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.

All Year, It’s Been Out With The Old, In With The New For Guards

There is a clear organizational philosophy change in terms of player development with the Cleveland Guardians. It’s been evident for much of the season, but fans were reminded of it again in the past few days.

Since the beginning of the year, the team has cut ties with several players who have been around for a long time, and maybe, just maybe, the lack of success those players have had in other places has emboldened the team to keep making these moves.

First, on Opening Day, the Guards traded Bradley Zimmer to Toronto, basically opening up a spot for Steven Kwan.

Zimmer has continued his struggles up north, going 8 for 71 with two homers, and 31 strikeouts against five walks for the season.

The next to go was Bobby Bradley, a power hitter with contact issues. Bradley went unclaimed after being designated for assignment and is currently playing at AAA Columbus, where he is hitting .186 with five dingers and a 632 OPS. His contact issues have continued in the minors as well.

Yu Chang might be the ultimate test because he went to Pittsburgh on waivers, went 7 for 42 there with a home run, was released and picked up by Tampa Bay, where to date he has gone 2 for 7, albeit with three strikeouts.

We say Tampa is the test case, because they have some kind of voodoo magic with players like Chang. If they can’t find a way to use him so he can be a productive big-league player, there isn’t an organization out there who can.

Oscar Mercado was DFA’d, claimed by the Phillies, suffered the same fate there, and came back to Cleveland.

On Friday, the Guardians brought up Nolan Jones, formerly their top prospect, but a player who fell down those lists after an injury plagued poor season last year.

He changed his stance over the winter and was hitting .311 with a 917 OPS at AAA when he was recalled, and in the four games he played at the major league level, he certainly made an impact, knocking in a run in his debut, homering on Saturday, and driving in two more runs last night.

Prior to last night’s contest, the organization decided to designate Mercado again in favor of 27-year-old Alex Call, who was having a good year at Columbus, hitting .281 with 11 homers, and his strikeout to walk ratio, once very high on the swing and miss side, was even.

His first year in the Cleveland organization, 2019, after coming over from the White Sox in a trade for Yonder Alonzo, he fanned 93 times at Akron against 22 walks.

Clearly, the organization has decided to stop looking at the same players over and over again and are willing to look at players who are succeeding in the highest level of the minor leagues.

We are sure part of this is based on having to make decisions on the 40-man roster this winter, but it is refreshing, nonetheless. With Oscar Gonzalez on the injured list, we are sure Call will get some at bats for the Guardians.

The more success players like Kwan, Gonzalez, and Jones have, the more confident the organization will be in giving more young players a chance.

Maybe, they will use the same theory in regard to the bullpen…

A Third Of The Way Through, Guards Holding Their Own

With the ninth inning comeback 3-2 win over Oakland on Friday night, the Cleveland Guardians reached the one third pole in their schedule, and currently sit at 28-26 on the year, a pace to win 84 games.

Considering the overall youth on the roster, that’s pretty good. The Guards do have a rough stretch coming up until the fourth of July hits, playing at Colorado, Dodger Stadium, and Minneapolis before coming home for series against the Twins, Red Sox and Yankees.

We will know a lot more about this team after that stretch. If they come out of it still above the breakeven mark, then it would be fair to consider Terry Francona’s club a legitimate post-season contender.

So, we shall see.

The biggest surprise for the Guardians has been their hitting, currently sitting third in the AL in runs scored per game, behind just the Yankees and Red Sox. We felt all off-season the front office needed to get one or two experienced hitters who can get on base, but instead, the Guards have decided to go with youth.

Gone are the high strikeout, low walk players like Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley. They have been replaced by rookies Steven Kwan (.366 on base percentage, 21 walks/13 strikeouts), Oscar Gonzalez (7 whiffs in 57 plate appearances), and Owen Miller, who had a fast start, but still has a 725 OPS.

By the way, Miller has six sacrifice flies this season to lead Cleveland. Last year, Jose Ramirez led the club for the full year with five.

Last year, Cleveland ranked 9th in the league in striking out, this season, they are dead last. They are walking more as well, going from 2.8 per game last season to 3.1 in 2022.

And it helps that they have the incomparable Jose Ramirez hitting in the #3 hole. If the Statues can stay in the playoff hunt all season long, the switch-hitter could get the league MVP award that has alluded him recently.

