A Week Away From Real Baseball For Guardians

It’s just a week away, baseball fans. We know the Dodgers and Padres are playing a series in Korea, but the real season gets underway a week from today, and the Guardians have a long trip to start the campaign as the construction at Progressive Field continues.

Steven Vogt’s squad are scheduled to play 10 games before arriving in Cleveland for the home opener. And some of the questions about the roster are beginning to take shape.

We have no inside sources on this and no hidden agendas, so this is just our opinion on how things are shaking out.

At shortstop, it appears Brayan Rocchio is taking the lead after struggling mightily at the beginning of exhibition play. The switch-hitter is starting to swing the bat well, up to .270 and he isn’t doing it against minor league pitchers.

His chief competition, Gabriel Arias, had the same problem that plagued him a year ago in the big leagues, lack of contact. Arias has hit just .167 (5 for 30) and has fanned nine times.

When Arias hits the ball, he hits it hard, but he just doesn’t do it often enough to be in the lineup every day.

The other hotly contested spot is centerfield, with incumbent Myles Straw, one of the game’s worst hitters last year vying for time with Estevan Florial, with Tyler Freeman trying to nose his way in the mix.

How the playing time gets divided is probably dependent on how much the organization believes Straw’s bat is fixed. Frankly, he hasn’t faced the quality of pitching the other two have, but he has gone 9 for 25 with three walks.

Florial’s spring training has been shocking and not in a good way. We knew he had a lot of swing and miss in his game, but in exhibition play, he has gone 6 for 40 with 19 strikeouts. Oh, and just one extra base hit and two walks. If we were the skipper, it would be very difficult to write his name in the lineup.

He’s out of options, so it is very likely he will make the trip to Oakland.

Freeman has faced the best pitching of the three and has hit .286 with a 783 OPS. We have been wanting to see him get every day playing time in the majors for a while now, because of his minor league pedigree.

He will be in the mix for sure, it will be interesting to see how Vogt will handle his at bats.

And lastly, will Deyvison De Los Santos make the team? He’s a rule 5 draft pick, so if he doesn’t make the big club, he has to be offered back to Arizona or work out a deal to keep him.

He’s a right-handed bat, which is in his favor. He’s picked it up a bit recently, and overall has gone 10 for 42 with a double and a home run. On the negative side, he has also whiffed nine times without drawing a walk.

Perhaps the Guardians already made this decision when they sent Kyle Manzardo back to the minors, despite him going 8 for 21 with four extra base hits. If they would’ve kept him, he would have been in the mix at 1B and DH, where De Los Santos can play the outfield and third base as well.

Not keeping Manzardo sends the wrong message to us. The organization traded a major league starting pitcher to get him and he played in AAA last year. He should have made the team unless his spring training was like say, Florial’s.

We all know why Manzardo isn’t with the big club, they are manipulating his service time instead of focusing on winning a division that is very winnable.

It’s another reason it is tough to be a Guardians’ fan sometimes.

Who Will Make Up Guardians’ Roster?

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.

Players Guardians Wanted To Look At Haven’t Shown Much To Date

During the winter and even right before spring training, the message from the Cleveland Guardians’ management was the reason they didn’t sign any veteran hitters was they wanted to look at the organization’s young talent, particularly in the outfield.

Yes, we know it is spring training, and not only that, it’s early in spring training, but it would not nice if a few of these prospects were showing something in the exhibition games.

You have to look at numbers during spring training games with a jaundiced eye. Observers need to be mindful of what pitchers the hitters are facing. Are they big league arms or guys who pitched in AA last year, and have a slim chance of making the squad that comes up north?

And again, it is still early. One of these hitters could go on a tear starting today and play their way onto the 26-man roster and perhaps into the starting lineup opening day in Oakland.

Looking at those young outfielders, none have flashed to date. Estevan Florial, acquired from the Yankees and mentioned more than a few times by Steven Vogt, is off to a miserable start, going just 1 for 13 with 8 strikeouts. He has walked twice.

Johnathan Rodriguez, who played at both AA and AAA last season, belting 29 home runs in total, has started 3 for 15 with one walk and has fanned four times. He has no extra base hits to date.

Jhonkensy Noel, kind of an all or nothing slugger who hit 27 dingers at Columbus in ’23, is 3 for 15 with seven punchouts. He does have two doubles however.

And rule five addition Deyvison De Los Santos, who has to be offered back to Arizona if he does not make the big-league roster, has started 3 for 15, but has only struck out three times.

Our favorite to win the shortstop job, Brayan Rocchio, coming off an excellent winter league season, is 1 for 12 with a walk, but has not struck out. His main competition, Gabriel Arias, who finished the year as the regular, is 3 for 11 and a walk, but has fanned four times, which is a problem for him.

