Shushkewich: Jays improve with a Rawlings Gold Glove (Platinum too) winner Giménez
The Blue Jays upgraded by acquiring a three-time gold glove winner in Andrés Giménez from the Guardians.
December 13, 2024
By Tyson Shushkewich
Canadian Baseball Network
Amidst the flurry of activity during the winter meetings with the Juan Soto and Max Fried signings, the Toronto Blue Jays made one of the biggest splashes on the trade front, acquiring three-time Gold Glove second baseman Andrés Giménez and reliever Nick Sandlin from the Cleveland Guardians.
The Jays gave up first baseman Spencer Horwitz and prospect Nick Mitchell in return. Horwitz was flipped a few hours later to former Blue Jay executive Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a trio of prospects heading back to the Guardians.
The addition of Giménez brings some stability to the roster for years to come, as the Venezuelan product is owed another $96 million through the 2029 season and has a $23 million player option for the 2030 season when he turns 31. He is slated to earn over $10.5 million next season.
The Giménez trade was initially met with some discourse from the Jays faithful, not only because Horwitz and his “fighting his way to the big leagues” storyline was heartwarming and easy to root for, but also because his bat was one of the more positive notes from a lacklustre lineup this past year. He slashed .265/.357/.433 slash to the tune of a .790 OPS and finished the campaign with 12 home runs, tying Ernie Clement for fifth on the team. And that’s after being at triple-A Buffalo until early June.
With Giménez, 25, you know where his main value lies and it’s every time he puts the glove on his left hand. Coming up in the Mets’ organization, Giménez earned his keep with his impressive play in the field and found his way to the Guardians as part of the blockbuster trade package for Francisco Lindor during the 2020-21 offseason.
Although he can play across the infield, the Guardians primarily had him at second base. Through five seasons, Giménez played 3,973 2/3 innings at second and owns an impressive 58 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) across 471 games. Since his big-league debut in 2020 season, he has led all second basemen in the major in terms of DRS and defensive value per FanGraphs (42.1), ranking second and seventh in the majors (regardless of position) respectively.
Giménez has also sparingly played at shortstop – mostly early in his career with some spot starts in 2022 – and amassed an impressive 7 DRS through 83 games with a .972 fielding percentage.
In the batter’s box, Giménez has seen his stat values ebb and flow like the tides in the Bay of Fundy – sometimes they are furious and impressive, other times they are nowhere to be found. For his career, he slashed .261/.322/.393 with a .715 OPS and a 101 OPS+.
His numbers point to him being a middle-of-the-road type of bat. He owns a .304 BABip across 2,148 plate appearances and his career isolated power value (.133) sits under the big-league average (.161). Giménez has 49 home runs over the past five seasons, hitting the double-digits twice during that span. Where Giménez falls behind is his approach in the batter’s box, as he can be aggressive at times, swinging at bad pitches.
He doesn’t strike out a ton -- evidenced by his 15.3% strikeout rate last year (86th percentile) -- and with that aggression, he’s not keen on taking walks, sitting under the 6% walk rate mark for all but one campaign.
His best season as a hitter came in 2022 when he slashed .297/.371/.466 in 146 games, finishing the year with a 142 OPS+ and an all-star appearance. He also collected a single-season high 17 home runs, 34 walks, and 69 RBIs and finished sixth in AL MVP voting while earning his first Gold Glove and the Rawlings Platinum Glove award for his 16 DRS and his .984 fielding percentage.
Since then, he has seen a drop in terms of offensive production, mustering a .674 OPS and an 89 OPS+ across both campaigns. It was apparently enough of a concern that a source from the Guardians camp stated that they were afraid that this would be the norm for Giménez moving forward at the plate. It was one of the reasons they traded him (along with the money owed, which isn’t far-fetched for a small market club like Cleveland).
Where Giménez provides some additional value is on the base paths -- an aging George Springer led the Blue Jays last season with 16 stolen bases while the club ranked 27th -- Giménez swiped 30 bags last season, almost half of the Jays’ 2024 total (72) and he will provide additional versatility wherever he slots into the lineup with his wheels.
As a whole, Giménez has amassed an 18.6 bWAR through five campaigns, most of which comes from his defence and his impressive 2022 season (39.7% of the total value in one season). For comparison, Giménez authored a 4.0 bWAR mark last year and would have finished behind only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (6.2) and Daulton Varsho (5.0). Most of this is rooted in his defensive metrics but if the bat can find a slight uptick, he will take his status from a solid everyday player type to more of an all-star, which will make everyone feel better about the AAV that comes with him.
While the Jays do still need to improve the lineup in terms of power and run production, Giménez shores up a hole that has been hurting the Jays for a few seasons – at least from a defensive standpoint.
The club rotated through multiple players to try and find a fit since Marcus Semien left town – Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, Isiah Kiner-Falefa – and while IKF did well before being traded at the deadline, there wasn’t a long-term solution. Multiple infield options exist within the system to choose from: Will Wagner, Ernie Clement and Leo Jimenez being near the top of the list.
Giménez provides more value at the spot compared to the host of prospects looking for more playing time next year with less risk of turnover. Giménez also provides insurance should Bo Bichette leave the organization sometime this upcoming year, whether it be via trade or free agency, as the versatile infielder is an easy lock for the shortstop position with his athletic ability and plus arm.
The Blue Jays acquired Giménez for the defensive value while hoping that new hitting coach David Popkins can work his magic on the new Jay infielder to re-discover his 2022 form.
There are not many second basemen hitting 30+ home runs a season anyway (aside from Ketel Marte, who hit 31 in 2024) and the fielding ability alone carries significant weight, even if it’s not as flashy as a grand slam or a bases-clearing double.
If the bat stays average and in line with his career numbers, Toronto can fall back knowing that his glove will be there and the Jays need to find power elsewhere to supplement the glove-first infielder – this was already a need whether they added the former Guardian.
The Blue Jays need to find a power bat or two on the open market or the trade front, especially if they want to contend in 2025, but the addition of Giménez provides Toronto with some roster stability in terms of contract and defensive value on the infield - something the club has lacked over the years.
If the bat plays, then the deal becomes that much more in the Jays’ favour but the moral of the story still remains – adding Giménez is a good starting point this winter but more needs to be done by the Blue Jays’ front office if the club wants to be competitive in the AL East next summer.