The Cleveland Guardians made a surprising trade this week when they sent second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays for Spencer Horwitz, who was then quickly jettisoned to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a separate trade on the same day.
Trading Gimenez came out of the blue, but one insider recently revealed why the Guardians decided to move their young keystone.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal appeared on Foul Territory Wednesday morning and said, “As a small market team, they make hard decisions, and the trade of Gimenez was one of those hard decisions. When I first saw the initial trade, the one for Horwitz and the minor league outfielder, I thought, ‘What are they doing?’ But, after they traded for Luis Ortiz from the Pirates and the two minor league left-handers, it began to make more sense for me because they always want pitching.”
The @CleGuardians are listening on Josh Naylor, says @Ken_Rosenthal 👂 pic.twitter.com/qqgYY8ZB1W
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 11, 2024
Rosenthal highlighted how good the Guardians are at developing pitching and pointed out Gimenez is owed nearly $100 million over the next five years as part of the extension he signed in 2023, and given Cleveland’s status as a small market team that doesn’t spend a ton, justifying that contract given Gimenez’s diminishing bat surely necessitated a trade.
Cleveland also has 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana waiting in the wings at second base, so this clears the path for him whenever he is ready.
The Guardians’ lineup was disappointing in the postseason, and moving Gimenez could be addition by subtraction in that department.
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