astros also appeared to make a nice pick with their regular 1st round pick in OF Kyle Tucker at #5.
Lose Adam Engel. For the love of Pete…
The Trayce Thompson era on the South Side may also be in jeopardy for the second time in his career. lol
I’m all for losing Adam Engel. For the love of Charlie (Tilson) or Eloy (Jimenez) or any other warm body at AAA or AA who can hit above the Mendoza line.
As a lifelong pirate fan I’m glad to see Presley found a job can t believe he’s 32 already. I never saw him loaf or not hustle down the line. He’s your stereotypical “AAAA” player always competing for one of those last roster spots. He’s imo good enough to be platoon/backup on an avg. team at best. Also as a fan who’s seen 20 straight years of rebuilding 92-2012 why bring Eloy up? The wsox will prob make a stab at machado in FA but why bring Eloy up ,put mlb service time on him when next year looks a little better right now of an environment to develop a talent like his. The wsox look like the bad news bears, wait for sept. They are tanking for draft picks
Not a surprising comment from a lifelong Pirate fan who is used to his local ownership pinching pennies in every way possible by delaying the MLB debuts of elite young talent.
A Nationals fan might have a different perspective seeing as how that organization is not afraid to promote great prospect talent even younger than Eloy Jimenez. Bryce Harper and now Juan Soto are just two examples of elite young outfielders who were added to their active rosters at the age of 19.
Washington is hardly alone either with Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout all examples of players who were allowed to make their MLB debuts at 19. You best believe that if any of them were Pirate prospects they would have had to wait longer for their MLB baptisms.
Robin Yount was the starting SS for the Brewers in his 1st season at the age of 18!