John Beers is a staff writer for Camden Chat, where he's been covering the Orioles since 2022.
At the 2024 trade deadline, Mike Elias swung a pair of deals to bring in outfielders Austin Slater and Eloy Jiménez as right-handed reinforcements for the bottom of the Orioles roster. Several weeks later, Elias & Co. made another addition, claiming infielder Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from the Marlins.
These type of moves around the edge of the roster have become a staple of the Elias regime, with the Orioles front office trying to find treasure amongst other teams' undervalued players. While Slater, Jiménez and Rivera all provided some flashes of difference-making play, they ultimately failed to make the impact the Orioles' offense needed.
Jiménez was the biggest upside addition and the player that ended up getting the most ABs in Baltimore. A former top prospect with the White Sox, the 6'4" slugger out of the Dominican Republic blasted 31 HRs as a rookie and won a Silver Slugger during the shortened 2020 season. Since 2020, it'd been a battle for Jiménez to remain healthy, as he missed time with a ruptured pec and recurring hamstring problems.
When the Orioles acquired him for minor-league LHP Trey McGough, they were betting on Jiménez rediscovering his prodigious power and serving as Baltimore's primary DH against left-handed pitching. While the power didn't come from the start, the early returns for Jiménez were promising. In his first 10 games in the black and orange, the 27-year old hit .414 with a .916 OPS while picking up a pair of doubles, four RBIs and plenty of hard contact.
His first homer with the O's came at the end of August, launching a ball 110 mph over the center field fence in Coors Field. That homer capped off an August where Jiménez hit .296, but only managed a .315 OBP and .409 slugging.
The power the O's were seeking never really came. After getting 71 ABs across 23 games in August, Jiménez was more regularly seen sitting on the bench in September. The slugger only got 24 ABs in September, going 1-24 with a single and 8 Ks.
A big reason for Jiménez riding the pine more was the acquisition of Rivera. The Orioles were Rivera's fourth team in four big league seasons, but when Elias picked him up off waivers from the Marlins he was acquiring a player that made the Diamondbacks' World Series roster in 2023. Known as a defense-first corner infielder from his time in Kansas City, Arizona and Miami, Rivera was seemingly brought in as a depth piece -- but was forced into action after injuries to Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías.
Of all the flyers the front office took on position players, Rivera definitely paid the highest dividends. A career .240 hitter before joining the O's, the 28-year-old from Puerto Rico was one of the few Baltimore bats that consistently produced down the stretch. In 27 games across August and September, Rivera hit .313 with a .370 OBP and .578 slugging percentage.
The former 19th-round draft pick also delivered one of the best offensive performances of any Oriole this season during the final regular season series in Minnesota. In Game 161, Rivera went 4-4 with two homers, a double and four RBIs. His 11 total bases were a season high for any Oriole -- and his second homer gave us the last Cionel Pérez homer hat snag of the year. Across 64 ABs, Rivera had 4 HRs and 14 RBIs, outpacing the combined numbers of Jiménez and Slater.
Like his fellow trade deadline acquisition, Slater got off to a hot start in Baltimore but faded as time wore on. The Orioles acquired Slater from Cincinnati to replace Austin Hays as a right-handed bat in the Baltimore outfield. Through his first month as an Oriole, Slater looked like a shrewd acquisition by Elias and company. He hit .296 with a .836 OPS to in the first 19 games of his O's career and often found himself hitting leadoff against left handers.
After going 3-4 with 3 RBis against the White Sox on Labor Day, Slater seemed to hit the same wall that brought down Jiménez. The 8th-year MLB vet went 4-25 with no extra-base hits and nine Ks. As the Orioles roster got healthier and healthier, Slater's role dwindled as he only made five starts throughout all of September.
The general lack of success with Slater and Jiménez likely means neither will be back in 2025. Slater is an unrestricted free agent and Jiménez has a $16.5M club option that the Orioles will surely decline. Rivera is arbitration-eligible, but doesn't have any remaining minor league options. Short of a trade that sends out Urías or Mountcastle, Rivera may be hard pressed to find a place on the Orioles roster next season.