Is Andres Gimenez The Next Young Star To Get A Mega Contract Extension?
The youngsters have been getting paid this season!
The Seattle Mariners announced on Friday that they had signed their Rookie Of The Year frontrunner, Julio Rodriguez, to a mega contract extension that will keep him in the Southwest city for the next decade and possibly even longer.
Then there is the Atlanta Braves who have locked up their young talent. Micheal Harris II will be in Atlanta for the next 10 years and Austin Riley will see himself in a Braves uniform until the 2033 season.
Who is the next young star to get this sort of long-term deal? It could be Guardians infielder, Andres Gimenez.
The first question is "Should the Guardians invest in Gimenez long-term?" The answer to that is an easy yes!
Gimenez has been unreal in 2022. He's batting .304, slugging .495, and has put up a .864 OPS. That's just on the offensive side. His defense easily has him as the frontrunner to win a Goldglove at second base and it wouldn't be shocking if he was also in the running for a Platinum Glove too.
He also made his All-Star Game debut and had the play of the game.
The next question is "Would Cleveland sign him to such a long-term deal?" This one isn't as simple as a yes or no. Cleveland has always been known to try to cut down costs and keep its payroll as low as it possibly can.
As frustrating as that is for fans, they still have somehow been able to find success doing it.
Giving out big long-term deals usually isn't in the cards for this Cleveland organization. But that could be changing. They gave Jose Ramirez the largest deal in club history with a $141 million extension and also signed Emmanuel Clase to a five-year $20 million deal before this season began.
So it's not like they are completely against it. Throw in new minority owner David Blitzer into that equation and that could give them the funds to pay Gimenez for a long time.
Looking at the rest of the MLB and the deals that have been given out, Gimenez is definitely in the class of young stars who deserves to get paid. He's proven to be a cornerstone player of the Guardians' future and is willing to put in the work.
Now the team needs to reward him for it.
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