Cavs Still Need To Get Longer

The NBA season does not start next week, so there is still time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to add to their roster. However, in the first frenzied week of NBA moves, Koby Altman and Mike Gansey really didn’t get involved.

We’ve already talked about the trade for Lonzo Ball, and getting a taller (6’6″) ball handler who can shoot a bit and defend was a solid move for Cleveland. Being able to pair Ball with either Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland in the backcourt eases a bit having those two smaller guards.

Of course, the big caveat is Ball’s health. How many games will he be able to play in the regular season and will he be available in the playoffs?

We also like the addition of Larry Nance Jr., making his second visit to the franchise where his father’s jersey hangs in the rafters. Nance adds some size at 6’8″ and he’s a player we have always liked because he’s smart and versatile.

He’s also made himself a threat from the perimeter. He shot 34.6% from three with the Cavs from 2018-2021, but the last two seasons, he’s converted on over 40%.

Nance gives Kenny Atkinson another player with size who can play upfront with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, something the franchise needed last season.

But more work needs to be done.

Cleveland is still small on the wings. They have De’Andre Hunter who is 6’8″ and we would like to think he moves into the starting lineup next season. He scored 14.3 points and grabbed 4.2 rebounds after coming over to the Cavaliers last season and shot 42.6% from three.

He’s still the only wing Atkinson has that is over 6’6″, and we would still like to see another big man who can play in the post.

Maybe the plan is to see what they have in Nae’Qwan Tomlin early in the season, and if it is, then Atkinson should use him early in the season to see if he can be an option once the regular season ramps up after Christmas.

But Houston let 6’11” Jock Landale go, and the Cavs should have been interested. He signed with Memphis. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.4 boards in 12 minutes per game last season. We believe he could’ve helped.

Perhaps, the Cavaliers will give Jaylon Tyson and maybe Craig Porter Jr. opportunities in the first 20-25 games next season to see what they can do. But they still need some longer wings. This is a league now where players in the 6’7″-6’8″ range are plentiful. Cleveland just doesn’t have nearly enough of them.

Look at the recent NBA draft. Of the top ten players taken, only two (V.J. Edgecombe and Jeremiah Fears) were 6’5″ or smaller. The shortest player taken in the top 20 was 6’3″ Walter Clayton. The league is looking for long, athletic wings.

Cleveland doesn’t have enough of them.

After all, the Cavs should be pretty confident they will make the playoffs next season. They won 64 games last season, so even if they win say, 10 less contests, they will still win over 50, and that surely gets you a top four seed.

There is still time for the front office to find some more size on the wing. Let’s hope the roster for 2025-26 is still taking shape.

Re-Examining The Middle Infielders Of The Recent Past

Over the past few seasons, the Cleveland Guardians’ organization has been accused of collecting middle infielders. Several of these players have dotted the teams’ Top 10 Prospects lists since the 2020 season.

We are using Baseball America‘s lists and focusing on the SS and 2B positions.

Starting with 2020, here are the middle infielders ranked in the organization’s Top 10:

2020: Tyler Freeman (2nd), Brayan Rocchio (5th), Aaron Brocho (9th), Gabriel Rodriguez (10th)
2021: Andres Gimenez (3rd), Freeman (4th), Gabriel Arias (7th), Rocchio (8th)
2022: Freeman (1st), Rocchio (3rd), Arias (5th), Angel Martinez (10th)
2023: Rocchio (5th), Martinez (8th)
2024: Rocchio (2nd), Juan Brito (5th), Martinez (6th)
2025: Travis Bazzana (1st), Angel Genao (2nd), Welbyn Francisca (7th), Brito (10th)

We aren’t going to talk about the last group here because Bazzana and Genao been hurt much of this season and are still at the AAA level, while Francisca is only at the low-Class A level.

As for Brocho and Rodriguez, they haven’t played in the major leagues, so for purposes of this discussion, we are overlooking them.

We also looked at the offensive production of the players at the AAA/AA levels only. We feel that’s fair because top prospects have a tendency to dominate the lower levels at times and can skew the total minor league stats.

One more thing, the renowned Bill James said if you have an on base percentage of .350 and a slugging percentage of .450 you are a good offensive player. That’s where the magic 800 OPS came from. We are using that as the line of demarcation as to what makes a good offensive player.

If you are over one of those figures, that’s still a good thing, it demonstrates you can contribute to a major league lineup.

For what it’s worth, the league average OPS is around 700.

Using those numbers, the best offensive players among these prospects are Juan Brito and Tyler Freeman.

Brito has an 809 OPS in AAA coupled with an 817 OPS in AA. He gets on base regularly (.366 and .373 respectively) and his slugging percentage is very close to the .450 mark. He’s fought injuries this season, but the front office was not wrong in trading for him from Colorado.

Brito is more of a second baseman, and has already been moved around because if Bazzana gets to the bigs, 2B is likely his spot.

Freeman is also a big on base guy, putting together a .398 OBP in AAA and .372 in AA. He did slug .470 at the AA level but was at .399 in AAA to accumulate a 797 OPS at the highest rung in the minor leagues.

The only other player to have a number over the .350/.450 threshold is Rocchio who got on base at a .352 clip in both AAA and AA.

The Guardians seem enamored with the “pop” of Arias, but his slugging percentage at AAA was only .456. While that’s good, it’s not off the charts, especially when you remember the pitching at the big-league level is better than that of AAA.

Martinez hasn’t shown numbers above the .350/.450 plateau in the minors, although he did get close to both in AAA.

One thing we did notice was Ernie Clement’s AAA numbers. He went .362/.490/852 at that level.

To be fair, Jose Ramirez did not have great numbers at these levels either. At AAA, he had a .358 on base average and slugged .427. We do know his power developed later.

