The Toronto Blue Jays acquired former All-Star infielder Andres Gimenez and relief pitcher Nick Sandlin from the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday for first baseman Spencer Horwitz and outfield prospect Nick Mitchell on Tuesday according to Anthony Franco of mlbtraderumors.com. The Guardians then traded Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Luis Ortiz and pitching prospects Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy.
Gimenez is joining his third team after playing 2020 with the New York Mets and the last four seasons with Cleveland. In 2024, Gimenez batted .252 with nine home runs and 63 runs batted in. During 152 games, 583 at bats and 633 plate appearances, he also scored 64 runs and had 147 hits, 22 doubles, one triple, 30 stolen bases, 26 walks, 198 total bases, three sacrifice bunts, six sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .298, and a slugging percentage of .340. The triple came in a 12-3 Guardians win over the Oakland Athletics on March 30.
In 2022 when Gimenez was an All-Star, he batted .297 with 17 home runs and 69 runs batted in. During 146 games, 491 at bats and 557 plate appearances, Gimenez also scored 66 runs and had 146 hits, 26 doubles, three triples, 20 stolen bases, 34 walks, 229 total bases, four sacrifice bunts, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .371, and a slugging percentage of .466.
Sandlin pitched the last four seasons in Cleveland. In 2024, he pitched in 68 games and had a record of eight wins and zero losses. During 57 2/3 innings, Sandlin had nine holds, one save, and gave up 46 hits, 24 earned runs, 12 home runs, 27 walks, and had 68 strikeouts with a WHIP of 1.27. Sandlin’s save came in a 4-2 Guardians win over the Atlanta Braves on April 27.
Horwitz batted .265 with 12 home runs and 40 runs batted in with the Blue Jays in 2024. Ortiz had a record of seven wins and six losses in 37 games with one save and an earned run average of 3.32 with the Pirates.
