Blue Jays' acquisition of former Guardians second baseman named one of MLB's best upgrades

The Cleveland Guardians surprised everyone this past offseason by trading away what most thought was a cornerstone piece of their franchise in Andres Gimenez. Cleveland dealt Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays and would eventually receive pitcher Luis Ortiz from the Pittsburgh Pirates once everything was said and done. This series of events was tabbed as one of MLB's best upgrades, but not for the Guardians.

MLB.com's Brian Murphy named Toronto's acquisition of Gimenez from Cleveland as one of the best upgrades for the upcoming season. Obviously, this works twofold, as this is not only about Gimenez's acquisition but also about being a better option than what Toronto had last season in Spencer Horwitz, among others.

There is no doubting the defensive impact of Gimenez for the Blue Jays, as his three Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove have cemented him as one of the best defenders in the sport. The real x-factor for Gimenez in Toronto is whether or not he can return to being a better offensive player.

"The big question is whether Giménez can return to being the hitter he was in '22. That season, he slashed .297/.371/.466 and recorded a 141 wRC+ over 557 plate appearances." writes Murphy. This is drastically different than what Gimenez has done since, slashing .252/.306/.368 with an OPS+ of just 89 in 1,249 plate appearances.

What could be troubling for Toronto moving forward is that it really seems like Gimenez's 2022 season is an outlier, with the previous two seasons being a more accurate indicator of who he is at the plate. If that turns out to be the case, it could make the remaining five years and the escalating salary of Gimenez's contract a major issue.

The possibility of Gimenez not improving at the plate, combined with the remainder of his contract, were the primary motivating factors behind the Guardians trading him. Cleveland could not take this risk if they wanted to stay competitive, and the result was the salary dump-style deal that saw Gimenez land in Toronto. However, if Toronto's gamble pays off and Gimenez's offense picks back up, it would be a rare miss for Cleveland's front office, who usually comes out on the better end of trades like this one.