Guardians' Polarizing All-Star Trade Was Clearly the Right Move

The Cleveland Guardians made multiple trades during the MLB offseason, and most of them were not received all that well by the fan base.

Given the fact that the Guardians have become widely known for being a rather frugal organization that doesn't always make significant strides to improve their roster, you can understand fan frustration.

However, there is one trade that Cleveland was clearly right to make: dealing former All-Star second baseman Andres Gimenez.

The Guardians sent Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays for intriguing outfield prospect Nick Mitchell and first baseman Spencer Horwitz, the latter of which was flipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that brought pitcher Luis Ortiz to Cleveland.

At the time, the Guardians were criticized for penny-pinching, as Gimenez was in the middle of a seven-year, $106.5 million contract. However, it's becoming more and more obvious that Cleveland's decision to move Gimenez was not just based on the money he was making.

The 26-year-old had a very rough 2024 campaign at the plate, slashing just .252/.298/.340 over 633 plate appearances. That came just two years after Gimenez posted an .837 OPS en route to his one and only All-Star selection. But he then registered a .712 OPS in 2023 and has been declining ever since.

Gimenez's descent as a hitter has continued into 2025, as the Venezuelan native owns a paltry .176/.274/.304 slash line through the first month of the season.

We can sit here and say that Gimenez is just in a slump and will break out of it, and while he may not be a .577 OPS guy, let's keep in mind that he recorded a .638 OPS in 2024. Outside of 2022, he has not been a good hitter, and while he is brilliant with the glove, there is only so much the Guardians can take in terms of putrid offense.

Cleveland desperately needed to upgrade its offense over the winter, and while it didn't really acquire anyone to do that, swapping out Gimenez for prospect Gabriel Arias at second base has paid dividends. Plus, the Guardians needed more starting pitching, and while Ortiz has certainly been up and down thus far, he at least gives them an intriguing option moving forward.

While the Josh Naylor trade is a different story altogether, we can all now safely say that Cleveland probably had the correct line of thinking when it made the decision to jettison Gimenez.

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