Boston Red Sox Gilberto Jimenez, an outfielder, was among the six minor-league players released by the Red Sox on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Jimenez was formerly regarded as one of Boston’s farm system’s best prospects. After graduating from San Cristobal in August 2017, the Dominican Republic native signed an international free agent contract with the Red Sox for a meager $10,000.
The next June, Jimenez made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League, and despite his meager signing money, he didn’t take long to establish himself in the lower minors. The switch-hitter was actually named the team’s 2018 Latin Program Position Player of the Year after posting a.804 OPS in 67 games with DSL Red Sox 1.
Jimenez once more demonstrated promise by slicing after making the move stateside in 2019.359/.393/.470 in 59 games (253 plate appearances) with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 19 RBIs, 35 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 13 walks, and 38 strikeouts for short-season Lowell. His batting average led the New York-Penn League, and MiLB.com named him an organizational All-Star.
Jimenez’s developmental potential was restricted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out the 2020 minor league season, since he was not invited to Boston’s alternate training site camp that summer. Despite this, he excelled at the Red Sox’s fall instructional league in Fort Myers, and possibly as a result, Baseball America ranked him as the team’s seventh best prospect heading into the 2021 season.
Following his first spring training experience with the major leagues, Jimenez began the 2021 campaign at Low-A Salem. In 94 games with the Sox’s Carolina League affiliate, he still hit for average (.306), but his power output was limited to three home runs in 408 plate appearances. That winter, Jimenez became Rule 5-eligible for the first time, but Boston chose not to protect him, and the other 29 clubs passed him by.
In 2022, Jimenez advanced to High-A Greenville, but he hasn’t been able to go higher there in the previous two seasons. Two years prior, he had a.672 OPS in 99 games (407 bat appearances) with the Drive. However, injury concerns kept him to just 48 games (197 plate appearances) with three different affiliates in 2023.
During 367 minor-league games (1,549 plate appearances), Jimenez batted.300/.342/.409 overall with 66 doubles, 21 triples, 16 home runs, 165 RBIs, 215 runs scored, 72 stolen bases, 77 walks, and 320 strikeouts for the Red Sox organization. Despite seeing action at all three outfield positions, the 5-foot-11, 212-pound player put up those stats, with the majority of his reps coming in center.
Leave a Reply