We don’t know what else is to come by 6 PM today, but it looks like the Cleveland Guardians’ front office has decided to kick the can down the road again.
They traded their most experienced starting pitcher, Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay for AAA first baseman Kyle Manzardo, who was the 60th ranked prospect according to Baseball America coming into this season.
Manzardo hit .327 between high A and AA last season with 22 homers and an OPS of 1043. This year, playing at AAA, his numbers aren’t so good, .238 with 11 dingers and an OPS of 783.
Here are the oddities to us. First, the Guardians’ second best hitter happens to play first base in Josh Naylor. Manzardo has never played the outfield in college or as a professional.
Second, the Guardians are down three starting pitchers to injuries and are relying on three rookies and they moved their best remaining veteran starter. Who replaces Civale in the rotation? That’s why another deal has to happen.
And lastly, hasn’t Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff learned about dealing with Tampa? We feel like we’ve seen this movie before, only the left-handed power hitting prospect was named Jake Bauer.
We understand that’s not fair to Manzardo, but it sure sent a shiver up our spine.
Are the Guardians a great team this season? No. But as we said to someone yesterday, you know what they call the person who finishes last in their class in medical school? That would be doctor.
Did people in 2006 think the St. Louis Cardinals, who finished 83-79, were going to win the World Series? How about the 1987 Minnesota Twins, who won the AL West with an 85-77 mark?
It’s a long shot for sure, but you cannot win the lottery unless you buy a ticket. No one thought the Guardians would get to game seven of the 2016 World Series with injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, but they did it.
So, on face, we don’t understand the move, nor do we want to hear any “big picture” stuff.
We just wrote on Sunday, the Guardians’ biggest weaknesses involved the bullpen and an offense that still ranks 12th in the American League in runs scored per game.
This deal did nothing to address either of those problem areas. It might help in 2024, but not now. And it is much easier to keep building for the future than it is to win now.
We are sure Civale’s injury history scares the front office and that is probably the biggest motivation to move him. They could have done that this winter.
We weren’t asking for Cleveland to trade players like Brayan Rocchio, George Valera, Juan Brito, or Chase DeLauter to get marginal big league players. They could get them with lower tier prospects and help this year’s team get to the playoffs.
Now, if the front office has some more deals and they can get a starting pitcher to replace Civale or maybe even get two guys to not only replace the traded pitcher and protect the young arms brought up this season, then fine.
Hope we see some more moves by tomorrow night at 6 PM. Because if the front office doesn’t improve the 2023 team by then, put up the sign at Progressive Field:
FREE BEER TOMORROW!
Cleveland Sports Perspective 