Shane Bieber, Austin Hedges make feelings known on Guardians trading Andres Gimenez to Blue Jays

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber and catcher Austin Hedges were on Monday's episode of the Chris Rose podcast. Among other things, they discussed their club trading second baseman Andres Gimenez and right-hander Nick Sandlin in a three-team deal which also included the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The duo were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz, who was later traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Out of this transaction, the Guardians ended up getting minor league outfielder Nick Mitchell, left-hander Josh Hartle, Pittsburgh's No. 17 prospect, right-hander Luis Ortiz and minor league left-hander Michael Kennedy.

Bieber and Hedges opened up about the trade, sharing their thoughts on losing a key teammate and friend while recognizing the business side of the game.

"I mean, anytime you lose a brother that's been with you for a while, obviously, it’s tough," Hedges said (24:28 onwards). "How important he was to the clubhouse, to the city — losing that is always hard. Reading the trade rumors at first was difficult. I know Shane and I were getting bombarded with texts and calls. Guys were confused and didn’t know what was happening.

"But, you know, like all of us, we’re big boys, and we know that this is a business—only a business. It sucks, but it’s not like this is any of our first rodeos when it comes to this. We’ve all had best friends that have been released, cut, traded, or treated poorly. At least this was a business deal, and those situations are worse."

Shane Bieber shares similar thoughts to that of Austin Hedges on Andres Gimenez's trade. Bieber understands it's business but will miss him who he said saved a lot of runs for him when he was up.

"Yeah, just to piggyback off that—it was really difficult. I texted him right away. Like Hedi said, it’s part of the business," Bieber said. "That guy gave me a ton of runs. We’re going to miss him as a teammate, as a bat, and as a defender. But, like Hedi said, it’s a business, and you’ve got to move on."

Why Guardians traded Andres Gimenez?

Andres Gimenez completed the second year of his seven-year, $106.5 million contract, which he signed with the Guardians following his 2022 All-Star season. However, since then, Gimenez has looked a shadow of himself, possibly prompting Guardians to make the move.

In 152 games played last season, Gimenez could only hit .252, nine home runs and contributed 63 RBIs. He also had a similar 2023 season in terms of numbers, averaging .251 with 15 homeruns and 62 RBI.

The Guardians have gained a promising pitcher in the trade, but the departure of a clubhouse favorite like Gimenez might take some getting used to.