Cleveland Guardians must make Andres Gimenez everyday SS

It looks like the Cleveland Guardians might’ve really gotten something in return for Francisco Lindor. If you keep up with my baseball ramblings, you’ll know I was higher on on Andres Gimenez than Amed Rosario, but was pleased to get them both.

Rosario was once an MLB top 100 prospect, but even when the two were still with the Mets, Gimenez’s ascension would be imminent. Now, it’s clear Gimenez was the center piece of that deal and Rosario was probably insurance.

Early returns on Gimenez certainly weren’t great, as the infielder hit around .180 after breaking 2021 spring training with the club. Keep in mind, though, he was 22. He went back to the minors, found his stroke, and was much better when he returned toward the end of the season.

Since since Sept. 1, he’s batting .310. Really, since coming back up at the end of 2021, Gimenez has been leading the hit parade for Terry Francona’s lineup. In 75 plate appearances this season, he’s batting .347  (.888 OPS). He doesn’t walk a lot, taking just two free passes, but has struck out just 15 times.

Cleveland Guardians have elite defensive SS…who doesn’t play full time

Plus, he’s elite defensively. The problem? he’s only played 57 innings at short, but he’s already saved 2 runs, according to Fan Graphs’ Defensive Runs Saved stat. Rosario has a bulk of the innings at short and has saved two runs in 188.2 innings.

Gimenez should be playing short every day, but the Guardians are obviously still trying to get something out of Rosario. Really, if he’s going to have a future here, it’s going to be in the outfield. You don’t need advanced analytics to know what your eyes tell you: Gimenez makes plays that you know Rosario probably wouldn’t.

Gimenez took the starting shortstop job away from Rosario when the two played for the Mets in the truncated 2020 season. Then, after coming to Cleveland after the trade, Gimenez hit his way onto the 2021 club with an excellent spring training. Then he had those aforementioned problems, which he seems to have corrected for now.

When Gimenez was sizzling in the Arizona desert in the spring of 2021 is when Rosario started getting reps in the outfield. Rosario moved back to short after Gimenez was demoted and the change coincided with an improvement at the plate. He ended 2021 batting .282 (.731 OPS).

Not sure what the issue with Rosario is now, as he’s been bad. The Guards lead the AL with a .254 team average, but Amed is batting .200. Even worse his is his .262 on-base percentage. This is a player Tito usually pencils in at No. 2 in the batting order. That average combined with eight walks in 103 plate-appearances isn’t getting it done.

Cleveland really values position versatility, so they’ll find something to do with Rosario, but I wonder if a trade could be on the horizon.

The log jam of top prospects at the middle infield position is well known–perhaps the front office feels the 40-man roster crunch this offseason and makes a move.