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Gimenez rose through the minors as a shortstop and has thrived there in limited Major League work, posting six Defensive Runs Saved, five Outs Above Average and a 2.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in just 452 innings. The very fact that they had a postseason run at all could provide some extra revenues and boost payroll in 2023, but the extent to which that might be true isn’t clear at this juncture.īeyond the payroll implications is the simple fact that Cleveland is rife with middle-infield options and could look to fill Rosario’s role internally while reallocating that salary to other areas of need. There’s also the simple fact that even with a roster good enough to take the division, the Guards fell in the ALDS. Doing so, however, would rely on replicating this year’s uncanny level of health the Guardians had by far the fewest IL days of any team in baseball. Granted, the strength of Cleveland’s young players is a large reason they defied expectations and won the AL Central in 2022, and it’s justifiable to suggest that they could effectively run out nearly the same group again in 2023 and be competitive. Add in another 15 pre-arbitration players at or around next year’s $720K league minimum, and the Guardians are right back to the $68-69MM mark at which they opened this past season - before making a single addition. Cleveland only has a combined $18MM in guarantees on next year’s books, but their arbitration class could tack another $37MM or so onto the ledger. That $9MM figure would’ve represented about 13% of the Guardians’ Opening Day payroll from the 2022 season. Then again, that’s simply looking at the situation in a vacuum - which few front offices have the luxury of doing. Any way you slice it, Rosario looks like a good value at that rough price point. FanGraphs’ version (which uses Ultimate Zone Rating and Statcast’s OAA) pegged him at 2.3 WAR. Baseball-Reference’s version of wins above replacement (which uses Defensive Runs Saved as the primary defensive component) pegged him at 4.1 WAR. Rosario hit 11 home runs, stole 20 bases, knocked 26 doubles and paced the Majors with nine triples. For a solid everyday shortstop with at least an average bat, that’s a reasonable price to pay.
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MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $9MM salary for Rosario next year in his final season before free agency. Rosario not only has just one season of club control remaining - he has one relatively expensive season of control remaining. He’s now coming up on the third and final of those three seasons.
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As such, he came to the Guardians with “only” three seasons of club control remaining.
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Despite his youth, Rosario debuted with the Mets way back in 2017 and spent three full seasons as a regular with them. Unlike Gimenez, however, Rosario’s contract status isn’t quite so favorable. By most metrics, this was also his best defensive season (though Statcast disagreed, grading him at seven outs below average). 283/.312/.403 in 670 plate appearances this season, bringing his collective output in two seasons with Cleveland to. Soon to turn 27, Rosario perhaps hasn’t lived up to the sky-high expectations set when he was ranked among the top five to ten prospects in all of baseball, but he’s settled in as a solid option for the Guardians at shortstop. Also acquired in that swap was another longtime top infield prospect of the Mets: Amed Rosario (plus outfielder Isaiah Greene and right-hander Josh Wolf). Of course, Gimenez alone was not the sole return for Lindor. With four years of club control remaining, he could be - or at least should be - an offseason extension candidate. Lindor was terrific in his second season with the Mets, but Guardians ownership was never going to give Lindor the type of contract he received in Queens, and Gimenez showed that he can be a building block himself. The excellence of Gimenez’s season goes a long way toward justifying the organization’s trade of Francisco Lindor, at least from a pure roster standpoint. 257 batting average, based on the quality and frequency of his contact - Gimenez still looks like a strong defensive infielder with quality on-base percentages, some power and plenty of speed. 353 average on balls in play - Statcast pegged him with an “expected”. Even if you expect some regression based on this year’s. 297/.371/.466 with 17 home runs, 26 doubles, three triples and 20 steals - pairing that all-around offensive value with some of the game’s best defense at second base. 282/.387/.385 in his final 137 plate appearances.įor the season on the whole, Gimenez batted.
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Gimenez finished strong following that Aug. Two months ago, I wrote about Andres Gimenez’s 2022 breakout and how it was a critical factor in propelling the Guardians toward what would eventually be their first division title since 2018. Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022.
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