The Cleveland Guardians' trade of second baseman Andrés Giménez this past offseason was a clear salary dump, and the Toronto Blue Jays took the bait.
Toronto inherited Cleveland's -- expensive -- problem; the remaining six seasons of the seven-year, $106,500,000 contract extension the Guardians signed Giménez to in March 2023. The Guardians didn't net a significant haul in return, but they shed their payroll of his salary, which has proven to be the right call. In hindsight, the Blue Jays probably wish they hadn't taken on an albatross deal.
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Blue Jays 2B Andrés Giménez must improve to justify $106M contract
Giménez has been on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 8, with a right quad strain. However, the Blue Jays reportedly "hope" he'll begin running in the coming days, suggesting a return is on the horizon. Whether Toronto gives him a minor-league assignment is unclear, but the 26-year-old must hit the ground running upon rejoining the lineup.
Boasting a .195/.273/.305 slash line with three home runs, 10 RBIs and nine steals across 128 at-bats, Giménez has struggled at the plate this season. His .577 OPS and 65 OPS+ are each well below their respective league average rates of .710 and 100, respectively. He's never been a great offensive player, but is a career .261 hitter, excluding 2025.
Opponents at least had to respect Giménez when he stepped into the batter's box in Cleveland. That's been far from the case in Toronto. He's not seeing the ball well, particularly against lefties, and the one-time All-Star is becoming borderline unplayable.
Perhaps the only reasons Toronto hasn't pulled the plug on Giménez are the boatload of money they're paying him and his defensive skills. The three-time Gold Glove winner is still an incredibly effective fielder at the keystone. Few can man second better than he does.
Signed through 2029 with a club option for 2030, time is on Giménez's side to prove his worth in Toronto. But until then, the Blue Jays are getting whatever the opposite of bang for your buck is from him.