On December 10th, 2024 amid winter meetings for the MLB, the Cleveland Guardians decided to trade platinum glover Andrés Giménez and Reliever Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays to get first basemen Spencer Horwitz as well as prospect Nick Mitchell. The Guardians then parlayed this trade into another, trading the newly acquired Spencer Horwitz to receive starting pitcher Luis Ortiz and pitching prospects Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This trade sent shockwaves through the Cleveland Guardians fanbase as Andrés Giménez was a fan favorite and one of the many faces of the Guardians organization. Today I will talk about the impact this trade has made both positive and negative, for the future of the Cleveland Guardians.

As a Guardians fan myself, my first reaction when getting the news that we traded Andrés Giménez was similar to others’ reactions. I was angry, and upset, questioning what we got back, as well as questioning if this was another move to cut salary and be the cheap team we have always been. It took time to get those answers, the first part of the trade, receiving Horwitz came out around an hour after the trade was announced, followed up a few hours later by the Pirates’ portion of the trade being announced. This trade hurts, Giménez loved this city and its fans, and the fans reciprocated that love for him. However, unfortunately, the MLB is a business, and the human side of the sport often takes a backseat to what is ultimately a dollar and cents game.

Andrés Giménez signed a contract extension with the Cleveland Guardians totaling seven years and 106.5 million dollars following the 2022 season. Giménez following his extension continued to be one of the league’s best defenders, winning a platinum glove in 2023. Despite this defensive output, Giménez has dwindled since 2022 offensively. In 2022 Giménez had a .297 batting average a feat he never got close to again batting .251 and .252 in subsequent seasons. As much as it hurts to say a small market team like the Guardians simply cannot pay the amount of money that they were for a player trending downward on the offensive side of the ball, coupled with the log jam of infielders coming up through the minors ultimately makes this trade make sense.

The Guardians got a solid starting pitcher in Luis Ortiz when all the trading was said and done, as well as three prospects and a whole lot more money to spend. Ortiz, only 25, and in his rookie campaign in 2024 had an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.11, that is solid starting pitching for a Guardians team that despite making it to the ALCS desperately needs starting pitching help. Emotionally and as a fan I am sad to see Giménez leave this team and I am nowhere near saying you can’t or shouldn’t feel this way too, but, if the Guardians for once use this money they have now saved on another starting pitcher, or something like an extension for Steven Kwan, then this sacrifice and return are ultimately worth it as it does make the ball club better. That being said we all know that is a huge if knowing the team’s previous history with a lack of spending money. As a fanbase all we can do now is hope for the best as there is still plenty of MLB offseason left.