Andres Gimenez Struggling In New Role With Guardians

Andres Gimenez is now the Cleveland Guardians' two-hole hitter following the Amed Rosario trade. However, he's struggled since moving up in the batting order.

Amed Rosario had been the steady two-hole hitter for the Cleveland Guardians over the last two and a half seasons. He was a streaky hitter who chased a lot of pitches but could be productive when he got hot.

The Guardians needed someone to step up and take over this role after Cleveland traded Rosraio to the Los Angeles Dodgers last week.

Andres Gimenez seemed like the perfect candidate. He's someone who sees a lot of pitches and can make great contact with the ball. Fans also begged Terry Francona to hit him second earlier in the season even while Rosario was still on the roster.

We're finally getting Gimenez in this position and, well, it hasn't been great. 

There have now been five games since Rosario was traded and Andres has hit second in each of those. Gimenez has a slash line of .100/.217/.150 over 23 plate appearances over that handful of games. 

He's only recorded two hits, but there is another concerning factor as well. Gimenez carries a strikeout rate of 39.1 percent and a walk rate of 8.7 percent. The balls he has been able to put on the plate only have a batting average of .182.

This is an incredibly small sample size to go off of and Gimenez deserves more time to show he can be an effective two-hole hitter. However, it wouldn't be surprising to see Tyler Freeman or Will Brennan get an opportunity if these struggles continue. 

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