Not Many Guards Have Track Records

The Cleveland Guardians were the youngest team in the league last year and won the American League Central Division championship.

It is certainly great to see a young team do so well, because it is a portent of things to come, but it also means it is tough to project for the following season because very few Guardian players have a track record.

First, from the team standpoint, the last time the youngest team in baseball made the playoffs was 1986, when the Mets did it and won the World Series. They finished second in the NL East in ’87, and won the division in ’88.

They were runners-up in the division the following two campaigns, and then fell into the abyss falling all the way to 59-103 in 1993.

The 1970 Cincinnati Reds were the youngest team in the league and lost the World Series to Baltimore, then fell to fourth in 1971. That team featured Johnny Bench (22), Dave Concepcion (22), Bernie Carbo (22), and Bobby Tolan (24). Heck, Tony Perez was just 28 and Pete Rose was 29 that season.

Following that dip, they reeled off a ten-year span where they won six division titles, three NL pennants and two world championships.

Here’s hoping that’s the future for the Guardians.

There is an old saying in baseball that players will for the most part put on the numbers that are on the back of their baseball cards. The only players on the Opening Day roster for Cleveland that have established levels of performance are Jose Ramirez, Josh Bell, and Amed Rosario among the everyday players.

Even Andres Gimenez, who was marvelous in ’22, has only had one season of over 210 plate appearances, and you guessed it, that was last season.

While we believe a player like Steven Kwan has the type of skill set that will allow him to succeed at the big-league level, there is no track record for him.

And as for players with shaky strikeout to walk ratios, like Oscar Gonzalez and Gimenez, it remains to be seen if they can improve that ratio with more experience.

Even with the pitching staff there is uncertainty. If Shane Bieber is healthy, and everything points to that this spring, he’s the ace. And actually, we feel strongly that is Aaron Civale can stay off the injured list, he gives the Guards a good chance in his starts.

We love Triston McKenzie, but he’s one year away from a season with a 4.95 ERA and some issues commanding the strike zone. We are confident in him, but there is a bit of uncertainty.

Zach Plesac? The question mark there is well used. His last two seasons have produced ERAs of 4.67 and 4.31. And he missed time both years with injuries. And can Cal Quantrill continue to win games despite a low strikeout percentage.

The bullpen is the most volatile part of a baseball team anyway, and the Guardians are no exception. Emanuel Clase’s stuff is ungodly, and James Karinchak is well, James Karinchak, but can Trevor Stephan pitch like he did a year ago? And what about Eli Morgan, who struggled in the last two months in ’22.

We know one thing, Terry Francona will give everything ample time to play out, and he will drive us fans crazy doing it.

We believe this is the start of a period of success for the Cleveland Guardians, but with so many relatively new players to the big leagues, we have some caution as well.

Hard To Gauge What Guardians’ Young Players Will Do

The Cleveland Guardians surprised everyone in northeast Ohio and frankly in baseball as well by winning 92 games and the AL Central Division title last season.

That has their fans very excited for the 2023 season because, after all, with a young core of position players and pitching staff that had the 4th best ERA in the American League, why wouldn’t they?

They also seemed to take care of their weak spots in their lineup. The DH spot was a huge hole because Franmil Reyes collapsed, and the catching spot was completely devoid of any offense, as they signed 1B/DH Josh Bell and C Mike Zunino as free agents.

However, there is an old saying in the game that a player’s statistics will match those on the back of their baseball card, meaning players have track records, and usually they will produce close to what they’ve done in the past.

Unfortunately, very few Guardians’ have a history of performance because they are so young. Of course, we know Jose Ramirez, if healthy, will be in the mix for the AL MVP. He has finished in top five in the voting four times in the last six years.

And you know what you are going to get from Amed Rosario too. He going to hit around .280 with a 700 OPS, and he’s going to not walk much.

Even Josh Naylor has only one season with more than 250 at bats at the big-league level.

