But the two sides discussed dozens of configurations, and Cleveland was focused on landing the most comprehensive package, not necessarily one particular player. So, yes, Giménez’s name surfaced regularly during trade conversations. 277 there, and he skipped Triple A altogether en route to the majors in 2020. He was always especially young at each minor-league level, but still produced at the plate. They knew he was athletic and gifted with his glove. Cleveland’s front office identified a few Giménez traits they treasured when studying the Mets’ system before the January 2021 blockbuster. Giménez would prefer not to be constantly compared to Lindor, but he understands why many make the connection. Giménez bats during spring training with the Mets in 2018. You look in the mirror and say, ‘Am I actually capable of doing this?’” “When you’re the lowest, you doubt yourself. “That was the hardest point,” Giménez said. He wondered if he was cut out for a life in pro ball. Lucie, he roomed with three American teammates. He ended up taking English classes when he returned home and, the following season, at High-A St. He struggled to communicate with teammates. He didn’t speak English and said South Carolina’s capital couldn’t be more different from Barquisimeto. Then, at 18, he ventured to the United States for the first time, spending the summer at Class-A Columbia. Giménez played in the Dominican Summer League his first year. “A lot of people sign,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean you’re going to make it to the majors.” Giménez, who is now 5-foot-11, 161 pounds, said he was “always the smallest, skinniest guy on the team,” and that the Mets demanded he add to his frame when he joined the organization. He signed with the Mets for $1.2 million in 2015, when he was 16, and bought his mom a house and a car. There are pilots in the family, too.Īnd this undersized kid planned to forgo his education to pursue a future as a professional baseball player? Giménez said his family lived modestly, so following such a path came with risks, but his parents were supportive. His grandma is a teacher, his uncle an architect, his dad an engineer. Giménez’s relatives all attended college. He didn’t consider it a possible career choice until he became a teenager, though. (Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)īaseball is king in Barquisimeto, and Giménez’s mom contends he started playing at 3 years old. “I never thought I would get to this point,” he said.Īll-Star Andrés Giménez takes batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Monday. Then again, the soft-spoken Giménez has even surprised himself. They certainly didn’t foresee this when he shuttled between Triple A and the major leagues last season, desperately searching for solutions to a faulty swing.Īnd few observers would have predicted this rise years ago in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, where Giménez was routinely overlooked because of his small stature. He was even more shocked when family members, citing reports on social media, informed him he was replacing José Altuve in the starting lineup.Ĭleveland’s coaches and front office members didn’t forecast this rapid ascent when they acquired Giménez in the Francisco Lindor trade 18 months ago. Giménez was stunned when Guardians manager Terry Francona, after initially signaling the team’s only All-Stars were José Ramírez and Emmanuel Clase, revealed Giménez would be the club’s third representative. He’ll line up on the first-base line for introductions Tuesday evening before a national TV audience and a raucous crowd at Dodger Stadium, which will include his mom, wife and 6-month-old son. Now, though, he’s an All-Star, the American League’s starting second baseman and a guy with a coveted autograph. That rhetoric was nothing new to Giménez, who told The Athletic he had plenty of doubters in his inner circle, too. But even the New York scout who signed him admitted to Giménez he was far from the most talented player in the class. Seven years ago, Giménez was 120 pounds - well, if his cleats, belt, uniform, helmet and bat were included in the measurement, maybe - and scribbling his name on a contract with the Mets. Follow our live MLB All Star Game coverage.ĬLEVELAND - Andrés Giménez sat at a table in the dimly lit service level of Progressive Field one afternoon last week, scribbling his name on one baseball after another.
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