Ramirez has three top three finishes in the voting (3rd in 2017 and 2018, 2nd in 2020) and four top ten results (6th last year). With all those accolades, he is having his best year in ’22.

He leads baseball in RBIs, is 7th in the AL in OBP and 2nd in slugging. He is 4th in homers, seventh in doubles in the AL, and leads the league in triples.

We don’t want to short the pitching staff either. They’ve moved up to 4th in the league in team ERA. Shane Bieber has made 11 starts after missing a good portion of last year with the shoulder issue, and all but one has been very good.

Triston McKenzie has been prone to the gopher ball this season, he leads the staff allowing 11, but has allowed just 39 hits in 64 innings. And yes, you read that correctly. Cal Quantrill is solid, and hopefully Zach Plesac continues to get better.

They need Aaron Civale to be healthy and to be pitching like he has in the past.

Eli Morgan has been a huge surprise, emerging as a set-up man for closer Emmanuel Clase, who has all-star numbers. With all of the doubleheaders coming up because of the lovely northeast Ohio weather this spring, the depth of the starters will have to come into play.

It could fall on another rookie, Konnor Pilkington, to produce, but the big league club may need others to step up.

As we said before, we will know an awful lot more about this young Guardians group when the next summer holiday arrives. Hopefully, Francona’s club is ready for the upcoming task.

Guardians’ Roster Needs Trimming, They Have Plenty Of Choices

After today’s game in Oakland, the roster of the Cleveland Guardians must be reduced from 28 to 26, although there is no limit on the number of pitchers, and we all know how Terry Francona loves relief pitchers.

It doesn’t seem like it will be a difficult decision for the Guards’ front office to remove two players, as quite frankly, they have more than a couple of players on the current roster who could be replaced.

The Guardians currently have 14 pitchers on the roster and we don’t think that will change. They have Anthony Castro on a rehab assignment after being placed COVID list, and the question is will he be back when he is ready.

The man who replaced him, Enyel De Los Santos has looked good, and if he stays, room will have to be made on the 40 man roster. The logical move, if De Los Santos stays, is to put James Karinchak on the 60 day injured list, retroactively.

Or, the front office could bring Castro back, keep De Los Santos, and make a move with Logan Allen. The southpaw continues to struggle in most appearances. He has a 4.50 ERA, but has allowed 9 hits and 3 walks in six innings of work.

Among the everyday players, it would seem that Bobby Bradley is the odd man out. Bradley hasn’t had a huge opportunity this season, but he certainly hasn’t done much with the chance he has had, going 2 for 17 with nine strikeouts.

Bradley’s biggest problem might be his lack of versatility, he can only play 1B or DH. And Owen Miller and Josh Naylor seem to be better options at first.

Who is the other player to go? We doubt it will be Yu Chang right now. Chang is on a rehab assignment right now, so the club doesn’t have to make a decision on him right now.

Unless there is a IL move with Amed Rosario, it might be Ernie Clement who goes to Columbus. He’s hitting just .182 (8 for 44) and has just three walks. He made the opening day roster due to his versatility, but he’s played 2B, 3B, and LF primarily, and Terry Francona has plenty of options at each of those spots.

And it might help Clement to get every day playing time.

The roster has other problems right now.

Right now, Franmil Reyes, one of the three solid offensive players the Guardians had coming into the season, is unplayable. He’s 0 for his last 25, and isn’t hitting in tough luck, because he was fanned 17 times in that span. He leads the AL in striking out.

The other problem is starter Aaron Civale, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in the fifth inning of any of his four starts this season. He’s had some poor defense behind him for sure, but opposing hitters are also hitting .349 against him.

He’s made just four starts, so small sample size, but the Guardians have alternatives too, currently Eli Morgan, although he’s a candidate to get sent out at some point in time because he needs to get stretched out to be a starting option.

There’s also Konnor Pilkington, who is in the process of building up innings at Columbus after starting the year in the Cleveland bullpen.

Two players have to be off the roster before the Padres come to town on Tuesday. No doubt, the Guardians have plenty of choices to make as to who will no longer be on the roster when the Guards start their homestand.

Some Trends Developing For Guardians

As we found out, the COVID 19 virus is still very much among us and the Cleveland Guardians have had four players test positive. This has forced roster moves we are sure the organization didn’t want to make.