The newcomers have been around for a while, so you can figure Bell is going to hit 20+ home runs, knock in around 80 or so, and have an OPS around 800. Zunino will hit the long ball more often than the Guardians’ catchers last season, but he will strike out. A lot.

We would all like to be optimistic about the young players who had marvelous seasons in 2022, but the truth is, we don’t know what Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, and even Andres Gimenez is going to do in 2023 for sure.

That doesn’t mean they will not be productive in 2023, but it’s difficult to count on each player to meet or exceed what they did in 2022.

Because we are a big believer that future success is based on knowledge of the strike zone, obviously we think Kwan has the best chance for improvement. We think he learned as the season progressed to pick his spots in driving the ball, so we think his slugging percentage will improve and he could approach or surpass 10 homers. Still, that’s not his game, so it needs to occur naturally.

Gonzalez is the opposite of Kwan, not walking much, but as we have suggested before, maybe Gonzalez is the Cleveland version of White Sox’ Tim Anderson, a hitter who succeeds with a poor strikeout to walk ratio. Still, he’s a player to watch.

Gimenez was spectacular last season, starting the All-Star Game and winning a Gold Glove, but it was also his first season with more that 210 plate appearances. His strikeout to walk ratio isn’t good (112:34) and his on base percentage (.371) was high because he was hit by a league high 25 pitches.

As proof it can happen, look at Myles Straw. In his first full year in the big leagues, 2021, Straw hit .271 with a .349 on base percentage. Last year, his second season, he hit .221 with a .291 OPS.

We aren’t saying everyone will regress, and quite frankly, we think Straw will rebound and be much better next year.

We are saying it is hard to judge players without a firm track record. For the most part, the pitching staff has that. It’s the offense that is more of a concern.

Yes, Guards Need More Pop. They Need More Walks Too.

For all of the talk of “small ball” and lack of power, the Cleveland Guardians’ offense wasn’t terrible in 2022. They did rank 6th in the American League in runs scored at 4.31 and their team OPS of .699 ranked 7th and was just below the league average (701).

They were 6th in on base percentage, mostly because they ranked 4th in the AL in batting average at .254. They did rank 11th in slugging percentage and as we should all know by now they were second last in the Junior Circuit in home runs.

By now, even casual baseball fans know Cleveland is the hardest team in the major leagues to strike out. It’s funny that Andres Gimenez led the team in strikeouts with 112 and then Amed Rosario with 111. Third? That would be Franmil Reyes, who wasn’t on the team since the beginning of August.

We have talked about how we believe the Guardians need some pop before next season, and they could probably use a player who can fill in at 1B/OF/DH, preferably a right-handed hitter.

They could also use more walks. They were 11th in the AL in working bases on balls. And if you are going to preach contact, and we believe in that approach, then you would hope the hitters could be more selective at the dish.

Jose Ramirez led the team in walks with 69, a total that ranked ninth in the league. He was followed by Steven Kwan with 62 and then Myles Straw with 54. Remember that Ramirez got less and less patient as the year went on.

We would have to think Kwan will walk more with experience (and with umpires realizing he has a pretty good grasp of the zone), and Straw worked more in 2021 (67 times).

Hopefully, Gimenez can learn the strike zone better. He did have a .371 on base percentage, but that was more a product of being hit by a league high 25 pitches. He only drew 34 walks. As a comparison, Owen Miller worked 32 bases on balls.

Rosario doesn’t walk either, but he’s been around long enough to show he simply doesn’t have that skill set. His career high is just 31.

Josh Naylor’s walk percentage went up from 5.6% in ’21 to 7.6% in ’22, so perhaps he can improve that rate again.

Some of younger players have a track record of taking walks. Bo Naylor walked 82 times in the minor leagues last season. Will Brennan drew 50. Will Benson had a tough time because of sporadic playing time when he got to the bigs, but at AAA, he worked a team high 75 times.

And Tyler Freeman has a minor league on base percentage of .376.

Why more walks? If you don’t get a hit, but you walk, guess what? You don’t make an out. And you move the line along. Not to mention you make the opposing pitcher work more.

