The Cleveland Guardians fell short to the New York Yankees in the ALCS last season largely due to their anemic offense in key situations, which made it clear the team needed to make some upgrades in the offseason in order to get to the next level.
One move the team made to upgrade its lineup was trading Andres Gimenez and Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays for Spencer Horwitz.
Cleveland then jettisoned Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a trio of young pitchers, including standout righty Luis Ortiz.
The Gimenez trade was surprising nonetheless, but Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto recently revealed why the team made the move in an article.
“When it came to dealing Andres Gimenez to Toronto, money was part of it. But there is another important part of the big picture. The baseball part. The pitching part. The Guards were not going to deal Gimenez unless they could receive an MLB-ready starter in return. That became Luis Ortiz from Pittsburgh. Ortiz is 25. He had a 7-6 record with a 3.32 ERA with the Pirates. He opened the season in the bullpen,” Pluto said.
Gimenez’s offense took a sharp dip over the last two years and cratered to a .638 OPS this past season, while Ortiz unlocked something last year and turned into one of the most enticing young starters in the National League.
The team also shipped Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
They replaced him with Carlos Santana at first base, and with a few weeks left in the offseason, the Guardians could still be in the market for an offensive upgrade.
As for second base, Cleveland has the keystone just waiting for 2024 first-overall pick Travis Bazzana whenever he is ready, and hopefully, that won’t be too long after the season begins.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals Grade For Guardians' Offseason So Far
