Giménez's wild All-Star Game play proved he belongs

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Andrés Giménez wasn’t supposed to be playing in the first inning of the All-Star Game, but thankfully he was so we could all witness the best -- and flashiest -- defensive play of the night.

With a runner on first, Manny Machado hit a hard ground ball up the middle that took a large hop off the pitcher’s mound and nearly bounced out of reach of Giménez, who snagged it out of the air as he continued moving toward left-center field.

Because he was moving so quickly in the opposite direction of second base, Giménez (without hesitation) flipped the ball behind his back to shortstop Tim Anderson, who easily made the out at second. And even Anderson’s off-target throw was in time enough for first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to jump off the bag and apply the tag to Machado to complete the double play.

“I’ve seen him doing those types of plays before, so I’m not surprised,” fellow All-Star Emmanuel Clase said of Giménez. “I know he’s a great player, and that’s what he does -- being aggressive. … That’s what he’s always been doing.”

Just a few days prior to Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Giménez was a reserve. He hadn’t even been a finalist in the fan voting for starting second baseman for the All-Star team. But it didn’t take him long to prove he belonged.

When Jose Altuve decided against playing in the All-Star Game after getting hit by a pitch just before the break, the news broke that Giménez was the next man up to take the starting job. But the news broke on Twitter before Giménez was even informed.

He walked into Progressive Field on Saturday ready to prepare for a matchup against the Tigers when his phone started buzzing constantly. His friends and family were messaging him, congratulating him on the news and leaving him confused until he read some tweets. It wasn’t until later that Guardians manager Terry Francona was able to tell the 23-year-old, who was already pranked earlier in the week into thinking for a brief moment that he didn’t make the All-Star roster, that he was suddenly going to be starting at second base for the American League.

“For me it means a lot,” Giménez said, “all the sacrifice, all the work that me and my family, that we've put in together. It's a very proud moment for me and my family. It means a lot.”

Giménez struck out twice in his only two plate appearances, but it didn’t matter. His mark was immediately left with a dazzling play.