The contact approach would seem to go hand in hand with drawing more bases on balls.

So, having more power would certainly help, but getting more baserunners would help as well. We wouldn’t be surprised if this was something the Guardians’ front office took note of too.

Five Big Wins For Guardians This Year

It was an improbable road to the Central Division championship for the Cleveland Guardians. Most folks thought Terry Francona’s squad would be around the .500 mark, yet here they are, poised to begin the playoffs Friday at Progressive Field.

All the victories, and it appears they will win more than 90 games, are important, but to us, some were more relevant than others.

Here are our five most impactful triumphs for the Guardians this season.

Game 3, April 10th: Cleveland 17, Kansas City 3

After scoring one run in the first two games, the Guardians exploded for six runs in the first and four in the second, highlighted by Oscar Mercado’s grand slam home run. Owen Miller started at first for Bobby Bradley, who started the first two games, and Steven Kwan went five for five in a portent of things to come.

Miller had three hits and four RBIs and became a fixture in the lineup for a while. Bradley never got back in the lineup, and this was the first step toward a more contact-oriented approach for the Guards’ offense.

By the end of that week, Yu Chang came down with COVID, and he never got his job back either, as Andres Gimenez became a fixture.

Cleveland scored 27 runs over the next three games.

Game 29, May 9th: Cleveland 12 Chicago 9, 11 innings

This was the Josh Naylor game. After losing 7 in a row to the Yankees and Angels, Cleveland won 7 of 9, going into Chicago.

The Guardians trailed 8-2 going into the ninth, but got two back on a Gimenez home run and an error. With two outs, Miller singled to load the bases, and Josh Naylor hit a grand slam off All-Star closer Liam Hendricks to tie it, and hit a three-run shot off Ryan Burr to give the Guards a 12-9 lead in the 11th.

Cleveland lost the next two, but this one demonstrated the Guardians never thought they were out of a game.

Game 61, June 19th: Cleveland 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Francona’s club started a key nine game trek to Colorado, LA, and Minnesota by sweeping the Rockies and splitting the first two with the mighty Dodgers. Jose Ramirez missed the last two games of the series, including this one.

Trailing 3-2 going into the top of the 8th, the Guards tied it on a pinch-hit double by Richie Palacios, and then scored two off LA closer Craig Kimbrel on a Gimenez single and a sacrifice fly by Ernie Clement, subbing for Ramirez.

Emmanuel Clase pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Guardians wound up 7-2 on the trip.

Game 101, July 31st: Cleveland 5, Tampa Bay 3

The Guardians were going with a bullpen game because Aaron Civale was hurt, while the Rays started All-Star Game starter Shane McClanahan.

The Guards worked the southpaw hard, making him throw 96 pitches in 4-1/3 innings, scoring three in the 2nd and two in the 5th. Myles Straw had a two-run single in the second, and Austin Hedges had the single in the fifth to provide the cushion.

Unsung hero Kirk McCarty threw 3-1/3 frames allowing one run, before Eli Morgan, Trevor Stephan, and Clase finished off Tampa.

Game 136, September 9th: Cleveland 7, Minnesota 6

Cleveland took the division lead on August 10th and had a four-game edge on August 25th before a disastrous stretch against Seattle and Baltimore, where they lost 8 of 10.

Heading into Target Field with a two-game advantage, the Guards took an early lead on a Naylor single and a three-run homer by Oscar Gonzalez. That lead stretched to 7-0 after four and a half before the Twins rallied with two runs in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings.

The 8th inning was highlighted by Twins’ skipper Rocco Baldelli checking James Karinchak’s hair for sticky materials.

Clase finished it in the 9th and the Guards swept Minnesota, practically ending Minnesota’s hopes.

All wins were important to be sure, but to us, these had deeper meanings for the 2022 Guardians. Hopefully, more important ones are still on the horizon.

Guardians Among The Best At Their Positions

We are a big fan of the website, baseball-reference.com, and we look at it at least once a day, qualifying us, we guess, as a baseball nerd.

