Bleacher Report has oddly pessimistic prediction for Blue Jays' trade with Guardians

The Toronto Blue Jays started their offseason by making a trade with the Cleveland Guardians that no one saw coming. They dealt Spencer Horwitz and minor-league outfielder Nick Mitchell in exchange for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin. Initially, it was met with a bit of confusion, but it made more sense as time went on.

Apparently, not everybody feels that way though. Bleacher Report recently published an article listing offseason decisions that could crash and burn, and Toronto’s big swap is at the top.

Giménez’s value is highlighted early in the writing, as he’s been among the highest-rated players in bWAR (16.7) over the last three seasons. For context, that’s higher than Julio Rodriguez (15.9) and comparable to Marcus Semien (17.0). 

That doesn’t mean he’s the same kind of player as those two, and the fact that the bulk of Giménez’s value is on defense makes his fit questionable. Since breaking out with a superb 2022 season, the middle infielder has struggled at the plate and was among the worst among qualified hitters in OPS+. As dependable as he’s been with the glove, trading for another defensive-minded player on a roster desperate for power is a contentious decision.

The piece moves to the main return for Giménez (while passing over Sandlin completely), Horwitz, who is still in the pre-arbitration stage of his career. The first baseman is coming off a fine rookie season (12 HR, 125 OPS+ in 97 games) and should be a productive player on an affordable contract, even if he earns merit over the next two seasons. The Jays could’ve held onto Horwitz for the next half-decade for a price tag of $20 million or less. This franchise already has significant veteran contracts on the books, and by adding Gimènez, they now have another.

The 26-year-old is slated to make $10 million and $15 million over the next two seasons, and his salary goes up to $23 million over the final three years. The big money starts to kick in this year and all signs point to this being a contract that the low-payroll Guardians wanted out of. It’s a big gamble for a hitter in the bottom third of Cleveland’s lineup towards the end of his tenure there, and someone who figures to be towards the bottom of Toronto’s, too. It’s also an investment in a player not named Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is still without a long-term deal.

The post concludes by pivoting to the other signings the Blue Jays have made since, namely Jeff Hoffman and Anthony Santander, two All-Star-level players, but not the types to lift this needy team to a title or convince Vladdy to ink a long-term contract. The contracts of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, George Springer, and others are nearing their ends. Unless everything comes together in an unforeseen way in 2025, Jays fans could be left feeling downtrodden.