It is kind of sneaking up on people, but the Cleveland Guardians will open the season a little over two weeks from now, two weeks from Thursday in fact, when they take on the Oakland A’s in Steven Vogt’s debut as manager.
Vogt and the front office haven’t made many roster decisions as of yet, so there are still a lot of players in camp, and they can only take 26 to Oakland. Here is how we see things shaping up to date, barring injury.
The catchers are set, Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges will be the backstops, and the starting rotation will be Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen, unless Williams’ elbow issue is lingering.
Three quarters of the infield are set with 1B Josh Naylor, 2B Andres Gimenez, and 3B Jose Ramirez, the shortstop job is still seemingly up for grabs as neither Gabriel Arias (3 for 16) nor Brayan Rocchio (2 for 20) have taken control.
And in the outfield, it looks like Steven Kwan and Ramon Laureano has spots etched in stone, and because of his contract, Myles Straw is a lock too. That would be 13 players.
Five spots in the bullpen are settled: Emmanuel Clase, Scott Barlow, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, and Nick Sandlin.
Two of the last three spot in relief should go to free agent Ben Lively and old friend Carlos Carrasco. That would leave the last spot going to either Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis, or Tim Herrin.
With the 8 relievers, that means 21 spots are filled and five would be open. We assume Tyler Freeman has one of those spots locked up, and the decision should be whether he is starting in centerfield, shortstop, or second base (with Gimenez moving to SS).
Will Brennan probably has the team made as well, which would leave three spots open. One of those would be the utility infield spot, which likely will not go to phenom Angel Martinez. More than likely it would be either Arias or Rocchio, probably the former, with an outside shot for Jose Tena.
Another question would be the players who are out of options, of which Cleveland has four. Two of them, Hentges and Lively should have spots locked up.
Deyvison De Los Santos is another because he was selected in the rule 5 draft and has to make the team or be offered back to Arizona. If he stays, he’s pretty much the 26th man.
The other is Estevan Florial, who has underwhelmed to date, going 2 for 22 with 10 strikeouts. He really has done nothing to make the team, but we wonder if he gets a spot because he’s out of options.
If the organization keeps both De Los Santos and Florial, that will make the roster complete. And it would also keep David Fry and Kyle Manzardo off the Opening Day roster.
We would like to see both in Oakland on March 28th. Fry is a right-handed bat with some pop and can also serve as a third catcher. That would enable Vogt to pinch-hit for Hedges on days he starts.
We’ve been pretty clear that we think Manzardo should come north with the big club, but we would like to see more at bats vs. big league arms. So far in camp, he has gone 6 for 13 with two doubles and two walks and four Ks.
On the flip side, we only want him up if the Guards plan to give him plenty of plate appearances. If he’s going to be in there once or twice a week, then send him to AAA.
Of course, there could still be some minor trades or worse, injuries that affect this projection. However, the beginning of the season is getting closer.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 