In their version of WAR (wins above replacement), the Cleveland Guardians rank in the top three in the American League in four positions: Second base, shortstop, leftfield, and third base.

It is probably shocking that the hot corner is the spot they are third, behind Boston (Rafael Devers) and Houston (Alec Bregman), because Cleveland’s best player, Jose Ramirez mans that position.

It would probably also surprise you that the Guardians leader in WAR is not Ramirez, but Andres Gimenez.

Disclaimer alert here: One of our problems with WAR is that it is weighted to middle of the diamond players. Still, it is something to use in comparing players and their importance to a team.

When the Guardians acquired Gimenez in the trade that sent Francisco Lindor to the Mets, we felt he was the key to the deal. He was a top prospect and came to the big leagues at age 21, hitting .263 with a 732 OPS in 49 games of the COVID shortened season.

We did not anticipate this kind of season though. Now 23, he made the All Star in his first full big league season and should get Gold Glove consideration at second base.

All this after he hit .218 (633 OPS) a year ago.

His on base percentage (.375) has been propped up by becoming a magnet for pitched balls (16 HBP), but after having a strikeout to walk ratio of 31:4 in April and May, since then it is 51:19, still not great, but an improvement.

Amed Rosario seemingly doesn’t get on base enough (.320) to hit second, and doesn’t have a lot of pop either (.409 slugging percentage with just 36 extra base hits), but he has been a huge factor in the Guardians’ rise to first place to date in the AL Central.

Last season, he was frankly below average defensively at short, the most important position in the infield, but he has improved to the point he makes the routine plays. With the Guardians’ glut of middle infield prospects, we don’t know how long Rosario will play his current position, or even remain with the Guardians, but he has made a big impact on this team.

We discussed bringing up Steven Kwan at the end of last year (with Oscar Gonzalez), but he was in the lineup on Opening Day, with only Terry Francona seemingly being surprised, and hasn’t let go of the job.

He has done what we thought he could do, that is make contact and get on base. He has a .372 on base percentage and has walked more than he has struck out. And he has a respectable .393 slugging percentage. He’s been a perfect table setter for this lineup.

And of course, you have the remarkable Ramirez, who probably will finish in the top three of the MVP voting for the fourth time in the last six years.

He leads the AL in doubles, is second in RBIs, tied for sixth in triples, and second in extra base hits. And let’s not forget, he is the undisputed leader in the clubhouse. The way he plays the game rubs off on everyone on the roster.

These four players have had tremendous seasons. Looking at them in no way minimizes the contributions of others, but this quartet have been among the best in the AL at their respective positions.

Tough Spot For Guardians’ Newest Rookies

The Cleveland Guardians started the season using Steven Kwan in left field and Andres Gimenez at second base, and by the end of the first weekend were using Owen Miller everyday as well.

That trio is 24, 23, and 25 years old, respectively.

As the season went on, we saw more young players. Oscar Gonzalez (24) and Richie Palacios (25, and since sent back to AAA) both contributed to the team’s success.

Since the beginning of July, the Guards called up Nolan Jones (24), Will Benson (24), and Tyler Freeman (23) to the big-league roster.

The organization wants to look at these players, but one thing complicates this philosophy: The Guardians are a game ahead of the Minnesota Twins and in first place in the AL Central Division.

There are always ups and downs with young players. Kwan, for example, had a poor May, hitting .173, but he made adjustments and has batted over .300 in each month since.

Miller had a torrid first month of the season and had a decent July, but has struggled otherwise and at this point hasn’t figured out what pitchers are doing to him.

So, Terry Francona is charged with the task of getting the three newest Guardians the playing time they need as young players, while continuing to win ballgames. And that’s not easy.

Right now, it’s tough to write Jones’ name in the lineup, but if he’s on the roster, you have to.

The rightfielder started great going 9 for 27 before the all-star break. Since then, in 61 plate appearances, Jones has hit .203 with one homer, and has fanned 22 times against just two walks.

