The Blue Jays could face some tough roster decisions if Major League Baseball moves forward with a salary cap in the new CBA. That’s got people looking at which contracts might become problems, and Andres Gimenez keeps coming up in those conversations.
The whole salary cap push feels backwards. Baseball doesn’t need teams spending less – it needs the cheap owners to start spending more. A cap just gives front offices another excuse to cut payroll.
But if it happens, Toronto’s going to have to make some moves. Gimenez’s remaining deal – three years, $70.5 million plus a $23 million club option – suddenly looks a lot heavier in a capped world.
“Andres Gimenez might not hit much, but his defense makes him a valuable player for the Toronto Blue Jays. His 6 OAA is tied for fourth among all qualified shortstops, and somehow, it feels like he’s even better than that. But while his defense would be tough to lose, can the Jays commit to paying him an average of $23.5 million over the next three years in a capped system?”
That’s Zachary Rotman’s take from Yahoo Sports, and it captures the dilemma perfectly.
Gimenez has been solid for the Blue Jays, no question about it. His glove work at shortstop is elite level stuff – the kind that wins games in October.
The problem? He’s averaging $23.5 million annually for a guy who can’t really hit. In a salary cap environment, that’s premium money for premium production. Gimenez gives you one half of that equation.
It’s the kind of contract that made sense when the Blue Jays thought they were building something special. Now it looks like dead weight if they need to get creative with payroll management.
The players’ union is fighting this cap proposal hard, and they should be. But teams like Toronto are already running scenarios where guys like Gimenez become expendable. That tells you everything about where this is heading.
