Andrés Giménez is a 26-year-old, left-handed hitting second baseman/shortstop who the Jays picked up from the Guardians for Nick Mitchell (a minor league outfielder) and Spencer Horwitz, who had a pretty good rookie season with the Jays, hitting .265/.357/.433 in 97 games for the Jays. The Guardians sent Nick Sandlin, a left-handed reliever, along with Giménez, but we’ll discuss him later.
Giménez reached the majors at age 21 with the Mets, but he was traded to Cleveland after the end of the 2020 season. He’s played the last four years with the Guardians.
He’s hit .261/.322/.393 in his five seasons, with 49 home runs, 99 steals, and an 18.6 career bWAR. His best season was 2022 when he hit .297/.371/.466 with 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases for a 7.4 bWAR.
The last two seasons haven’t been as good, at least with the bat, hitting .252/.306/.368 with 24 home runs and 60 steals. Despite the bat not being as good, he still totalled a 9.3 WAR over the two seasons.
His glove has been terrific. He’s won the Gold Glove at second base for the last three seasons.
If you want an example of his defense:
He is spectacular with the glove.
The Jays would likely be better off to switch him and Bo Bichette. Giménez could be Gold Glove level at short, too. But, this being the last year of control for Bichette, that won’t be happening. If, as is likely, Bo leaves the team during or after this season, then Giménez could move over to that spot. Baseball Savant has him at the 100 percentile for range.
Ben Clemens at FanGraphs said:
He’s not just a shortstop playing second base; he’s a very good shortstop playing second base. He has the strongest throwing arm of any second baseman and uses it to his advantage, ranging up the middle to make outrageous plays. He has soft hands and quick reflexes. Statcast credits him with 37 runs above average over the past three years, tops in the majors. DRS thinks Statcast is being too modest – it credits him with 59 runs saved, 22 ahead of second place.
Giménez also provides the team with an excellent base stealer. In his career, he has 99 steals, caught 15 times, and had an 87% success rate. That’s a success rate I can get behind. Last year, our top base stealer was George Springer with 16. Baseball Savant has him at 89 percentile for sprint speed.
The question is Andrés’ bat. If he could hit like he did in 2022, he’s an All0Star and one of the most valuable players in the league. But if the Guardians thought that was likely, they would have never traded him as cheaply as they did.
He has some power (for a small guy, 5’11”, 161). He’s been lowering his strikeout rate over the past few seasons. Last year, he struck out 15.3% of the time. Like many Jays players, he doesn’t walk much (4.1% last year, his career high was 6.1%). With his speed, I’d be happier if he could take more than a walk a week. He isn’t making good contact enough, and his average exit velocity is 86.3 mph, which is down at the 9 percentile among MLB players. And his bat speed is at 7 percentile. It’s stuff the Jays would like to help him approve.
He’s making a fair amount of money over the next five seasons:
2025: $10,571,429.
2026: $15,571,428.
2027-2029: $23,571,429.
2030: An option year: $23,000,000 with a $2.5 million buyout.
I think we can stop with the cheap Rogers stuff.
Clemens also said:
I think that makes a ton of sense for Toronto. It’s hard to find defenders this good who are even passable offensively. It’s even harder to find defenders with multi-year track records, and nearly impossible to get them with six years of team control. At just under $20 million a year for the next five seasons, he’s a bargain by pretty much any financial framework. Borderline All-Stars make more than that in free agency, if you can even find ones who fit this archetype.
For a team that is both willing to spend money (witness Toronto’s pursuit of Soto) and interested in defense, Giménez is a perfect fit. He’ll make this roster more cohesive. Schneider headlines a group of utility players better suited to the corner outfield and occasional cameos in the infield than full-time roles with their feet on the dirt, and now that’s exactly the role they’ll have.
Steamer thinks Andrés will play in 147 games and hit .262/.317/.393 with 13 home runs and 26 steals with a 2.8 WAR.