We have started to read various things about what the Cleveland Guardians do for next season. We believe the front office has their ideas of how to get the Guards back in the playoffs next year, and make no mistake, that should be the goal.
This is not a rebuilding season. The Guardians won 92 games a year ago with the youngest roster in the sport. Next year will mark 76 seasons since the franchise has won a world title, and the team’s best player will enter the campaign at 31-years-old.
Offensively, Cleveland has to improve greatly. They rank 27th in all of baseball in runs scored, and that is simply not good enough. To us, barring trades, they have five players who should be fixtures in the lineup: Bo Naylor, Josh Naylor, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Andres Gimenez.
So, four spots are open and at least two of them have to be filled by solid hitters. And it cannot be guys who they “hope” can be contributors at the plate, they need proven sticks.
And that’s the challenge for the front office.
It would seem Kyle Manzardo, who came over from Tampa at the trade deadline for Aaron Civale, will come to spring training with a job to lose. He hit .256 at Columbus (936 OPS) after coming to the organization, but overall hit .237/.337/464/802 at AAA in 2023.
Manzardo is highly regarded, but cannot be included as a “for sure” in 2024. If he struggles mightily in the spring, we would anticipate he will open the year in the minors.
Nor should anyone whose AAA numbers include OPS under 750 be counted on to be big league regulars. Johnathan Rodriguez had a very good season at the AA and AAA levels this year, hitting .286/.368/.529/897, but has a lot of swing and miss in his game, with 163 whiffs against 59 walks.
Jhonkensy Noel is another who we hear about because he hit 27 home runs and the Guardians need power. However, he hit .220/.303/.420/723 at Columbus. He might hit 20 homers at the big league level if given a chance. He will also make a lot of outs.
What about George Valera, who has been part of the organization’s top prospects for a while now? He hit .211/.343/.375/718 this season.
By contrast, here’s what Bo Naylor did in Columbus before being called up: .254/.393/.498/890.
It is difficult to imagine players doing better in the majors initially than they did in the high minors. We aren’t saying it’s impossible, but…
You also can’t (and the organization won’t) count on young players like Juan Brito and Chase DeLauter, both of whom we have high hopes for.
Brito, a 21-year-old switch-hitter, batted .271/.377/.434/811 across three levels in the minors this season, but he’s had only 20 plate appearances at AAA to date.
DeLauter, last season’s first round pick, is a left-handed hitter, and he only has 28 plate appearances at the AA level. He shows signs of having an elite hit tool, going .355/.417/.528/945 this year in the minors.
Both of these players might be able to contribute at the end of next year, but certainly not at the beginning of the season.
So, the front office is going to have to look for gems in other organizations or free agents who might be interested in one or two year deals. A few years ago, we saw D.J. LeMahieu available after Christmas and suggested Cleveland take a look at him. He posted a 893 OPS that season with the Yankees.
The point is there might be a bargain out there after the initial push, that is, of course assuming the Guardians won’t be spending big cash.
It won’t be easy for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff. It shouldn’t be. But the “wishing and hoping” method shouldn’t be an option either.
No matter what, they have to figure out how to score more runs.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 