The Cleveland Guardians resume their season Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates and when they start play, they will have a little over two weeks before the MLB trading deadline which ends on August 3rd.
We doubt the front office will do anything major and might not do anything at all. However, the offense still ranks 29th in the big leagues and has been in that area now for a year and a half.
Our guess is the brass will look at the return of Jose Ramirez as a major event (and it is), but we believe a good offense needs seven effective bats in a lineup, and the Guardians will still be well short of that. And remember, the front office should plan things based on a worst-case scenario mindset.
For sure, Cleveland should be in the relief pitcher market because right now Steven Vogt can only have confidence in Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Colin Holderman. Franco Aleman might be able to slide into the “circle of trust”, but in watching post-season baseball, a team can never have enough solid relief pitchers.
Back to the hitting, with Ramirez back, the Guardians have what we would consider three solid bats: Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, and Brayan Rocchio. We understand the optimistic fans will ask, what about Travis Bazzana, Angel Martinez, Kyle Manzardo, etc.?
Manzardo is suffering through a bad season. He’s hitting just .215 with an OPS of 669, a hundred points behind last year’s 768 figure. Can he have a much better second half? Of course, but over the last month, he’s hit just .165 and a 550 OPS.
Bazzana is hitting just .222 with a 685 OPS over the last 28 days. This could be the ups and downs a rookie experiences, but the front office should be a tad concerned, particularly over the 26 strikeouts in those 90 plate appearances.
And although Martinez adds some pop with 23 extra base hits and a .442 slugging percentage, he is very inconsistent at the plate, prone to hot streaks and deep slumps, mostly in our opinion because of a 53:7, strikeout to walk ratio.
It would help greatly if Steven Kwan’s resurgence over the past month (748 OPS) can continue. He could be a fourth solid hitter.
What we are saying is president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff should be looking for a hitter between now and August 3rd.
We understand the prospect lovers will say what about Ralphy Velazquez and Angel Genao at Columbus? Again, they are rookies and you don’t know what you will get. Cooper Ingle had great numbers at AAA, but he was overmatched when he came up. And we still have confidence he can be a solid hitter in the big leagues.
As for Genao, could he be a piece used to get a proven hitter, particularly one who hits right-handed? The best deals are made from depth, and it appears like the Guardians are set at the keystone spots with Rocchio and Bazzana.
That said, we know the front office is loath to give up prospects, so it likely won’t happen.
What is more likely is a deal for someone like a Lane Thomas giving up marginal prospects. Don’t forget the organization figures to do something with Bo Naylor too.
How much that moves the needle is up for debate.
Is the goal is to get a first-round bye and ultimately get to the World Series, the batting order needs to be more formidable. Can the management pull the trigger and help the team currently on the field?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 