Right now, he might be too selective, taking a number of fastballs in the strike zone for called third strikes.

It really hasn’t been fair for Benson, who since his call up on August 1st, has only played in 12 games, getting more than one at bat in just seven of them. He’s gone just 3 for 25 and has fanned nine times in 28 times at the dish.

That’s why Gonzalez has become pretty much the everyday guy in right, with Benson and Jones filling in when he DHs and with Benson getting some time in centerfield to give Myles Straw a breather.

Freeman gets into the lineup with Jose Ramirez is the DH and has spelled Amed Rosario a couple times as well. He’s been okay, going 5 for 22 with three walks and getting hit by three pitches. He has struck out just once, true to his minor league numbers, but outside of a ringing double to left a few days ago, he hasn’t been driving the ball.

It just shows why teams don’t like to bring up prospects unless they can get regular playing time and it also shows it is easier to rebuild and develop players when the team isn’t having success.

From now until the end of the season, the Guardians have to find playing time for Jones, Benson, and Freeman, and find it in situations where they have a chance to succeed. That’s not easy.

On the other hand, when these guys do get in the lineup, they have a pressure to perform, and that’s good. While they are playing, they are learning how to win.

That’s what team sports is all about.

Early Or Not, Guardians Deserve A Chance To Compete

In the last week or so, we’ve read and heard some things about the Cleveland Guardians being ahead of schedule. These people are saying the front office felt like 2023 was the year they could contend for the post-season again.

Our guess is if these folks are in the know, meaning they have talked to high-ranking officials in the Cleveland front office, they are setting up supporters of the team for a disappointing trade deadline.

Look, the truth of the matter is the Guardians are a very young baseball team. Statistically, they are the youngest team in the majors, a half year younger than Pittsburgh among everyday players, and they have the youngest pitching staff in the big leagues, almost a year younger than the Tigers.

We are sure that president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will not and should not break up the Guardians’ young core, players like Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor, Triston McKenzie, and Emmanuel Clase. Those guys seem like the foundation for the next few seasons.

On the other hand, the fact is the Guards are sitting just a game out of first place and we are in late July. Future contention isn’t a given either. You don’t know about injuries, poor seasons, and like it or not, the way the ball bounces in a given year.

We are sure the Cleveland brass is looking at ways to help this year’s team. The organization still has a glut of middle infielders both at the big league and high minor league levels, and the last we checked, you can still only play one shortstop and one second baseman per game.

So eventually, the team has to make a decision about Amed Rosario, Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Brayan Rocchio. We have been on record in feeling Arias would be the first one of this group moved.

With Aaron Civale out until August, the Guardians could use another starting pitcher and another bullpen arm wouldn’t hurt, with Eli Morgan and Bryan Shaw leaking oil.

Right now, Cleveland might have Kirk McCarty starting Tuesday night at Fenway Park, which is a scary proposition, considering he’s allowed six homers in 12 innings at the Major League level this season.

Of course, that’s due to the rainouts, but the replacement for Civale is rookie Konnor Pilkington. The southpaw has been okay, but he’s hasn’t produced like the other starters.

There have been rumors about dealing DH Franmil Reyes, citing lack of conditioning or perhaps the willingness to get in better shape. More likely, the Guardians figure Josh Naylor can play more often if he’s not on his feet defensively, and Reyes’ increased strikeout rate this season has made it easier to put him on the bench.

Even though the Guardians are ahead of schedule, that doesn’t make it okay for the front office not to improve the club. Maybe they have benefited from being in a division without a great team, but here they are, right in the thick of it with less than 70 games to go.

And you can’t underestimate the boost it can give a team when they know the front office believes in it enough to add to the roster.

In 1995, Cleveland didn’t need to do anything at the deadline, they are ahead by 20 plus games, but GM John Hart traded for Ken Hill anyway. The players said it signaled the organization wasn’t satisfied with making the playoffs, they wanted the ring.

So, whether they are on schedule or not, the front office should be willing to give this 2022 edition of the Guardians a chance to compete for the post-season. You go for it when you have a shot.