We figured to see Enyel De Los Santos sometime after the starting pitchers were sufficiently stretched out. The former Phillie and Pirate right-hander pitched well enough in spring training that is was a surprise he didn’t come north to start the regular season.

However, Kirk McCarty and Tanner Tully were not in the plans at least in April, but here they are because Cal Quantrill and Anthony Castro had to be put on the injured list.

Losing the red hot Owen Miller doesn’t help the batting attack either. Miller was 14 for 28 with seven extra base hits to start the season, and along with Jose Ramirez, was the best hitter Terry Francona put in the lineup.

While it is still early, there are trends from Francona in doling out playing time.

First, despite the talk about playing Amed Rosario some in left field in spring training, that appears to be dead. Rosario dropped a fly ball on a very windy opening day and apparently that was the end of that.

The problem is that Rosario is a below average shortstop defensively. Andres Gimenez is better and when Gabriel Arias was up yesterday, he’s also better. Both of those young players are playing second base while Rosario continues to play the most important defensive spot on the infield.

Very, very odd.

As for Gimenez, it seems the organization is viewing him as a platoon guy right now. He’s had two at bats vs. LHP so far, and when a southpaw starts for the opposition, the Guardians have used Yu Chang, Miller, Arias, and Ernie Clement at second.

He has hit when he’s played, going 5 for 17, although he has fanned four times without drawing a walk.

It could be that Francona is simply finding time for guys like Clement and Chang against a left-hander, but it seems odd to make a 23-year-old a platoon piece.

Something to watch over the next week or two is how the Guardians handle Bobby Bradley. The left-handed slugger already lost playing time to Miller when the latter got hot, and now with Josh Naylor back, how does the skipper find at bats for him?

Naylor has split his time thus far equally between first base and right field.

Maybe with Miller out, Bradley gets a shot at some playing time, but it looks like the organization already is sour on him because of his extreme swing and miss tendencies, something the management seems to be getting away from.

A player who is getting playing time regularly is Oscar Mercado, and he started out hot, belting three home runs. However, he’s just 9 for 39 overall, and has fanned 11 times without drawing a walk. Just how long is his new found power (six extra base hits) sustainable with that strike zone judgment.

He’s another who could lose time with Naylor back, and don’t forget, Oscar Gonzalez has started off hot in Columbus.

Plenty of these young players are getting opportunities with the big club right now. The guys who take advantage should get a long look at the beginning of this 2022 season.

Guardians Get Patient, Start Scoring.

What a turn around for the Cleveland Guardians, right?

That’s if you can use a two game sample size as the basis for any discussion, which of course a rational human being would not do.

Still, it is eye opening. After the first two games of the 2022 season, in which the Guardians played 19 innings and scored a lone run, Sunday’s game against the Royals featured Kansas City starting Kris Bubic, a left-hander.

Terry Francona gave Bobby Bradley the day off vs. the southpaw and curiously also gave Yu Chang the day off after the pair went 0 for 10 in games one and two with five strikeouts, four of them from Chang.

It was probably a coincidence on that day, but the Guards scored six in the first inning on their way to a 17-3 win, their first of the season.

They scored 10 runs the next two games as well.

It would not be fair to put the blame on the first two games on Bradley and Chang, and if you visit this site often, you know how we feel about both players as hitters. We were never fans of them, or really, anyone with bad strikeout to walk ratios.

However, in moving contact master Steven Kwan up to the #2 spot in the batting order, the first three hitters in the Cleveland lineup all make the opposing pitcher get the ball in the strike zone.

Leadoff man Myles Straw had the second best on base percentage on the squad last season, and the guy he trailed, Jose Ramirez hits third. It sets the tone in the first inning with this trio grinding out at bats and taking walks.

When Franmil Reyes starts hitting, he will no doubt have a boatload of RBI opportunities.

Another young player, Owen Miller has started the 2022 season like he did in AAA last season, that is to say, raking. He has fanned just twice on the season while compiling seven extra base hits (5 doubles and two home runs).

Amed Rosario has dropped into the #5 hole, not a traditional spot for a guy with little power, but he’s also putting the ball in play, fanning just once on the season.

And Ernie Clement hasn’t played much, but he’s walked twice and been hit by two pitches. He’s another guy with a contact profile in the minor leagues, despite striking out three times yesterday.

