Guardians Still Making Decisions As Season Gets Underway.

Two things happened for the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, one surprised and one not so much.

The Guards scored one run in the season opener, which is hardly a shock based on last season. We felt the offense would struggle and be the reason for a below .500 campaign.

The surprise was the trading of Bradley Zimmer after the game to Toronto for reliever Anthony Castro, clearing up the outfield situation a bit.

Castro, who will turn 27 in a few days, seems like a decent return. Yes, he has a career ERA of 5.26 in 26 big league appearances with Detroit (1 game) and the Blue Jays, but he has 33 strikeouts and just nine walks in 26-2/3 innings. He’s allowed five homers, which is a concern.

The trade would seem to open up at least a platoon spot for rookie Steven Kwan, who went 1 for 2 in his debut with two walks. And remember, the Guardians need guys who can get on base.

We hope this is the first move to clear up the roster as the 2022 season moves along.

We understand it is just two games into the season, but the middle infield, which are key defensive spots, are in a state of flux.

Andres Gimenez started at short in one game, and at second on Saturday. Amed Rosario played LF and then SS. Yu Chang started at 2B, moved to first during the game, and sat in game two.

In the radio broadcast of the opener, Tom Hamilton noted the Guardians must play a clean game defensively to win. We would say moving players in and out of key defensive positions is not a good way for that to occur.

It also seems odd to back what is the backbone of your team, your pitching staff, with poor defense at key positions.

First, let’s remind everyone that Rosario is not a good defensive shortstop. So, the infatuation with playing him there is odd. And although he had a good batting average in 2021 (.282), he’s not a real good offensive player, because he doesn’t walk (his career high is 31), and doesn’t have a lot of pop, with just a .409 slugging percentage last season and .404 lifetime.

We have not been a fan of Yu Chang, but the organization needs to make a decision on him once and for all, and the way to do it is to play him, let’s say 10-15 games in a row. They need to see if the surge at the end of 2021 was real or not.

In the meantime, give Owen Miller enough at bats so he is ready if Chang doesn’t hit.

Just put Rosario in left and leave him there or make a decision to move him. It’s not like he’s blocking someone right now, and he would have better offensive value not hitting at the top of the order.

Also, in the name of defense, we would make a commitment to play Josh Naylor at 1B when he is activated. An outfield of Myles Straw in center, Kwan/Oscar Mercado in right, and Rosario in LF would seem to have the gaps covered pretty well.

We know that Terry Francona likes to give everyone some at bats early to keep everyone on the roster involved. So, the lineup turmoil could be just that.

It’s also a delicate balance trying to get the most offense the current roster can provide with good defense to back the pitching.

However, it’s why not clearing up the roster duplicity over the winter is an issue. The inability of the front office to make decisions didn’t help the current situation.