Guards’ Offense, Record Sagging

A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Guardians were on a roll, and so was their offense. They had won 17 out of 21 games and there hitting ranked in the top three or four in the American League in runs scored.

Now the Guards are scuffling. They’ve lost 11 out of 15, and they have dropped to seventh in the league in runs scored at 4.29 per contest. Since an 11-10 victory over Minnesota at Target Field on June 22nd, Cleveland has scored just 39 runs in the 15 games played hence, an average of 2.6 per game.

That’s not going to win a lot of ballgames.

However, the team remains in the post-season race, although their only opportunity will likely be as the AL Central Division winner. And as of today, they are still just 4.5 games behind Minnesota.

Jose Ramirez is in a bit of a down cycle, hitting just .232 (13 for 56, 630 OPS) over the past 14 days, knocking in just one run.

But it’s not Ramirez that should be blamed, he’s basically carried the team since day one of the season.

The league average OPS is 699, and besides Ramirez, the only hitters way above that Terry Francona can put in the lineup everyday are Josh Naylor (842) and Andres Gimenez (834). And Naylor needs periodic rest for the leg he shattered last season, so there are days he is not available.

The Guardians really seem to miss rookie Oscar Gonzalez, who although he was slumping when he got hurt, had given them a spark. Even though he tailed off, he still has a 746 OPS with 14 extra base hits in 130 plate appearances.

The next two highest OPS figures among the everyday players are right at the league average. Steven Kwan, who has a .357 on base percentage, which is very good considering he is leading off, and Amed Rosario, who although he has been hot is still sitting with a 701 OPS.

Again, Rosario has a solid batting average at .276, but he doesn’t walk, in fact, pitchers seems to have to really work to walk him, he keeps swinging at pitches outside the zone, and he is slugging just ,383.

He only has 20 extra base hits for the year.

Franmil Reyes seems to be heating up, but he’s still has a 606 OPS, mostly because he’s walked just 12 times all season, but has fanned 80 times.

Although the Guardians have struck out the least number of times in the AL, they haven’t walked a lot, ranking just 10th in the league. The next step for the offense is learning the zone, perhaps players like Kwan will set an example.

Myles Straw in particular has stopped walking. He had drawn 27 walks through the end of May, but has taken just 11 free passes since. And he’s hitting just .122 in the last month. The offense is missing his on base capabilities.

Cleveland will hit the half way point of the schedule this weekend in Kansas City, so we can certainly say it’s not early anymore. And although they rid themselves of the swing and miss players like Bobby Bradley, Bradley Zimmer, and Yu Chang, there are still too many holes in the batting order.

How long before we see Nolan Jones and/or Tyler Freeman on the big league roster? You have the get more production from the hitting.

Guards Weathered The Storm, Now Back To The Division

After concluding a series at home against the Oakland A’s on June 12th, the Cleveland Guardians started what appeared to be a brutal stretch of games, starting with a nine game trip.

Through the end of June and going into the beginning of July, Terry Francona’s squad was going to play Minnesota eight times, and also have three game series against the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.

If this group of Guardians wasn’t up to being a contender, surely, we would see it during over that three weeks of contests.

Coming into the last of those games today, Cleveland has acquitted themselves very well, going 7-9 thus far.

They took two of three from the Los Angeles, and five of eight against the Twins. They were swept at home by Boston, but two of those games very good games, and the offense went ice cold for a week during this period, which didn’t help.

Following today’s game against the Yankees, the Guards go back into the division pretty much through the end of the month, with only series against Boston and Tampa at the end of July interrupting the Central Division battles.

Cleveland is currently 17-11 vs. the AL Central as of today. However, they have to maintain that kind of play going forward.

Through July 25th, when they arrive at Fenway Park, the Guards have a seven-game trip to Detroit and Kansas City, followed by a homestand that will take them into the All-Star break. They will play a pair of four game sets against the White Sox and Tigers, and then have another quartet of contests (including a doubleheader of course) in the Windy City.

