Guardians' Andres Gimenez stepping up and turning into a superstar, teammate says

CLEVELAND — Zach Plesac played nearly two full seasons in Cleveland with Francisco Lindor before the four-time All-Star shortstop was traded to the New York Mets.

On Friday night, right-hander Plesac said he's watching another such star in the making. And although he didn't mention Lindor by name, the implication seemed clear.

Plesac was referring to Guardians' second baseman Andres Gimenez, a natural shortstop just selected to his first All-Star Game.

Gimenez drove in the winning run with a two-out single to left field in the seventh inning as the Guardians came from behind for a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field.

“He’s doing his thing,” Plesac said of Gimenez. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen some really good middle infielders, Gold Gloves at his position, and he’s played every bit as good as that,” Plesac said Friday. “He’s a multiple-threat player who has been playing up in these big moments.

“He hit a walk-off home run a couple weeks ago [June 30 against Minnesota]. Comes up big tonight. I mean, when guys are stepping up in big moments and coming through, that’s when you know a player’s having a special season and they’re in a good spot. It’s always good to see that dude come through when he does.”

Only two middle infielders during Plesac's tenure have won Gold Gloves. Lindor took the honor in 2016 and 2019, second baseman Cesar Hernandez, now with the Washington Nationals, earned the only Gold Glove of his career in Cleveland in 2020.

Acquired from the Mets in the Lindor deal in January, 2021, Gimenez has become the man the Guardians look to in the clutch. He’s also an analytics-lover’s dream.

Gimenez, 23, and in his first full season in the majors, improved his slash line with runners in scoring position to .384/.440/.767. Batting .380 in that situation entering the day, he had the second-highest qualified average in the majors in scoring situations behind Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi (.413). Gimenez’s .767 RISP slugging percentage trails only Shohei Ohtani (.784) of the Los Angeles Angels among major leaguers who qualify.

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Gimenez’s numbers in wins vs. losses are just as impressive. His slash line in Guardians’ victories is .367/.418/.597 with 17 extra base hits and 35 RBIs. In losses, it's .214/.282/339 with seven extra base hits and eight RBIs.

Then there’s his defense. Entering Friday, his seven defensive runs saved ranked fourth among MLB second basemen. He gave an example with one out and one on in the fourth inning when he leaped for a line drive off the bat of the Tigers’ Willi Castro.

“It’s a big play. It seems like the ball finds the player because it needs to in those situations,” Plesac said.

“So it’s cool to see guys like him step up and turn into superstars. He really is. It’s cool to see.”

Offensively, Gimenez said he doesn’t do anything differently with runners on base.

“I think the game dictates what my approach is and the adjustment I make for that part of the game,” he said through an interpreter. “Every idea I take is based on what the team is doing and finding ways how to help the team win.”

In the seventh, Gimenez was facing right-hander Michael Fulmer, an All-Star in 2017 and the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year.

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Asked if he was looking for a slider, Gimenez said, “Not really. He’s a great pitcher and he has command of all his pitches. I was just trying to put the ball in play.”

He didn’t think he had.

“Honestly, no, I thought it was too high,” Gimenez said of the ball that dropped in front of left fielder Robbie Grossman. “Thanks, God.”

Gimenez also credited his teammates who set him up for success.

In the seventh, Myles Straw led off with a walk and Steven Kwan doubled to right, never hesitating as he dashed to second base. After Amed Rosario struck out, Jose Ramirez was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Josh Naylor. Naylor hit a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score, setting the stage for Gimenez.

“The guys that were ahead of me did a really good job to get me to bat and I think that speaks a lot of who we are, how we face adversity and how we’re going to continue fighting,” Gimenez said.

That’s the same kind of outlook Guardians manager Terry Francona had on the inning.

“Their bullpen is really, really good. There's times in a game, we hit the ball, in this era of baseball where there are so many strikeouts,” Francona said. “Gimi didn't hit his ball [hard], but he hit it. Naylor kind of reached out and got enough to get a sac fly. That's a heckuva lot better than striking out.

“Then when we do put balls in play, guys get themselves in good positions to move up. It gives us a little bit more of a chance.”

Cleveland Guardians' Aaron Civale undergoes CT scan on right wrist

Right-hander Aaron Civale underwent a CT scan on his sprained right wrist Friday ahead of his appointment Monday with specialist Dr. Thomas Graham.

Civale was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday after he was forced to leave after one inning on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. Civale immediately underwent an MRI and Francona said Thursday there was some swelling in the ligament.

“He felt it on a breaking ball the other night,” Francona said of Civale.

Cleveland Guardians catcher Luke Maile avoids a concussion

Francona said catcher Luke Maile, who took a hard foul-ball shot off his mask on Wednesday, managed to avoid a concussion.

“He aced all the [tests] — they ran him through the ringer yesterday,” Francona said. “If he can do that, he’s OK. His jaw is real sore. I’m sure he’d say the same thing, much rather have that than be banged up with a concussion.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez draws lofty comparison