The most impressive young players to date are three top 10 prospects, of which two have little chance to make the team.

The latter duo would be INF Angel Martinez, who has banged out 8 hits in 14 at bats with a walk and two strikeouts. The switch-hitter who will likely play at AAA this year has also pounded two doubles and two homers.

The other is OF Chase DeLauter, who has gone 4 for 8 with a HR in the big league games. The lefty hitter is the Guardians’ 2022 first round pick and will probably start the season at AA Akron.

The last of this trio should have a good shot to make the team, 1B/DH Kyle Manzardo. The left-handed hitter is 4 for 9 with two walks (three whiffs) and a double thus far. Manzardo spent last year at AAA, hitting 17 homers.

Add to this the Guardians traded a big-league starting pitcher to get him, and as we have said before, unless he’s overmatched in camp, he should be on the Opening Day roster.

Again, it’s early. But as the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Hopefully, these prospects can get it going sooner than later.

Non Money Moves Made Or Not Made By Guardians

We have talked about this a lot since the calendar turned to 2024, but it has been a very, very quiet off-season for the Cleveland Guardians. Outside of a few transactions around the time a team had to offer arbitration to its players, it seems like the construction around Progressive Field has closed the front office too.

We aren’t going to get into the financial stuff here, we have been well informed on the whole broadcast revenue with Bally Sports and how the Guardians have claimed it prevented them for spending this winter.

However, there are things we would have liked the organization to do this off-season which would not have caused a financial burden. Here are some things we wish they’d have taken care of:

Ease The Middle Infield Glut. If you have five shortstops do you have one? Once the exhibition games start, new skipper Steven Vogt will have to decide who will get the majority of the playing time in the middle infield, particularly at short.

We say that because the Guards seem loathe to move Andres Gimenez, who played 400 games in the minor leagues at shortstop to that spot in the big leagues. So, the primary candidates are Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio, with Tyler Freeman and Jose Tena on the outside.

They gave Arias a full shot at the job a year ago after Amed Rosario was traded, and he had a 643 OPS in the second half, batting .227. Rocchio had an outstanding winter league season, and frankly, we have felt he was regarded as the heir apparent to the spot by the organization.

We would give Rocchio the spot to start and see if the winter league carries over. The back up plan for us would be moving Gimenez to SS and seeing if Freeman can hit like he did in the minors with regular at bats.

Catching Reserve. Last season, the Guardians employed Cam Gallagher as the backup catcher all year, first behind Mike Zunino and then Bo Naylor. He received 143 at bats and hit .125 (322 OPS).

We dare you to find anyone worse with a bat in their hand. Early in the off-season, they claimed Christian Bethancourt from Tampa. He hit .225 but banged 11 homers and had a 635 OPS. Not Babe Ruth production but better than what Gallagher provided.

But then they let Bethancourt go and re-signed veteran Austin Hedges for a second go round with the Guards. Hedges is an excellent defensive catcher, but he can’t hit.

In 199 games with Cleveland, he has a .169 batting average and 502 OPS. We get he is a great clubhouse presence, but he can’t hit.

Have we mentioned the Guardians need hitting?

Find A Taker For Straw. Vogt and Chris Antonetti have both talked about giving the Guardians’ young outfielders an opportunity this year, but that may prove difficult because Myles Straw is still on the roster.

The problem for the Guards is Straw still has two years on his deal, worth an estimated $13.8 million. A second problem is as we said before, the Guardians need offense and Straw has been one of baseball’s worst hitters over the last two seasons.

We get that no one wants to take that contract unless it is included in a bigger deal, as many proposed in possible trades involving Shane Bieber. But the Guardians usual move is to play Straw because they owe him the cash. That’s the real problem.

And based on the Guardians’ history, if he is on the roster, they will feel obligated to put him in the lineup.

Can Guardians Manage Their Glut At Certain Spots?

The Cleveland Guardians have had problems making decisions on players, particularly their prospects. For example, before the 2022 season, Cleveland had four shortstops listed in their top 10 prospects: Tyler Freeman (#2), Brayan Rocchio (#4), Gabriel Arias (#5), and Angel Martinez (#10).

Two years later, what do we know about these four young players? The one with the most at-bats is Arias, who has 362 in his career. Martinez is still considered a prospect, ranking #6 in the 2024 rankings, but now is considered a second baseman.

We understand the philosophy of drafting shortstops. They are generally the best athletes on the field, and therefore you can move them to other positions. For example, Mickey Mantle was signed as a shortstop. Current Guardian broadcaster Rick Manning was drafted #2 overall as one.

Both eventually became outfielders.

