Guardians trade Andres Gimenez to Blue Jays in salary dump deal

In a move that came out of absolutely nowhere, the Cleveland Guardians agreed to trade second baseman Andres Gimenez and pitcher Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays. Coming back to Cleveland in the deal are infielder Spencer Horwitz and minor league outfielder Nick Mitchell.

Of the players some expected the Guardians could trade this winter, Gimenez was not one of them. A three-time Gold Glove and 2023 Platinum Glove-winning second baseman who was under contract through 2029 with a club option for 2030, Gimenez was a player that everyone believed to be part of the team's core. And at 26 years old, Cleveland would have him under contract for the entirety of his prime. But it is that contract that seems to be playing a considerably large factor here.

Gimenez is slated to make $10.5 million this season in the third year of his seven-year $106.5 million extension he signed with the Guardians back in 2023. This increases to $15.5 million for 2025 and to $23.5 million for 2027-2029, with the club option being $23 million. It's clear that with the unknown television revenue following the Diamond Sports collapse, combined with already signing Shane Bieber just a few days ago, they decided they could not afford Gimenez and instead decided to trade to the Blue Jays.

Meanwhile, Horwitz is still pre-arb with an estimated salary of $800,00 for 2025, and Mitchell is very far away from the arbitration process, being that he is a 21-year-old outfielder who played his first year in A-Ball last season. The massive difference in dollar figures being exchanged here cannot be ignored as Guardians cannot get out of their own way when it comes to the criticisms of their spending habits.

Was Gimenez a good offensive player? Not necessarily, and his sub-average OPS + the last two seasons have not been great. But this was still an elite defender who is still young enough to improve his offensive skillset. Instead of taking a wait-and-see approach with Gimenez, Cleveland's front office determined they would rather not take on any risk and rid themselves of one of the few high-dollar deals on their books. This is an inexcusable way to operate a winning baseball team, and they deserve any and all criticisms about this decision.