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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They 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 League ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Career

Amateur

In 2001, Gimenez graduated from

Gilroy High School Gilroy High School is a co-educational public school located in Gilroy, California, that serves the city of Gilroy. A part of the Gilroy Unified School District, is one of two public comprehensive high schools in the city and has an approximate ...

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 (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 34th round (1,024th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, 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. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

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 Nor ...

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 a M ...

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

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 ...

, 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, mercha ...

. He was a

non-roster invitee A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

for the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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 Russell Oles Branyan (born December 19, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (two occasions), Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers (two occasions), Ta ...

. 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 and manager. He is currently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. He played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Florida Marlins, ...

, 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 Daniel Adam Cortes (born March 4, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. He also played in the Kansas City Royals organiza ...

. 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 (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. 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 affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Gimenez's returned to the Rangers when his contract was selected from Round Rock on May 20 when

J. P. Arencibia Jonathan Paul Arencibia (born January 5, 1986) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball catcher. He is currently serving as the bench coach for the Syracuse Mets. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas ...

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 Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. 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 the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County, Texas, Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of ...

after

Tomas Telis Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...

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 (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. 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 Andrew James Romine (born December 24, 1985) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. ...

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gimenez, Chris 1982 births Living people People from Gilroy, California Baseball players from 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