NEW YORK — Make no mistake, Eloy Jimenez has a place with the White Sox.
‘‘He’s our DH,’’ manager Pedro Grifol said Sunday.
But Sunday, much to his delight, Jimenez found himself playing right field at Yankee Stadium. Lineup choices against left-handed starter Carlos Rodón being what they were — that’s how Grifol explained it — Jimenez was let out of the house to enjoy a sunny afternoon in the park.
Jimenez hasn’t beaten down Grifol’s office door demanding to play the outfield, but he talked with him about it recently.
‘‘I’ve been working for this moment,’’ Jimenez said. ‘‘And it’s good to have this opportunity. It’s big to me because I like to play in the outfield. I don’t like to just sit down and be a DH. Today is a good day.’’
It wasn’t a good day for the Sox, who lost 7-2 to the Yankees and were swept in the three-game series.
It was a good day for Jimenez to collect his third stolen base, however. Not known for his speed, Jimenez had no steals before this season. He calls his stealing exploits his ‘‘surprise’’ feature of 2024.
“He’s an opportunistic baserunner,” Grifol said.
In the past, Jimenez has made it known in salty terms that he doesn’t like to be a designated hitter. His career minus-18 in defensive runs saved says he’s best suited to DH, and he has been injured multiple times while playing the outfield. Still, that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
In his playful manner, Jimenez darted his eyes from side to side and smiled when he was asked whether he had found a ‘‘rhythm’’ as a DH.
‘‘I’m more in the game [in the outfield],’’ Jimenez said. ‘‘I get to focus more on every part of the game. That’s why I’m excited.’’
The Cubs were willing to part with Jimenez (along with right-hander Dylan Cease) when they traded for left-hander Jose Quintana in 2017, in part because of Jimenez’s one-dimensional talent. He played 114 games in left field for the Sox in 2019 and DH’d eight times that season. He DH’d once in 2020, but his games at DH have increased each season since — to 18 in 2021, 50 in 2022 and 105 last season.
Five weeks removed from a strained adductor that landed him on the injured list, Jimenez said he still is looking for the rhythm he seemed to have found during spring training after adjusting his stance in the offseason. It was a change that was helping him lift the ball. He was 1-for-4 with a single Sunday.
‘‘I’m hitting the ball hard, taking good at-bats, and I think I’m almost there,’’ said Jimenez, who is batting .219/.273/.367 with five home runs in 139 plate appearances. ‘‘Sometimes not lucky.’’
Against a lefty starter, Grifol said he wanted Martin Maldonado to catch and to use his other catcher, Korey Lee (.291/.322/.465 ), at DH.
‘‘He’s got really good hands out there,’’ Grifol said of playing Jimenez in the outfield. ‘‘It’s not a matter of him catching the ball or anything like that; it’s a matter of us protecting him. Just been too many injuries that we have to err on the side of caution. This is a good park, a smaller right field.’’
Jimenez had no difficult plays and handled the ones he had without incident. He always will hope he gets more time in the outfield, whether it’s with the Sox or his next team.
The Sox won’t pick up their $16.5 million option on him for next season, so he might be traded before the end of the season. But he would have to pick up his offensive production, and the Sox might have to be willing to pick up some of what’s left on his $13.8 million contract for 2024.
‘‘I’m going to keep working and see what’s in the future,’’ Jimenez said. ‘‘Right now, I really don’t like that idea of [being a full-time DH]. But it is what it is right now. I’ve got to help the team any way that I can.’’