Some fans have speculated that Bradley and Chang’s future with the team is coming to an end, but we think it’s just about Tito going with the hot bats. It isn’t the organizations style to end a player’s tenure (especially ones that came up through the system) after a couple of games.

On the other hand, if this team keeps hitting, it will be hard for those two to get bigger opportunities.

Look, the first two teams the Guardians have played aren’t known for their pitching, so is the offensive explosion sustainable? That remains to be seen, and the next two series are against the Giants and White Sox, a step up in competition.

But the shift from all or nothing at bats by most of the batting order to a patient, put the ball in place approach seems like it should help score more runs, and that was a problem last year for Cleveland.

The first two series have spurred some interest in Cleveland baseball fans. That’s the best result.

Lots Of Young Players Need To Come Through For Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have had a curious off-season to be sure. They finished the 2021 season below the .500 mark at 80-82 but didn’t really make any moves to improve the major league roster.

They signed two free agents, catcher Luke Maile, who figures to back up Austin Hedges when he gets healthy, and also inked Bryan Shaw, who was on the roster last season.

Cleveland was 41-31 on June 24th and just two games out of first place after a 4-1 victory at Target Field against the Twins. However, by that point in time they had lost three members of the starting rotation to injury: Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac.

To that point in the season, Cleveland had 21 wins from that trio. They received eight victories the rest of the year, six of them by Plesac, and none from Bieber.

There should be some optimism from that. All three appear to be healthy heading into the season, and with the emergence of Cal Quantrill and the maturation of Triston McKenzie, the Guardians could have one of the best rotations in the sport.

The bullpen has a dominant closer in Emmanuel Clase, but very little other proven arms, save for Shaw.

In the regular season though, you have score runs to win, and therein lies the biggest question mark to the 2022 season. Can this team score enough runs to make a post-season push?

Cleveland ranked 9th in the American League in runs last season and 13th in the league in getting on base. They have a lot of players on the roster who make an awful lot of outs, and they did nothing this winter to address that.

So, the likely lineup that will start the season will feature players like Bradley Zimmer (career OBP of .310), Oscar Mercado (.296), Austin Hedges (.249), Amed Rosario (.307), and Bobby Bradley (.287).

There were players on the open market who could get on base, and young players like Steven Kwan and Richie Palacios have demonstrated the same ability in the minor leagues, but the organization decided to stand pat. Kwan did make the season opening roster, but we will see how much playing time he gets.

And by the way, talking about how close you came to making moves is meaningless. It’s the same as telling folks how close you came to winning the lottery. In the end, you didn’t get anything.

So, it doesn’t appear the Guardians have done anything to solve the problem other than hoping these guys get on base more often. That’s the Dusty Springfield (look her up) method: “Wishin’ and Hopin'”.

Once opposing pitchers get past the #3 hitter Jose Ramirez, and the clean up man, Franmil Reyes, there could be a lot of smooth sailing. Putting together a rally will be a stretch, there is a lot of feast or famine from #5 through #9.

Maybe Andres Gimenez will improve if he’s back to his regular position of shortstop. Maybe Yu Chang hits like he did the last two months (although his 69:11, K:BB ratio says otherwise). Maybe Owen Miller hits like his minor league numbers.

These aren’t things an organization should be basing their success on.

The Guardians are banking on several young players coming through this season. That sounds like a rebuilding team, not one interested in contending for a playoff spot.

Guardians Have To Be Better On Right Side On Infield

In reviewing the American League teams position by position using WAR (wins above replacement), the Cleveland Guardians worst spot was behind the plate. We understand the organization values defense first at catcher, but Austin Hedges’ and Roberto Perez’ offensive numbers are tough to take in.

The next two bad spots (according to Baseballreference.com) were the two spots on the right side of the infield, first base and second base. What are the current prospects for each position heading into the off-season.

First Base. Cleveland opened the season with a platoon of Jake Bauers and Yu Chang at the spot, but Bauers hit just .190 in 100 at bats (557 OPS), so the organization turned to Bobby Bradley to replace him in early June.

The left-handed hitting slugger started out like a house afire, getting 11 hits in his first 25 at bats (.440) with three homers and striking out just four times. No one expected him to keep that pace up, but after that stretch, Bradley hit just .182 in 220 at bats, fanning 95 times.

