TORONTO — Amid a packed 162-game schedule, it’s difficult for players to make adjustments offensively. So, when Andrés Giménez’s offensive production wasn’t where he wanted it to be last season with the Cleveland Guardians, the second baseman tried to focus on helping on defence, instead.
“When your team is winning a lot of games and everybody is playing good, you want to make sure you concentrate on the defence, trying to help the team somehow,” he told reporters over Zoom on Wednesday.
The Guardians went on to win the American League Central division and advance to the AL Championship Series before being ousted by the New York Yankees. Giménez, meanwhile, won his third straight Gold Glove at the end of the season, cementing himself as one of the game’s premier defensive infielders.
This offseason, Giménez has the time to make the necessary adjustments to his offensive game. And, as it happens, this offseason has brought another major adjustment for Giménez: switching teams.
The Blue Jays acquired Giménez last week from the Guardians in a deal that sent back minor-league outfielder Nick Mitchell and infielder Spencer Horwitz, who the Guardians later flipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Blue Jays also received right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin in the trade.
The 26-year-old Giménez said through Blue Jays interpreter Hector Lebron that he was “a little bit surprised” to be traded, but is “excited to be in Toronto” and is “looking forward to trying to help the team win some games.”
The second baseman, who debuted with the New York Mets in 2020 but was sent to Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor deal, arrives in Toronto from a club that made a deep playoff run. By contrast, the Blue Jays had their most disappointing season since 2019, winning just 74 games, missing the postseason and finishing last in the AL East.
But Giménez, who said he always enjoyed playing against the Blue Jays, is optimistic about his new club and said, “I know we can get better.”
“The team can hit, we can run, and obviously we can play defence,” Giménez said. “If we work together and make some adjustments, I think we can be very successful.”
Unsurprisingly, Giménez, a Platinum Glove winner in 2023, is excited to join a Blue Jays squad that’s ranked as one of the best defensively over the past two seasons. With Giménez playing second base and Daulton Varsho playing centre field, the Blue Jays will now field two of the game’s top defenders, per Defensive Runs Saved, up the middle.
“We got a couple great guys on defence, and we’ll just try to be on the same page all together, try to help the team to win. And we can go from there,” Giménez said. “But I’m really excited to be with those guys on defence. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun over there.”
The second baseman also added, “I can’t wait to start doing the double-play routines with Bo (Bichette).”
There is little doubt Giménez, who is owed roughly $97 million over the next five seasons, will raise the ceiling on Toronto’s defence, but his offence is a bigger question mark. After his breakout season in 2022, in which he hit .297/.371/.466 with 17 home runs for Cleveland, Giménez has been a below-average hitter. In the past two seasons, he’s slashed .252/.306/.368 with 24 home runs in 305 games. His elite defence means he’s still been an overall valuable player, worth 6.6 fWAR in that same span. But with the Blue Jays in desperate need of more offence, they’re hopeful the change of scenery can ignite his bat once again.
Giménez said that he’s been trying to make mechanical adjustments this winter as well as work on his approach since last year. He swung at too many pitches outside of the zone, he said. Meanwhile, last week, during the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the team is optimistic they can help Giménez return to the offensive production he had a few years ago.
“There are things that potentially we want to talk to him about,” the Toronto GM said.
But even if the Blue Jays help Giménez engineer an offensive turnaround, that won’t be enough to fix what ailed the club last season.
The Blue Jays still need to address their offence, which ranked 23rd in runs scored last season — and the urgency is only increasing as division rivals like the New York Yankees continue to make moves. After losing out on Juan Soto to the crosstown rival New York Mets, the Yankees have signed starter Max Fried and traded for closer Devin Williams and outfielder Cody Bellinger.
Meanwhile, the Giménez trade remains the Blue Jays’ biggest move of the winter. There is still time before spring training, though as the holiday season approaches, teams and representatives may be inclined to kick any remaining business into the new year. Of the top free agents, several big bats remain, including Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández.
In the meantime, Giménez is a member of the Blue Jays and he is looking forward to joining his new club.
“(Toronto) is one of my favourite places to play,” Giménez said. “Love the colours of the team and very excited to come here.”
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