We do continue to question how important on base percentage is for this organization. Remember, Yandy Diaz had a .361 OBP with Cleveland, and he was dealt away pretty quickly.

Also, let us remind you the game is measured by outs. You get 27 of them, and if you get on base, you aren’t making an out.

And Now, The Guards’ Bullpen Is Leaking Oil

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. That’s the story of the Cleveland Guardians this season.

The offensive troubles are well documented. The Guards have fallen to 13th in the American League in runs scored. They don’t get on base, now 13th in the league in on base percentage, and they have no pop, ranking 14th in slugging percentage.

They are particularly awful against left-handed pitchers, and there isn’t any help on the horizon from the minor leagues perhaps the best hitters in Columbus, Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus, both swing from the left side of the plate.

Again, by now every fan of the team is aware of that.

However, over the past few weeks the mainstay of last year’s squad, the relief pitching has started to spring a leak. It’s not surprising because of the workload put on the bullpen a year ago, but it seems to have happened.

We know Emmanuel Clase struggled early in the year, but since Steven Vogt gave him a little break and used Cade Smith to close at the end of April, he’s been pretty much back to being that guy.

Since May 1st, Clase has pitched 22.1 innings and has put up a 1.21 ERA. He has allowed 18 hits, a little high for him in that span, but has fanned 24 and one of Clase’s biggest strengths, hasn’t allowed a home run.

Smith has been solid as well, appearing in 36 games with 53 Ks in 34.1 innings and a 2.36 ERA. But he’s been down over the last few days with a back injury.

The rest of the relievers seem to be sucking wind at this point. Hunter Gaddis was so good last season, but over his last three appearances has allowed eight runs in 2.2 innings. And even before that, he allowed 10 of his 17 inherited runners to cross the plate.

Last season, Tim Herrin allowed just 39 hits and 25 walks in 65.2 innings. To date this season, he’s walked 17 and allowed 22 hits in 27.2 frames.

Because of these struggles, and an injury to free agent signee Paul Sewald, Vogt has been using journeyman Matt Festa in higher leverage situations. He has a 5.48 ERA in his 25 appearances.

Jakob Junis is another free agent signed this winter, and although his numbers are decent (3.96 ERA in 33 games), he’s allowed 42 hits and 12 walks in 36.1 innings. It seems like every time he comes in, he allows a hit or two and/or a walk, and is immediately in trouble.

Erik Sabrowski has been activated from the injured list and should be able to help Herrin against left-handed hitters. Koby Allard is another lefty, but he seems best suited to giving the Guardians some length if the starter gets knocked out early.

The point is this team doesn’t get leads often because of the hitting, but unlike last year, when Vogt goes to the bullpen, it’s no longer automatic.

The front office tried to get some help for the bullpen in Sewald and Junis, with the former having closer experience. He should be back soon and hopefully can take some of the responsibility from Gaddis until he gets back to form.

If it’s not one thing, it’s something else for the 2025 Guardians.

On Cavs’ Trade And Draft

The off-season in the NBA officially started with the draft on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The Cleveland Cavaliers did not have a pick in the first round but had two in the second round.

They used their first pick on guard Tyrese Proctor from Duke. The scouting report on Proctor is that he has a high basketball IQ and the good shooting touch, thriving in a half court setting. The rap on him is although he played both guard spots in college, his ball handling needs to get better.

Our first thought is everyone has a type, and Koby Altman’s is 6’5″ players. He collects them like some people collect trading cards. He can’t get enough of them.

However, the Cavs won 64 games last season and are projected to be in the mix for the best record in the conference again this year. That means it is doubtful that Proctor sees much court time, if any, with the Cavaliers this season. He will likely get mostly G League minutes to see how he performs.

Cleveland had the penultimate pick in the draft and used it on Saliou Niang, a 6’8″ forward from Italy. He will play this season there.

The report on him is he is very raw, but has quick feet and good lateral mobility, which means he should be a factor on the defensive end of the floor. He also has a high free throw rate, which means he is aggressive on the offensive end.

The bigger news was a trade over the weekend, a rare one for one player deal. The Cavs shipped Isaac Okoro to Chicago for the injury plagued Lonzo Ball.

When healthy, Ball is a very good ball handler with size at 6’6″, a perfect pairing for the Cavs’ small backcourt combination of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. In his career spanning 287 games, he’s averaged 11.4 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per contest. His shooting percentage from three is 36.2%, much improved from his first two years of 30.5% and 32.9%

The key phrase in that paragraph though is “when healthy”. Ball has never played more than 63 games in any season, and that’s the only season he appeared in that many. And since 2021-22, he missed the entire next two seasons and played in 35 games last year.

The Bulls used him just 22 minutes per contest and maybe reduced time will keep him in the lineup more. But he’s far from a “for sure” in the Cavs’ rotation.

Besides, the cost for Ball wasn’t much. Okoro simply never developed enough of a reliable offensive game to be on the court in the playoffs. Perhaps he was miscast as a “three and D” wing, because it seems like all the Cavs did for him offensively was put him in the corner for the three.

We wondered why the front office extended him last off-season, and now that has been rectified.

The one surprise, at least to us, was signing Sam Merrill to a four-year deal, pretty much closing the door on Ty Jerome’s tenure in wine and gold. The latter averaged 12.5 points per game a year ago and was up for sixth man of the year honors.

Merrill is more of a one-dimensional player, but that dimension is shooting and guys who can shoot get paid in today’s NBA.

It’s a good start to the off-season for Altman, GM Mike Gansey, and the Cavs, but they still haven’t addresses length on the wing and another solid power forward/center.

Hopefully, we will hear on those spots soon.