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Toronto Blue Jays Trade Acquisition Andrés Giménez Projected to Thrive in 2025

FanGraphs' initial ZiPS projections have three-time Gold Glove winner Andrés Giménez bouncing back from his spotty 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians, finding more success at the plate with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sam Connon|
Oct 9, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) throws the ball against the Detroit Tigers during the third inning during game three of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Comerica Park.
Oct 9, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) throws the ball against the Detroit Tigers during the third inning during game three of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Comerica Park. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue JaysCleveland Guardians

Andrés Giménez has been the headlining addition to the Toronto Blue Jays' lineup so far this winter, and he is projected to step right in and contribute in 2025.

The Blue Jays acquired the three-time Gold Glove winner in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians in December, parting ways with up-and-comer Spencer Horwitz to get the deal over the finish line. Giménez arrives with five years and $98.9 million remaining on his contract, so the 26-year-old second baseman should be in Toronto for the foreseeable future.

FanGraphs has been slowly rolling out its ZiPS projections for 2025, and Dan Szymborski wrote up a piece diving into the Blue Jays' outlook last Friday.

Using that model, Giménez is projected to bat .267 with 13 home runs, 27 doubles, 70 RBI, 26 stolen bases and a .723 OPS in 2025. Toronto is projected to get a 3.9 fWAR at second base this season, carried entirely by Giménez.

Giménez put up better numbers across the board during his lone All-Star campaign in 2022, but that kind of production would be a step up from what he did in 2023 or 2024.

After batting .297 with an .837 OPS and 6.1 fWAR in 2022, Giménez hit .251 with a .712 OPS and 3.8 fWAR in 2023. And while his batting average went up to .252 in 2024, Giménez's OPS dipped to .638 and his fWAR fell to 2.8.

Getting Giménez back to an OPS+ over 100 would be huge for the Blue Jays, who will presumably have George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk batting ahead of him in the lineup.

Szymborski's top near-age offensive comparisons for Giménez were Jean Segura and Tommy Edman. The former hit .319 with an .867 OPS and 6.1 fWAR in his age-26 season, while the latter hit .262 with a .695 OPS and 2.9 fWAR at that age.

Of course, Giménez's best asset is his glove, and the ZiPS projections don't see that fading anytime soon. Toronto's defense up the middle was far from perfect in 2024, and the addition of Giménez should go a long way towards fixing that issue.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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