Cleveland Indians: 3 underperforming players from the first half

Andres Gimenez, SS, Cleveland Indians

After being acquired from the New York Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor trade there was a lot of intrigue around the 22-year old shortstop Andres Gimenez. He put up good numbers for the Mets in 2020, slashing .263/.333/.398 over 49 games and he topped that with a strong showing in Spring Training. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to Cleveland.

Gimenez lasted just 29 games in Cleveland before being sent down. He couldn’t get above the Mendoza line, slashing .179/.226/.308. Even in the field he struggled. committing five errors over 219.2 innings at short.

After being sent down, Gimenez started to find his bat but an injury sidelined him early in July. He’s also been passed over by the Cleveland Indians for other prospects like Owen Miller and Ernie Clement when a depth player was needed to be called up. Now, Amed Rosario is playing well at shortstop and Gabriel Arias is heating up in Columbus.

We knew that the middle infield in the minors was a bit clogged and Gimenez’s struggles might push him down the depth chart. There’s still a good amount of potential for him, but he needs to get back to Cleveland soon or he could be surpassed and even replaced in the outlook of the team’s future.