Brewers Rumors: Crew Has Expressed Interest In White Sox DH Eloy Jimenez

The Milwaukee Brewers are searching high and low for ways to upgrade their offense at the Trade Deadline. That search has taken them to the south side of Chicago.

The biggest need for the Brewers is at DH. While GM Matt Arnold doesn't want to take away from the team's defensive strength with the players he acquires, when DH is the big need to address, defense doesn't matter. So why not swing big?

According to MLB Insider Bruce Levine, the Milwaukee Brewers have been kicking the tires on White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez.

The latest rumors have the Brewers looking to potentially acquire DH Eloy Jimenez to make a massive splash for their lineup.

Speaking on Mully and Haugh on 670 The Score, Bruce Levine reported the Brewers are looking for hitting and have been talking to the White Sox about Jimenez.

Jimenez would be the big bat the Brewers need in their lineup. While he's dealt with injuries the past couple of years, in 69 games so far this year, Jimenez is hitting .285 with 13 homers, an .810 OPS, and a 120 OPS+. When fully healthy, Jimenez has 30+ homer potential while hitting for a high average. He's had just one season in his career with an OPS+ below 116, and that was an injury shortened 2021 season.

Levine did not clarify if talks have gained any traction or if the White Sox are even open to trading Jimenez during their fire sale this summer. He's under team control for several seasons and if Chicago is expecting to contend again soon, they may prefer to just keep him. But if Chicago wants to blow it all up and start over, Jimenez could bring in a haul of prospects.

Jimenez would be an immediate fix at DH not just in 2023, but going forward. He's going to make $13.8MM next year and then has a club option for $16.5MM in 2025 and another option for $18.5MM in 2026. That's a potential of 3.5 years of team control the Brewers would be looking to acquire.

This would be a costly trade for Milwaukee in terms of prospects. It's going to cost the Brewers a Top 100 prospect or two plus a couple additional pieces to get something like this done. Matt Arnold has said he wants to add "responsibly" to this team, and paying that high of a price may not qualify as responsible. Then again, the DH spot would be solidified for years to come, which sounds like a responsible thing to do.

Milwaukee trading for Eloy Jimenez feels more like a pipe dream than a legitimate possibility over the coming days just due to the high acquisition cost and the White Sox likely reluctance to move him. Give credit to the Brewers front office for checking in on Jimenez and trying to make a big move to help the lineup. If Jimenez were to be traded, he'd be the best bat moved at the Deadline this year. Whether this turns into anything remains to be seen, but stranger things have happened at the Trade Deadline.