If they continue to play well in the division, that will seem to ensure Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be buyers at the trade deadline. The division would certainly still be in play, with the Guardians, Twins, and White Sox vying for what might be one spot, as the division winner.

In reality, it probably doesn’t make a difference either way. The organization has a glut of young players currently on the 40-man roster, and really doesn’t have room for all of them.

Look at the infield for example. Andres Gimenez might wind up making the Midsummer Classic roster this year, so he should be in the team’s plans going forward. So, what does that mean for Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and even Owen Miller.

We have been on record as saying we believe Arias is the one to be moved and being called up this past weekend doesn’t do anything to make us feel differently.

We feel that way because Arias’ strikeout to walk ratio in the minors doesn’t seem to fit in with the current hitting philosophy of the organization. Plus, his recall is curious. He’s been injured for much of the season and was hitting under .200 for the year at AAA.

And the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, save for Emmanuel Clase, needs an upgrade. We’ve seen in the series against Boston and New York, there have been games where the starters have kept it close, but the bullpen allowed the game to get out of hand.

We understand the Guardians’ front office want players who will under control for a few years, so they won’t be looking for rentals. But if they can help this year’s team by giving up organizational depth, they almost have to do it.

They have a lot of baseball to play, but they’ve weathered a difficult part of the slate. With divisional games and some rest due to the All-Star break coming up, it’s not a stretch to think Cleveland will be in the thick of a post-season race.

Guards’ Roster Problems Aren’t Simple

It was a lost weekend for the Guardians, but they did have a chance to win two of the games against Boston, and let’s face it, the Red Sox are red hot right now.

There seems to be an ongoing discussion among Guards’ fans about the bottom of the team’s 26 man roster, but in looking closely at the situation, it’s not as easy as it seems to be.

From the position player standpoint, the last man on the bench (that’s not being pejorative, by the way) would seem to be Ernie Clement, who can probably play all four infield spots and has been used in left field by Terry Francona as well.

The problem would seem to be that Clement is being used as a platoon player, in the lineup whenever a southpaw is on the hill for the opposition. And it’s a problem because Clement doesn’t profile as this type of player.

In 98 career at bats vs. lefties, Clement has a .204 batting average and a 563 OPS. So, putting him in there instead of Andres Gimenez or Steven Kwan doesn’t really help you offensively.

However, even though the Guardians have a deep farm system, they really don’t have an alternative to Clement. Why? Because of his limited role as a utility man.

We are sure the front office want Tyler Freeman, Nolan Jones, and Gabriel Arias to play everyday at Columbus rather than getting sparing at bats at the big league level. And that makes total sense to us.

The only real solution we can think of is using Owen Miller more at 3B to give Jose Ramirez a day that he doesn’t have to play in the field. Francona could use Franmil Reyes in the outfield say, two days a week, therefore creating a chance to use either Ramirez or Josh Naylor at DH.

When Clement plays, he simply has to swing the bat better. He’s always been a patient hitter in the minors, with a 84/106 walk to strikeout ratio. In the bigs, he’s fanned 37 times against 14 walks. That would seem what he needs to do now in the majors.

The same roster problem exists with the last spot out of the bullpen. Since Nick Sandlin was sent down to find the strike zone (he hasn’t so far), the Guardians have used Anthony Castro, Yohan Ramirez, and Tanner Tully to try and protect the rest of the relief corps.

Tully was designated for assignment yesterday in favor of Ian Gibaut, who likely will get the same treatment today prior to the doubleheader.

The only other options currently on the 40 man roster are Kirk McCarty and Tobias Myers. McCarty didn’t fool anyone when he made a couple of brief appearance with Cleveland, and Myers isn’t pitching well at AAA.

The difference between this job opening and the utility spot is if a pitcher comes up and pitches well, he very well could stay on the roster for a while.

The point is sometimes it’s not as easy as just sending someone down, you also have to have someone ready to take that player’s role. And at times, especially for a bench player, you don’t want to use a prospect that needs to play.