#Mets’ Andres Gimenez puts on show in first major league start

In a normal season, Andres Gimenez would be spending his summer a few hundred miles north of Citi Field. If there were no 30-man rosters and a minor league campaign, he would be further preparing for the big leagues with Triple-A Syracuse, hoping to prove worthy of a call-up.

Instead, due in large part to the coronavirus pandemic, the team’s third-ranked prospect is getting on-the-job training with the Mets.

“Everything’s been a big surprise,” he said through a translator over Zoom.

Wednesday night, the 21-year-old Gimenez received his first major league start at shortstop, giving Amed Rosario the evening off. He impressed, picking up the first two hits of his big-league career in a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox, showing his value may go beyond just being a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch-runner.

Gimenez’s inclusion on the active roster came as somewhat of a surprise, since he was ticketed for Triple-A back in early March. But general manager Brodie Van Wagenen believed the young infielder gave the Mets a better chance to win games and with just 60 games, there was no reason for him not to be kept around.

“Being here is great not only for him, but for us,” Rojas said. “We’re grateful to have him. He’s got so many uses to win ballgames.”

Offense has always been the question mark for the left-handed hitting Gimenez, who owns a lifetime .761 minor league OPS and posted a .250/.309/.387 slash line with Double-A Binghamton last season. In the Arizona Fall League, though, Gimenez shined, winning the league’s batting title by hitting .371, producing a whopping .999 OPS and notching nine extra-base hits in 70 at-bats.

“Last year was a great learning curve for him,” Rojas said.

Rojas was Gimenez’s manager with Double-A Binghamton in 2018 and remembered him as a slap hitter with little pop. Now he can turn on an inside pitch. He can hit the ball out of the park. There are similarities to the player Rojas managed two years ago — he’s still an elite defender and threat on the bases. On Wednesday, he stood out with the bat, singling in his first trip to the plate and later driving in a run with a triple over Jackie Bradley Jr.’s head in center field.

Moving forward, it’s uncertain where Gimenez fits with the Mets. The 24-year-old Rosario is the everyday shortstop. Robinson Cano will get most of the time at second base and still has three years remaining on his contract after this one. Jeff McNeil is at third. But Rojas doesn’t want to think about potential problems in years to come. The present is all that matters, and Gimenez is a part of that with the Mets.

“Right now,” Rojas said, “I think he is where he belongs.”