Rick Renteria: Eloy Jimenez could ‘absolutely' have same impact on White Sox as free agents like Harper, Machado

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LAS VEGAS — All White Sox fans want to hear about this week is Bryce Harper. And maybe Manny Machado.

The South Siders are reportedly in on the two biggest fish in this winter's free-agent pond, two 26-year-old superstars who would mesh perfectly with the White Sox rebuilding effort and their long-term plans to field a perennial championship contender.

The impact of adding a player the caliber of Harper or Machado would be huge for a team coming off a 100-loss season and an organization developing a wave of talented prospects. And everyone within the organization knows it.

"I think it makes your team better in and of itself. The caliber of players that everybody is talking about and hopefully trying to acquire, it changes the dynamic of your club," manager Rick Renteria said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. "You're not going to win with one guy, but it's a big piece that helps now build a bridge with the rest of the men that are on that club. And you ultimately start off to do it as a team. But getting a guy that has the talent that some of these guys have that are out there right now, it would certainly enhance our club."

But even if Harper or Machado don't end up on the South Side, that kind of player could still be suiting up for the White Sox in 2019.

Eloy Jimenez is the No. 3 prospect in baseball, a guy who the White Sox believe has superstar potential. And he's coming. In fact, it should only be a matter of weeks into the 2019 season before Jimenez makes his big league debut and begins his career as a centerpiece of the South Siders' leap from rebuilding to contending.

"He's a truly gifted and exciting player to have," Renteria said. "My hope is that he's going to be a 30-plus-type-homer guy, who is probably going to hit for average. I think he's going to be a pretty good defender. I think he's worked very, very hard at that. He's a big man. His understanding and knowing and learning about maintenance and diet and all those things, he looks really good.

"And so we're hoping that this young man's career for us is going to be one of those future impact guys. I don't want to call him a Hall of Famer, because that's a lot to put on a kid's plate. But he has the skill set to potentially be a very, very impactful front line major league player."

If all goes according to plan with Jimenez, could he be just as impactful as big-name players from outside the organization like Harper or Machado?

"Absolutely," Renteria said. "And I think it's because the expectation and the understanding of who he is and what he's about and the skill set that he brings to the table. We're all excited about the possibilities.

"As we continue to move forward with these guys, Eloy certainly has a chance of being one of those big-time players that you see on every other club, and maybe similar to some of the guys we're trying to acquire."

Jimenez has no shortage of fans in Chicago, who have been clamoring to see him promoted to the major leagues since before the beginning of the 2018 season. He spent that campaign tearing it up at Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte, finishing the year with a .337/.384/.577, 22 home runs and 75 RBIs. He's continued that kind of mashing in the Dominican Winter League, riding into Tuesday's game with a seven-game hit streak, a grand slam under his belt and a batting average north of .400. Then he hit a home run in the first-inning Tuesday.

So, yeah, this Eloy guy sounds pretty good. And he's going to be doing that kind of thing in Chicago very soon.

White Sox fans have every right to be excited about their team's aggressive approach to this offseason and their reported attempts at landing one of the best players in baseball. But if next spring comes and Harper's a Philadelphia Phillie and Machado's a New York Yankee, there'll still be joy on the South Side of Chicago because Jimenez could have the same impact.

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