Andres Gimenez Looks To Amed Rosario For Advice

For many young players, having a close mentor or teammate within their organization is vital to their confidence and growth. Bonds become especially strong between players that play the same position, which was showcased last spring between first basemen Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith. Fueled by friendship and slight competition, the two grew close and relied on each other for motivation and help.

This relationship has been seen between the previous shortstop Jose Reyes and current starter Amed Rosario. It seems like Rosario has now taken a guiding role of his own with shortstop prospect Andres Gimenez.

Gimenez commented on Rosario as “someone he can always lean on,” and detailed the advice Rosario has given him through times of struggle “Rosario has always given me the confidence and the wisdom and encouragement to continue on going. The one thing he does tell me to always do is remain positive because that’s an important thing.”

Rosario describes Gimenez as “a kid who has a lot of ability, who is tremendous when it comes to his talent.” Rosario, who has two plus major league seasons under his belt, is experienced enough to help a young player in his game while also being mentored by other veterans in the Mets camp.

With less hype surrounding him, Gimenez flies under the radar of many Mets fans. A prospect report focusing on his sharp glove and less on his bat has led to Gimenez being overlooked by many teams and fans.

With a tough 2019 season at the plate where he finished with a .250/.309/.387 slash line, Gimenez fell in his top 100 prospect list to 54 (a 24 spot drop) and many began to hold another shortstop prospect, Ronny Mauricio, at a higher standard than Gimenez. However, Gimenez went on to play in the Arizona Fall League where he won a batting title after hitting .371 with a .999 OPS in 18 games.

Gimenez earns the praise of coaches and players around him and Jared Banner, the Mets’ executive director of player development, has nothing but good things to say about the shortstop.“He’s a versatile, athletic guy, so I don’t see anything being too much of a challenge for him defensively. He’s a special defender,” Banner said. “He is capable of doing a lot of different things because he’s so athletic and so smart on the field. So anything is possible for him.”

There seems to be no lack of confidence coming from Rosario and Banner and no lack of hard work coming from Gimenez. With an already crowded infield, there seems to be no rush in Gimenez’s call up to The Show, but having an influx of talented players is never anything to complain about.