Resurging Eloy Jimenez becoming early standout in Toronto Blue Jays' camp

A week into the 2026 Grapefruit League slate, and Eloy Jimenez has already made a strong impression in Toronto Blue Jays spring training.

It's an admittedly small sample, only two games, but Jiménez has come out swinging, going 3-for-5 with two extra-base hits, including his first home run of the spring.

Jimenez will get another chance to showcase his tools as manager John Schneider has penciled him into todays lineup, batting 6th, in left field against the Detroit Tigers

Of course, the typical spring training disclaimers apply. Jiménez is in camp as a non-roster invitee after spending all of last season in the minors, and there's still more than a month to go before Opening Day.

His path to a roster spot remains anything but guaranteed.

Still, the upside is clear, and he hill get extended big league reps while the others are away at WBC. So the Blue Jays will get a long look before any final decisions can be made.

Jiménez was once a 30-home-run force with the Chicago White Sox, and that power ceiling hasn't disappeared.

He's been chasing the heights of his 2019 breakout ever since, with injuries largely derailing his ability to build on that momentum.

This spring, however, there's a different feel. Jiménez arrived at camp 25 pounds lighter and appears to be in the best shape he's been in for years.

Yes, it's early. But both the process and the results have resembled the version of Jiménez from his peak seasons.

Even in this limited look, he's flashed signs of the hitter who captured a Silver Slugger Award in 2020, enough to put him squarely in the conversation for one of the final spots on Toronto's 26-man roster.

Getting off to a fast start has to be especially satisfying for Jiménez, who has endured five consecutive injury-marred seasons since earning that Silver Slugger during the shortened 2020 campaign. That stretch included two separate injured list stints in 2025 alone.

Manager John Schneider has also noted the difference. He's been encouraged by Jiménez's mechanics this spring, saying they look more like the free-and-easy swing from his early days in Chicago rather than the compromised versions seen during his injury-plagued seasons.

The contact quality backs it up. Both of Jiménez's hits this spring left the bat at over 95 mph. One nearly cleared the Green Monster replica at JetBlue Park - a 104.8 mph double off a high fastball from Brayan Bello.

When healthy, Jiménez pairs his power with borderline elite bat speed.

In 2023, he ranked in the 88th percentile with an average bat speed of 75.2 mph. Injuries prevented him from maintaining that level the following season, and while Baseball Savant doesn't publish average bat speeds for minor-league or spring games, the early visual and underlying indicators suggest this may be the closest he's been to reclaiming that form in years.

For now, the once-overlooked slugger has quickly become the most compelling non-roster invitee in camp, and potentially the one with the highest impact if this resurgence proves sustainable.

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