Chang was horrendous in the first half, batting .176 (498 OPS) before the All Star break, but rebounded in the second half and hit .271 (857 OPS) with seven homers. Is that sustainable? Even in the hot second half, Chang still had a poor strikeout/walk ratio, fanning 39 times with just six walks.

What happens when pitchers figure out they don’t need to throw Chang a strike to get him out?

If the organization goes out and gets some outfielders who can hit, it would also bring Josh Naylor into play. Naylor had a 700 OPS this past season in 250 plate appearances, but hit .287 with an 805 OPS vs. right-handed pitching.

Our vote would be to move on from Bradley. Sure, the power is enticing, but he doesn’t give you much when he’s not hitting home runs, and certainly consistency is a big key.

Moving Naylor to first would help the outfield defense, and we believe in the long run, he will be the better all around hitter. Naylor does need to do better vs. southpaws, as a career .237 and 608 OPS won’t cut it if he wants to hold down an everyday spot.

Second Base Cleveland started with Cesar Hernandez at the position, but when he was moved at the trade deadline, a combination of Owen Miller, Chang, Andres Gimenez, and Ernie Clement manned the position.

There is a lot to sort out here, especially involving Gimenez, who came over to the team in the Francisco Lindor deal.

First, what are the Guardians going to do with Amed Rosario, who had a solid season (.282 BA, but just 731 OPS) at the plate, but whose defense at shortstop is below par. If the organization decided it can’t live with his glove there, does he also become a candidate at second?

Gimenez did hit .245 (702 OPS) after his recall when Hernandez was dealt, but does he give you enough with the bat? By the way, he did walk more after his recall.

Miller came up in May after scorching AAA at an almost .400 clip early in the season, but struggled mightily once he arrived, swinging at everything. He hit .162 (449 OPS) in the first half. After the break, he was better, batting .250 (659 OPS) in 100 plate appearances.

With Miller, we lean on the minor league pedigree. He is a .303 (818 OPS) hitter in three minor league seasons. The hit tool is there, but can he relax enough at the big league level to approach that level in The Show?

And to us, Clement has the look of a solid utility man.

You also have the specter of Gabriel Arias, who hit .284 (802 OPS) with 13 homers at AAA this season. Arias’ issue? 110 strikeouts vs. 39 walks at Columbus. He’ll be just 22 next season, so is there a need to rush him?

Our thought would be to give Miller the first look based on his minor league numbers. That is, of course, unless Rosario slides over to second base because the Guardians feel they have a better option as SS.

Improving at these two spots will be important for Cleveland going into 2022.

A better right side of the infield is definitely needed.

Cleveland Baseball Has Big Chore In Improving Offense This Winter

The Cleveland baseball team ended it’s season on Sunday, just missing a non-losing season at 80-82, their first non-winning season since 2012, when they finished 68-94 and Manny Acta lost his job.

They finished 13 games out of first in the AL Central, and 12 games out of a wild card spot, but despite almost breaking even this year, hopefully the ownership and front office realize there is a lot to fix if they want to be in the hunt for a playoff spot in 2022.

There are a lot of weaknesses on this ballclub that need to be addressed. According to Baseballreference.com, the Guardians have the worst catching in the American League, the second worst play out of their first basemen, and the fourth worst second base play.

Looking at the division winning White Sox, they have no positions ranking last or second to last in terms of value. NOTE: This is using WAR.

No doubt this organization values defense and handling a pitching staff at the catching position, but Austin Hedges and Roberto Perez were pretty much useless with a bat in their hands this season.

Hedges hit 30 points higher than Perez (.178 vs. .149) but still had a lower OPS (527 vs. 564) because he simply refuses to walk. It is doubtful (to us) that both will return in ’22, and our guess is that Hedges will be the regular. He is younger and makes less money.

Cleveland simply needs to get more offense out of the position going forward.

At first base, while Bobby Bradley looks like Ted Williams compared to Jake Bauers, especially in the power department, the fact remains, the Guardians need more offense out of the position. Bradley did slug 16 home runs, but by and large is an out maker, with an on base percentage of just .294.

He also still has severe contact issues, fanning 99 times in 279 plate appearances.

We are a little bit more optimistic at second, because we think Owen Miller’s minor league hitting prowess will translate. That said, it didn’t in the second half, but he did hit .236 (638 OPS) in the second half.

