The Miami Marlins designated infielder Leo Jiménez for assignment on Thursday, Sept. 3, clearing a roster spot to recall fellow infielder Deyvison De Los Santos from Triple-A Jacksonville, according to the MLB transaction log.
Jiménez, 25, hit .199/.306/.259 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 66 games and 194 plate appearances for Miami this season. His walk rate (9.3 percent) and strikeout rate (19.6 percent) were respectable, but the production never followed. He finished with a 65 wRC+ and just a .259 slugging percentage.
Most of his work came at third base, where four throwing errors helped produce minus-5 grades in both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average. A May concussion also cost him time on the injured list.
The move was not a surprise. Recent additions of Jared Serna and Graham Pauley had already squeezed Jiménez for at-bats at second, third, and first.
Out of minor-league options, he could not be sent down without first being designated. De Los Santos gives Miami a right-handed power bat for first base and designated hitter.
Jiménez arrived in South Florida only five months earlier. On March 29, the Marlins acquired him from the Toronto Blue Jays for minor-league infielder Dub Gleed and $250,000 in international bonus-pool money.
Toronto had designated him four days earlier after he failed to win a spot on the Opening Day roster. Miami was dealing with injuries to Christopher Morel and others and needed infield depth. The deal now looks like one the Marlins would like to undo.
That trade closed a chapter that once looked much brighter.
Jiménez signed with Toronto as an international free agent on July 2, 2017. He rose as high as No. 5 on MLB Pipeline’s Blue Jays prospect list entering 2024.
Across 400 minor-league games, he hit .273 with a .782 OPS and more walks than many expected from a glove-first middle infielder. He debuted with Toronto on July 4, 2024, and posted a respectable .229/.329/.358 line with four homers in 63 games that year.
Limited chances and a thin .069 average in 18 games in 2025 ended his time in Toronto.
Career numbers now sit at .203/.304/.299 with seven home runs in 147 major-league games. Because the trade deadline has passed, Jiménez will be placed on waivers in the coming days.
Another club could still claim the former top prospect and give him one more chance to translate the contact skills that once made him a Blue Jays priority. If he clears, Miami can outright him off the 40-man roster. Either way, his first season in teal is over.
