Photo: (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND – The Guardians announced the signing of infielder Andres Giménez to a seven-year contract thru the 2029 season with a club option for 2030. Additionally, the club has also reached an agreement with pitcher Trevor Stephan on a four-year contract thru 2026 with club options for 2027 and 2028.
Giménez, 24, made the 2022 AL All-Star Team and captured his first career Rawlings Gold Glove Award and a spot on the All-MLB Second Team. For the season, he batted .297 (146-for-491) with 28 doubles, 3 triples, 17 home runs and 69 RBI in 146 games. He also scored 66 runs and swiped 20 bases, finishing sixth in the AL Most Valuable Player voting. He led the club in bWAR (*7.4), the third-highest bWAR in the AL behind 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge (10.7) and runner-up Shohei Ohtani (9.6), which was also the highest bWAR by a Major League second basemen in his age 23-season (or younger) since Hall of Famer Eddie Collins (10.5) in 1910 for the Philadelphia A’s. Only “Shoeless” Joe Jackson in 1911 has posted a higher mark in franchise history in an age-23 season. He led MLB second basemen with 16 defensive runs saved and was the club’s youngest All-Star Game starter since Bob Feller in 1941. Among league batting leaders, he ranked ninth in the AL in OPS (.837), 10th in batting average (.297) and 11th in on-base pct. (.371).
Two years removed from his December 2020 Rule 5 Draft selection, Stephan (age 27), posted a 6-5 mark with 3 saves and a 2.69 ERA over 66 relief outings in 2022 (63.2IP, 57H, 19ER, 18BB, 82SO, 11.6SO/9) for the 2022 season. He finished tied for 2nd among club relievers in relief IP (63.2IP) and led the club with 82 relief strikeouts and 20 holds, ranking in the top-15 among league relievers in strikeouts (T-9th), holds (T-15th) and wins (T-10th). Additionally, his 2.19 FIP^ ranked 14th among qualified MLB relievers and his opponent’s barrel rate of 3.1% ranked in the 98th percentile in the league. He was dominant in the postseason, fanning 11 of his 18 batters faced over 5.2 hitless innings and 4 appearances. Over his two-year career with Cleveland, he owns a 3.54 ERA in 109 relief appearances.