The Toronto Blue Jays had an exciting evening at the Winter Meetings. While they piqued interest in free agent Max Fried before he signed with the Yankees, Ross Atkins and co. made a splash on the trade front by acquiring Andrés Giménez and reliever Nick Sandlin from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz and prospect Nick Mitchell.

It wasn’t the major pivot move that the Jays fanbase was widely expecting but it’s a transaction that fits into the mould of what the front office has been looking for over the past few years: a glove-first player who has a serviceable bat and the club thinks they can get more out of the player from an offensive standpoint. On the surface, the move makes sense on some levels but is a bit of a head-scratcher on others.

Acquiring a Gold Glove calibre player is always a plus, especially when the slightest defensive miscue can change the outcome of a game. While the Jays haven’t had the worst stats on the right side of second base regarding fielding, Giménez puts those worries to rest. He can also play shortstop or third base if needed and considering Bo Bichette is free agent bound next winter barring an extension, having someone like Giménez step in is not a bad thing to have in your back pocket.

On the flip side, Giménez’s bat is not the fit the Blue Jays are looking for this offseason. The club needs a power bat to compliment Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the lineup and Giménez amassed nine homers last season and hasn’t surpassed the 20 mark in a single season since debuting in 2020. He’s also posted an OPS+ below the 100 mark the past two seasons and outside of a stellar 2022 campaign where he slashed .297/.371/.466 and earned MVP consideration (finished sixth), the bat has not been as consistent as one would hope for. If the left-handed hitting Giménez can find that form again moving forward in a Blue Jays uniform, then this deal is a slam dunk but it puts a lot of pressure on the internal confines of the organization to help put the Venezuelan product back on track.

Per Atkins at the Winter Meetings, ““Everything about him was attractive… The work that we did on his bat and the offensive impact that can be there. The teammate. We just heard incredible things about the person. The baserunner, adding that level of speed, that level of athleticism and being here for a long time. All of that was very attractive to us. The elite defence speaks for itself.”

What is most peculiar about the transaction is that the Blue Jays lost a player in the deal that fit more of what they needed in the 2025 season. Spencer Horwitz was one of the brighter stars on the roster from early June onward and found some power in his bat to the tune of 12 home runs and 19 doubles through 328 at-bats. His .790 OPS was one of the higher marks on a lacklustre Jays lineup when the dust settled on a disastrous campaign and his 125 OPS+ was something the club could have used over the foreseeable future.

Maybe the Jays are seeing something under the surface and are selling high on the Radford alum but under the surface, there wasn’t a real opportunity for Horwitz to get regular playing time unless the Blue Jays used him as a full-time DH or Guerrero was moving to third base for the season. The staff didn’t have a ton of confidence in the 27-year-old at second base and with the glut of middle infielders to turn to, it made sense why they shied away from him in that position. This deal could turn into the ‘one who got away’ narrative if Horwitz continues to mash the ball and it is interesting to see that the Guardians flipped him to the Pirates shortly after for a nice prospect haul but this deal will need some time to marinate before a true winner is found.

With the Giménez transaction now on the books, the Jays do have some contract stability beyond the 2025 and 2026 years although its not any of the core players that fans were hoping for. That’s not to say things can’t change as the winter months progress but for a Blue Jays team that still has some glaring holes, this is hopefully not the only ‘splashy’ move the front office is going to make this offseason. Toronto could still deal away an infield prospect or two and have the depth needed for injury replacements or poor performance and the free-agent market is still full of talented players that could really help this team.

The most intriguing is Corbin Burnes, the last remaining top-tier arm that isn’t tied to the international free-agent posting method. With Fried earning a $27.25 million AAV over the next eight years – a deal that ranks the highest in dollar values in MLB history for a left-handed starter – Burnes is poised to make bank this winter as well even if there are some concerns related to his declining strikeout numbers. He’s also the one pitcher that the Blue Jays are currently tied too, which isn’t a surprise for Jays fans who are used to the team casting a wide net in recent offseasons.

The right-hander is a top-of-the-rotation type of pitcher who can really elevate any rotation he joins and with a career 3.19 ERA and a solid track record over the past four seasons in which he has four All-Star appearances and an NL Cy Young Award (2021), it’s a sizeable gamble in terms of value that doesn’t feel like it has a lot of risks to go behind it. The command is present (2.5 B/9), he has a solid WHIP history (1.063), and got a taste of the AL East last season with the Orioles where he posted a 2.92 ERA across 194 1/3 innings, finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. Even if the Blue Jays spent $200+ million on Burnes and he drops off towards the end of the deal, it’s at least an effort on the Jays’ part to add a durable pitcher to bring some stability to a rotation that could lose three veteran arms in the next two years.

Factor in that the Blue Jays have a host of power bats they can turn to depending on how much they are willing to spend – Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Jurickson Profar, Joc Pederson – and there is really no reason why Toronto has to stop at Giménez.

This all makes sense in theory but according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, he believes those who are hoping for a big-name free agent like Burnes or Bregman may be disappointed barring a change in pace from the front office, who flirts closer and closer with the CBT threshold with the Garcia signing and the Giménez addition. Landing a starter impacts the ability to add a power bat of a higher level and vice versa for adding a bat compared to a frontline starter.

One thing is for certain – if Giménez becomes the last meaningful piece of the Blue Jays puzzle this offseason, it’s going to be a long year in the basement of the AL East. To go back to the well of ‘finding internal production’ for home runs and getting on base proved risky and not worth the time, which complimented with a struggling bullpen, proved to be a painful watch as Toronto limped to the offseason. To think things will be different this time around is just begging one to mention insanity, which even considering the shuffled coaching staff is a tall order for a team that just needs to find some impactful players outside of the organization.

There is still time on the Blue Jays side this winter – a phrase that the most diehard fan is tired of hearing – but the truth is that there are still some months to play with before the trucks pack for Dunedin and the 2025 campaign gets underway. Who will be down in Florida for the Blue Jays still remains to be seen but in a perfect world, a few more players on the free-agent market will be heading to join Guerrero, Bichette, and Kevin Gausman down at the Player Development Complex.