Finishing in last place of the American League East has created a stronger sense of urgency for the Toronto Blue Jays. Perhaps seeing the New York Yankees lose All-Star slugger Juan Soto helped Toronto believe they have a better chance of closing the gap in their division.
Either way, the Blue Jays have just pulled off a blockbuster trade that should improve their everyday batting lineup and their defense up the middle of the field.
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Toronto Blue Jays trade for Andres Gimenez to fill second baseman need
According to ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan, the Cleveland Guardians have agreed to trade Andres Gimenez and Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s a significant move, sending the three-time Gold Glover and one-time All-Star from one AL contender to another team hoping to return to the postseason in 2025.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has the full Gimenez trade details. Toronto has agreed to send 27-year-old 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz, plus outfielder prospect Nick Mitchell, to Cleveland. Horwitz played a career-high 97 games for Toronto last season.
Gimenez is just 26 years old, and he’s not scheduled to become a free agent until the 2030 season, giving the Blue Jays a long-term solution at second base. The trade certainly comes as a surprise, considering Cleveland just signed Gimenez to a seven-year, $106.5 million contract in March of 2023.
Gimenez is set to make a reasonable $10.5 million in 2025, but his salary increases to $15.5 million in 2026, before jumping to $23.5M from 2027 to 2029.
While the star second baseman enjoyed his lone All-Star season in 2022 with a career-high 17 home runs, 69 RBi, and 141 OPS+, he’s returned back down to earth over the past two seasons. Gimenez finished last season with a .252 batting average to go with nine home runs, 63 RBI, and a career-high 30 stolen bases.
Related: New York Yankees could pivot to this All-Star after missing out on Juan Soto