As baseball’s off-season inches along, all is not lost for the Blue Jays’ bid for significant improvement.
Not yet, anyway.
In fact, if you’re looking for a glass-half-full evaluation of Toronto general manager Ross Atkins’ work thus far, the one big move made — the acquisition of Gold Glove infielder Andres Gimenez via trade with the Guardians — looms as a potential game-changer.
The list of caveats with the Gimenez deal is not insignificant. At some point, to make the deal a true success, the Jays will need some production at the plate from the 24-year-old.
Another red flag, of course, is the future cost of a player who conservatively has been uneven at the plate. Gimenez reportedly is slated to earn $10.57 million US in 2025 before seeing that haul jump to $15.57 million in 2026 and then a whopping $23.57 million for each of the next three seasons.
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And, finally, for the Gimenez deal to be a true success for Atkins and company, it eventually will have to be just the start of a winter of notable moves for the last-place team, not the lone high point.
Those concerns aside, a look at five reasons the Gimenez acquisition could be the start of something to steer the Jays back onto the track of playoff contention.
1. Defence first
In Gimenez, the Jays get a proven vacuum at the heart of an infield that could use some high-end help.
In each of the past three seasons playing mostly at second base, Gimenez earned Gold Glove awards with the Guardians.
“The elite defence speaks for itself,” Atkins told reporters in Dallas after the deal was finalized during last week’s Winter Meetings.
The Gimenez highlight reels accentuate that opinion of his new boss and that top-tier defence almost trumps his concerning shortcomings at the plate. Almost.
Certainly the later he gets in the contract, the more critical it will be for Gimenez to complement that gifted glove with some prowess at the plate. But, for now, a team that stubbornly has favoured a defence-first philosophy has a dynamic difference-maker in its infield.
2. Pitcher (and Vlad’s) best friend
Lost in some of the feel-good late-season play of the Jays (which if you factor in a miserable September, really wasn’t anything special) was some extremely dodgy defensive play in the infield.
That weakness was made even worse with shortstop Bo Bichette on the injured list, but it also exposed a lack of defensive depth in the Jays organization.
Now with the slick-fielding Gimenez running the show at second, suddenly Jays players around the diamond can breathe (and perform) a little easier. It’s no secret, for example, that Jays starting pitchers were exasperated at times when the defensive blunders piled up.
Combined with an alarming lack of offence, the pressure for the pitching staff to be near perfect was absurdly high.
While it’s easy to mock Atkins for his “run prevention” proclamations, even if it isn’t the most glaring need, better infield defence can be a huge spark, especially for a team that over the past two seasons has been engaged in so many tight ball games.
How does this apply to Vlad Guerrero Jr.? Anecdotally, there were times in 2024 where the former Gold Glove first baseman had to work too hard to make plays at first thanks to some of the sloppy play by his teammates at other positions in the infield.
3. Speed
That fleetness of foot serves Gimenez well defensively, of course, as he makes difficult infield plays look routine. But where the speed of the young player can be a game changer for the Jays is on the base paths.
In each of the past two seasons with the Guardians, Gimenez swiped 30 bases. For a stagnant offence, that presence could be huge, obviously.
For perspective, the Jays haven’t had a 30-bag stealer since Jose Reyes hit that number in 2014. Your 2024 leader in that department? That would be aging George Springer with 16.
That speed also plays in Gimenez’s ability to reach base on bunts and via infield hits.
4. Shortstop of the future?
With Bichette seemingly destined to reach free agency following the 2025 season, Gimenez would be a natural to slide over to assume the role.
That may not be the primary reason for Atkins aggressive pursuit of the defensive ace, but it’s a possible should Bichette’s future in Toronto end abruptly.
5. Start of something big?
Circling back to the initial analysis, the final grading for this significant move won’t be available until Atkins’ work is done.
If the beleaguered GM can acquire a corner outfielder who can add some notable offence, for example, suddenly the Jays become a more well-rounded team and the pieces already in place are better situated to flourish.
It’s facile to criticize the Gimenez deal for Atkins stubbornly ignoring the primary needs on offence. But it’s also best to save those darts until the off-season work can be viewed in its entirety.