If we were in charge, he would get the first shot at the everyday job in spring training.

This team also needs guys who can get on base, and by this we mean not “out makers”. The only measurement of baseball is the number of outs, and Cleveland has a lot of players who make a lot of outs.

It is not a surprise that the top five teams in runs scored in the AL all rank in the top six in the league in on base percentage. We understand you need extra base hits too, to get those runners home, but the Indians/Guardians/Tribe has one player that gets on base more than 35% of the time: Jose Ramirez. Myles Straw fell just short at .349.

And there are not many who avoid making outs in more than 70% of the plate appearances either. The next closest player to Straw is the strikeout prone, hit by pitch king Bradley Zimmer at .325, followed by Franmil Reyes at .324, and then Amed Rosario, who finished at .321, despite a .282 batting average.

By the way, that’s tough to do.

We talked about catcher, 1B, and 2B, but in reality, Cleveland should be satisfied only with Ramirez, Reyes, and Straw. They should be looking for an upgrade at every other spot.

That’s a tall task for the front office.

You win with pitching, but you have to score runs to get to the post-season. Four of the playoff teams in the American League rank in the top five in the league in runs scored.

Cleveland has to improve their offense next season. Hopefully, the front office isn’t fooled by some brief glimpses of hope by certain players in the last two months of the 2021 season.

Is The Tribe Finding Out About Anyone?

Since the Major League Baseball trading deadline on July 30th, the Cleveland Indians have been focusing more on the 2022 season than on securing a post-season berth. But six weeks into the process, have they learned anything that will help them?

The Tribe has used a revolving door at second base, in both corner outfield spots, and in the bullpen. We feel they know they have a leadoff man and centerfielder in Myles Straw, but do they know anything more about the players they have been running in and out of the lineup.

First, let’s discuss Straw, who has played 39 games with Cleveland, getting on base 37.5% of the time, stealing 10 bases, and playing tremendous defense in center. Straw plays shallow, which we love, because he has a tremendous ability to go back on the ball.

At the other spots, though, do we know any more than we did before the end of July.

In the outfield, Bradley Zimmer had a nice hot streak where he belted some long home runs, but in the last 28 days, he’s hit .203 with a 613 OPS and just two homers. Perhaps the front office has finally learned he isn’t a part of the future, but if that’s true, then why not get more of a look at Daniel Johnson, who has had just 42 at bats since the All Star Game.

Oscar Mercado? He’s gone 22 for 97 since the trade deadline, with 3 home runs. He’s improved his strikeout/walk ratio but he’s still not getting enough hits. On the other hand, he’s only had 96 at bats, so is that enough to make a judgment on him?

At second base, the Indians has used a mixture of Owen Miller, Andres Gimenez, Yu Chang, and when he was here, Ernie Clement at the position, and to date Chang has been the hottest hitter, and seems to have received the least amount of at bats.

Perhaps that shows what the organization thinks of the 25-year-old infielder, who over the last month has gone 14 for 49 (.286) with four home runs.

Miller has gone 16 for 61 (.262) with two dingers, and Gimenez is 14 for 67 (.209) since the deadline.

The bigger question is does a 70 at bat stretch give you any insight as to who should the organization thinks can help the Guardians next season? Or will the team go through the process of being unsure in spring training and then into April and May about who can play everyday?

Wouldn’t it have been better to just say, Miller will play second base after the Cesar Hernandez deal, and given him 150-200 at bats to see if he’s the answer there? Or just play Zimmer or Mercado everyday to find out if either is a viable everyday player in the bigs?

To us, this is a major flaw for the front office, they are afraid to trust their judgment and possibly make a mistake. We are called this the “Aguilar Syndrome”, named after Jesus Aguilar, who received 58 at bats in three seasons for Cleveland, and then went on to have solid career (a 30 HR season, and likely his second 100 RBI season this year) for Milwaukee and Miami.

That should be a regret, but a player like Gio Urshela, who had over 400 at bats with the Tribe and hit .225 should not.

The Indians could have used the last two months to pick two or three players and make firm evaluations. Instead, they went with the revolving door method to give everyone a chance. Do they know any more about any of these players?

Maybe Zimmer, who is going to be 29. But we fear not anyone else.