Chris Gimenez
Going into his age 35 season and 10th season in the majors, Gimenez will finally have his first season in arbitration. Having spent pieces of seasons along the way, Gimenez spent his first season with Minnesota in 2017, and he was a quality performer.
Gimenez actually threw 5 innings for the Twins in relief in 2017 on top of playing catcher, first base, left field, and third base. His hitting wasn’t incredible, but he showed the ability to take a walk along with power as he hit .220/.350/.382 with 7 home runs in 225 plate appearances over 77 games.
Gimenez earned just shy of a million dollars in 2017. In his first season in arbitration, he’d likely earn $1.5M or so. The question will be whether or not the Twins want to play with young catcher Mitch Garver along with starter Jason Castro from this season as a pair at the position with Garver’s quality bat and Castro’s quality glove would make a good pairing. If Gimenez wanted to return on a minor league deal with a major league incentive, he could have a place, but he may not have a spot at $1.5M or more.
Anthony Recker
Most well known on the internet for his physical features than for his baseball abilities, Recker was added to the deal with Jaime Garcia with the Atlanta Braves in order to help offset money. Recker cost the Twins roughly $400K this season to the Twins as he sat in AAA due to his major league deal. However, without another option for 2018, he’ll need to either make the major league club or be signed to a minor league deal in order to continue with the Twins.
In arbitration this winter, he’ll likely make ~$1M, but that would be out of line for his value as he’s never been worth playing even 200 plate appearances in a season. He’ll most likely be non-tendered or traded.
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