The Cleveland Indians announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have acquired catcher Chris Gimenez from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. To make room for Gimenez on the roster, catcher Adam Moore has been designated for assignment.
This will be the third trip to the Indians organization for the right-handed hitting Gimenez, who was drafted by Cleveland in the 19th round of the 2004 June amateur draft. After climbing his way through the farm system, he spent parts of the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Indians before signing with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent. After time with the Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Oakland Athletics, he was selected by the Rangers off of waivers from the A’s at the end of spring in 2014.He was traded in August of that season back to Cleveland for future considerations and rejoined the Rangers as a free agent that November.
Gimenez was designated for assignment by Texas on Monday after re-acquiring backup catcher Bobby Wilson in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.
He is primarily a catcher, owning a career .991 fielding percentage at the Major League level. He has also played both corner infield spots and corner outfield spots and has even pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Rangers in 2014. In his eight appearances with the Indians in 2014, he spent five games at first base, two at catcher, and one at third base.
Gimenez is a lifetime .218 hitter with eleven homers, 29 doubles, and 55 RBI in 221 career games. He hit .152 over his first two stints with Cleveland.
Moore was the odd man out while serving as a temporary replacement for the injured Roberto Perez. He got the call from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday to fill his void on the roster, but he was hitting just .156 with the Clippers at the time the Indians purchased his contract and added him to the roster.
He had appeared in just one game with the Indians over the last two seasons, getting a single and an RBI in four plate appearances on September 30 of the 2015 season.
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