Christopher Paul Gimenez ( ; born December 27, 1982) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

, Texas Rangers,

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Career

Amateur

In 2001, Gimenez graduated from Gilroy High School in Gilroy, California. He was drafted by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

in the 34th round (1,024th overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

, but did not sign and instead attended the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

Cleveland Indians

The

selected Gimenez in the 19th round (557th overall) of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. He signed and joined the Indians

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

system, playing with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros,

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, and

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. He was a non-roster invitee to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

for the

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and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Indians, but started each season in the minors. Gimenez made his MLB debut on June 3, 2009. On February 24, 2010, Gimenez was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus to make room on the 40-man roster for Russell Branyan. He remained in camp with the Indians for the duration of spring training as a non-roster invitee. On July 10, 2010, Gimenez's contract was purchased by the Indians, and he was added to the active roster, replacing

Mike Redmond Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager, who was most recently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for 13 seasons in Majo ...

, who was designated for assignment. Gimenez was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on October 29, 2010, removing him from the 40-man roster. He filed for free agency on November 6, 2010.

Seattle Mariners

On December 14, 2010, Gimenez signed a minor league contract with the

. On December 12, 2011, the Mariners announced that Gimenez had been non-tendered along with pitcher Dan Cortes. Two days later, on December 14, the club announced that they had re-signed Gimenez to a contract. He was designated for assignment on February 6, 2012, and soon after, he declared for free agency.

Tampa Bay Rays

The

signed him to a minor league contract on February 16. He also received an invitation to spring training. He was with the organization for two seasons.

Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians

On December 20, 2013, Gimenez was claimed off waivers by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was then claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers on March 28, 2014. He made the Rangers opening day roster on March 31, but was designated for assignment the next day. He elected to become a free agent on April 5. He re-signed a minor league contract on April 9 and was assigned to the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

. Gimenez's returned to the Rangers when his contract was selected from Round Rock on May 20 when J. P. Arencibia was optioned to Round Rock. He made the first pitching appearance of his Major League career on July 10, 2014, in the ninth inning of a blowout loss for the Rangers against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning, including a swinging strikeout of C. J. Cron. Gimenez was designated for assignment on August 7. He was acquired by the

on August 23, 2014. Gimenez signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on November 20, 2014. On July 31, 2015, Gimenez was recalled from Triple-A

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

after Tomas Telis was traded to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He appeared in the postseason for the first time in the 2015 ALDS. Gimenez was traded back to the Cleveland Indians on May 4, 2016, in exchange for cash considerations. On November 18, 2016, Gimenez was outrighted off the 40-man roster; he subsequently elected free agency on November 21, 2016.

Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs

On January 12, 2017, Gimenez signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. Gimenez made the Twins' 25-man roster out of camp. On April 23, 2017, Gimenez pitched for his fourth time to Andrew Romine of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in the top of the 9th inning, resulting in a pop-fly out to retire the inning. He was outrighted to AAA on November 6, 2017. On January 22, 2018, Gimenez signed a minor league deal with the

. He made his debut with the team on May 28, 2018, with a single in his first at-bat against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. On July 4, 2018, the Cubs designated him for assignment. On August 30, 2018, Gimenez and cash were traded back to the Twins in exchange for Bobby Wilson.

Coaching

After the 2018 season, he retired from playing to take on the role of Game Planning Coach for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gimenez, Chris 1982 births Living people People from Gilroy, California Baseball players from Santa Clara County, California Major League Baseball catchers Cleveland Indians players Seattle Mariners players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Rangers players Minnesota Twins players Chicago Cubs players Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Kinston Indians players Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Clippers players Tacoma Rainiers players Durham Bulls players Round Rock Express players Surprise Rafters players Scottsdale Scorpions players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Frisco RoughRiders players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Gilroy High School alumni Anchorage Bucs players