Andres Gimenez rehab assignment ahead of schedule, what should the Blue Jays do when he gets back?
Photo credit: https://www.milb.com/dunedin
Toronto Blue Jays gold-glove second baseman Andres Gimenez has played two games for Dunedin in his rehab assignment. Progressing well on both sides of the ball.
Andrés Giménez went 1-for-3 with a 1st-inning double and a walk in his first single-A rehab game with Dunedin. He also played 6 innings at 2B before his scheduled departure. Plan is for him to play again in the next game.
Andres Gimenez ropes a ground rule double in his first at-bat on MLB Rehab Assignment!
Andrés Giménez went 0-for-3 with a sac-fly & walk in his 2nd rehab game with single-A Dunedin. Gimenez played the entirety of the contest at second base in his second game on MLB Rehab Assignment. He'll be re-evaluated by the Blue Jays this weekend.
MLB rehabber Andres Gimenez brings home the go-ahead run with a sac fly!
Barger and Clement have both played well while Andrés Giménez has been out. What happens when Giménez returns from the injured list?
With Giménez getting closer to returning to action, it's fair to wonder how the playing time will be divvied up.
Stefanic is the obvious choice to be demoted back to the minors, but both Clement and Barger have made cases for everyday playing time.
The Jays have been deploying Ernie Clement at second base most of the time, while upstart Addison Barger has been the primary option at third base.
Michael Stefanic was called up from Triple-A Buffalo when Giménez went on the injured list and has filled in the utility infielder role that was previously occupied by Barger.
The 29-year-old Clement has hit .256 with 2 home runs, 7 doubles, 16 RBI, and a .645 OPS over his last 16 games, and has made zero errors in over 100 innings at second base.
Giménez was hitting .195 with a .577 OPS prior to getting hurt, but was still worth 0.9 bWAR thanks to his strong defense and baserunning.
The Venezuela native got off to a strong start this year when he smashed three home runs in the first five games of the season, but he hit just .173 in April and May.
And then there's Addison Barger, who has taken his opportunity and run with it.
Barger's hitting .356 with six doubles, a pair of home runs, eight RBI, and a 1.030 OPS since Giménez's injury, and has been serving as the Blue jays primary third baseman.
The 25-year-old has also become an advanced stats darling, with a max exit velocity of 116.5 miles per hour, an average exit velocity of 95.2 mph and fielding run value in the 85th percentile.
As of now, Barger has earned the right to be the Blue Jays' everyday third baseman once Giménez returns.
He's capable of playing the outfield (and playing it well), but his swing looks the best when he's in the lineup everyday.
At the end of the day, these are all good problems for the Blue Jays.
Who do you think the odd man out is?
Tell us what you think in the poll below.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 157 ANSWERS Andres Gimenez rehab assignment ahead of schedule, what should the Blue Jays do when he gets back? Who is the odd man out? | ||
| Andres Gimenez | 16 | 10.2 % |
| Addison Barger | 1 | 0.6 % |
| Ernie Clement | 5 | 3.2 % |
| Michael Stefanic | 135 | 86 % |
| List of polls | ||
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