The Blue Jays swung a big trade on December 10, one that saw former All-Star second baseman Andres Gimenez head north from the Guardians. Toronto acquired both Gimenez and Nick Sandlin, in exchange for Jays infielder Spencer Horwitz and 2024 fourth-round pick Nick Mitchell.

The Blue Jays’ Return

• 2B Andres Gimenez (.252/.298/.340, nine HR and 32 XBH over 152 G)
• RP Nick Sandlin (3.75 ERA, 68 K over 57.2 IP)

When the Guardians locked up Andres Gimenez to a seven-year extension in March 2023, it signaled trust in a 24-year-old infielder — now 26 — who blossomed into a dynamic second baseman. And, it came off a career season, one that saw him hit .297/.371/.466 (.837 OPS) with a career-high 17 home runs.

Two years later, Gimenez will now head north to Toronto.

Now, it’s not to say that Gimenez’s value has dropped. But, his overall production did in the two years after the deal, offensively. Gimenez actually had more extra-base hits in 2023 but saw his OBP drop from .371 to .314. Last season, he hit only nine home runs and posted a .638 OPS. That OPS number was fifth-lowest among regular second basemen with min. 300 PA.

There are a lot of positives in Gimenez’s game. He was a former shortstop with plus-plus range at second base, which helped him lead baseball in Outs Above Average (+21) last season. Gimenez is a three-time Gold Glover and his defense is his best asset.

Offensively, Gimenez can stretch singles into doubles and has stolen 30 bases in each of the last two seasons. He’s a habitual chaser at the plate and doesn’t walk a lot. However, Gimenez gets hit a lot, as he’ll park himself close to the plate and leave himself exposed.

Gimenez’s 60 hit by pitches between 2022-24 was second-most in baseball, behind only Ty France (68).

There’s not a lot of power in his bat. However, his value offensively comes from his adept ability to put ball in play.

Gimenez was originally acquired by the Guardians in 2021 in the Francisco Lindor trade with the Mets.

The other piece involved in this deal is Nick Sandlin, who will enter his fifth MLB season in 2024. Sandlin is one of those arms who could be considered highly deceptive. The 27-year-old throws from an incredibly low arm slot, which gives his low-90s four-seamer some sneaky life.

Aside from his four-seamer, Sandlin will work in a sinker, splitter, and slider. Both his split and slider have above-average movement by MLB standards and his splitter can be considered his best pitch. Last season, his splitter had a 48.3% Whiff% rate and batters only hit .100 off it.

The Guardians’ Return

• 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz (.265/.357/.433, 12 HR and 31 XBH over 97 G)
• OF Nick Mitchell (.289/.350/.467, four HR and seven XBH over 22 G) (A)

Infielder Spencer Horwitz turned out to be one of the better stories out of the Blue Jays’ 2024 season. The 27-year-old hit a career-high 12 home runs for Toronto last season, and posted a .357 OBP thanks to a good eye and a high BB% (11.0%) rate.

The former Radford product isn’t an incredible offensive talent but does what he does well. Horwitz has a short swing and will keep the bat in the zone for a while. While he’s not afraid to pull baseballs, Horwitz is a contact-first bat who will work all sides of the field.

Horwitz is a first baseman by trade but slotted in at second base for the Jays with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. primarily playing first. He showed good range at the position (+2 OAA), though, highlighting his versatility.

The other player going to Cleveland is Nick Mitchell, a 2024 fourth-round pick out of Indiana University.

Mitchell hit .335 (.970 OPS) with the Hoosiers last season, then cracked four home runs and a .816 OPS over 22 games with Low-A Dunedin. There’s some toolsiness in Mitchell’s game, as he’s a good runner who beat it down the line hard in the Minors. Mitchell also has strength in his 5’10” profile, although he wasn’t much of a power hitter at Indiana.

Analysis

The Blue Jays were one of the teams heavily in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. While Gimenez is not Soto, the second baseman does offer some much-needed support fot the Jays’ offense.

The big draw here is that Gimenez, aside from his stellar defense, can get on base and be a threat to steal. He’ll be tasked to do a number of things with the Blue Jays, namely continuing his strong defensive player to prevent runs and help get on base for Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Toronto could use help in the on-base category, even though the Jays finished 13th in OBP (.313) last season. With Gimenez in the fold, Toronto can get creative with their lineup construction.

Additionally, the Jays get another reliever, the same day Toronto brought back Yimi Garcia. But as we noted in our look at the re-signing of Garcia, the two are very different pitchers.

As for the Guardians, Cleveland traded another reliever from their depth. Plus, Gimenez, who was under contract for five more seasons. However, looking at Gimenez’s contract, his payroll salary over the first two seasons came to roughly $7.3MM total, plus bonsuses and a $4MM signing bonus.

Gimenez made $6MM in a base salary in that time, and was due $10MM plus in 2025. Thus, Cleveland moves on before the bulk of the money on his deal is due.

Now, there is another component to this trade and that is Travis Bazzana. Bazzana, the top pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, is a power-hitting second baseman who wasn’t in the organization before the Gimenez extension. Even though Bazzana could move off the position at some point, he’s a second baseman by trade.

Don’t expect Bazzana to be in Cleveland on Opening Day, especially since he ended 2024 in Lake County (A+). But, a spot will be waiting for him when he’s ready. Until then, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, and Horwitz are among the players who can fill in at second for the Guardians.

UPDATE (12/10): The Guardians traded Horwitz to Pittsburgh for three players, one of those players being Pirates pitcher Luis Ortiz.