On the other hand, in today’s baseball, top prospects are like currency, that is to say, they can lose value over time. Freeman as we noted was the club’s #2 prospect just two years ago. We doubt he would bring back much in a trade right now.

He’s become stale. He’s not putting up gaudy numbers in the minors, he spent all of 2023 in Cleveland, getting just 168 plate appearances.

By the way, we have said many times over the past couple of years is we believe ultimately, Rocchio will wind up being the everyday shortstop and his play this winter season (.377 batting average, 998 OPS) hopefully caught the eye of the decision makers in the front office.

Now, it looks like the same thing is happening in the outfield, where the team is collecting CF and RFs. New manager Steven Vogt has hinted the Guards would like to take a good luck at former Yankee prospect Estevan Florial, but where?

Myles Straw, who was arguably the worst offensive player in the game last season, is still on the roster, and they resigned Ramon Laureano, who had a 724 OPS with Cleveland after being claimed on waivers in August.

And they still have Will Brennan, as well as rookies Johnathan Rodriguez and seemingly perpetual prospect George Valera on the 40-man roster.

Also, their #5 prospect, Juan Brito is listed as a second baseman, but doesn’t profile well there defensively, and last season, we suggested a shift to the outfield.

Freeman has also been working in the outfield this winter, in an effort to get more at bats with the big club in 2024.

Remember the football adage if you have two quarterbacks, then you don’t really have one? The same is true for the Guardians. If you have four shortstops, do you really have one? If you have five CF/RF, do you have those positions covered?

Once again, it seems like the organization doesn’t want to make a mistake, so in their cautiousness, they also don’t make a decision. A sort of “paralysis by analysis” thing.

Frankly, any decision they make should be based on hitting first. That’s the area of need for the 2024 Guardians. Their offense bordered on woeful a year ago.

We say all the time, if you can’t hit, you can’t play. Over the past few years, there seems to be an overemphasis on the glove. We aren’t saying put a bunch of terrible defenders on the field, but you also don’t need a Gold Glove at every spot.

Hopefully, decisions will finally be made early this year, meaning spring training or early in the regular season. And even better, it would be nice if whatever is decided is the right move.

Have Guardians Mishandled Middle Infield Prospects

Following the 2021 season, the Cleveland Guardians had five prospects who were consensus top 100 players, and three were middle infielders: Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Gabriel Arias.

At that time, Cleveland had Amed Rosario as the starting shortstop and also had 22-year-old Andres Gimenez, the biggest piece the organization received in the Francisco Lindor trade. Gimenez hit .218 with 5 homers and 18 RBIs (633 OPS) in 188 at bats that season, so he hadn’t established himself as of yet.

Two years later, and the three highly rated prospects are still kind of in limbo.

Arias was given the starting shortstop job after Rosario was moved at this year’s trading deadline, after spending the first part of the year playing first base and right field.

Since assuming the position on August 1st, Arias has batted .218 (29 for 133) with 5 HR and 15 runs batted in, a 632 OPS.

Freeman has received sporadic playing time all year, hitting .240 with a 631 OPS, and Rocchio has spent most of the season in Columbus, hitting .284 with a 796 OPS, but in 70 plate appearances in the big leagues, he hit .242 with a 574 OPS, striking out 22 times.

The point here is not to criticize the players, but rather question the organization for kind of mangling the entire situation.

The purpose of having prospects is to keep the talent flow going through the organization or to use them to get players who are needed at the big-league level. And if you have someone blocking that player and you believe in them, you can move them to another position.

A good example is Jose Ramirez. Ramirez played primarily second base in the minor leagues, but when he was coming up the then Indians had Jason Kipnis, a solid player at his position. So, they moved Ramirez to third base, where he has become a perennial all-star.

So, with the situation for Cleveland after the ’21 season, a decision should have been made to either trade Rosario, making room for Arias, Freeman, or Rocchio, trade one or two of the trio, or moving them to another position.

You could say they tried the latter for Arias, and is his case, he also had some injuries during last year, but again, we are saying this decision should have been made prior to last season.

It is very likely that all three’s value has been diminished since the lack of decision after the 2021 season. They are no longer prospects, so now they are simply young players who have never proven anything at the major league level.

Rocchio might have the highest trade value right now, because he’s had a pretty solid year at AAA.

And compounding this situation is that the Guardians have Jose Tena, who is currently on the big-league roster and Juan Brito, who came over in the trade for Nolan Jones this off-season.

By the way, we have advocated for position changes for Freeman and Brito about a month ago.

It seems like the front office seems reticent to make a mistake, trading the wrong player. But you also have to strike while the iron is hot. We aren’t saying it is easy, but trading a prospect at the right time is an art.

However, what the Guardians have done is not taken advantage of the number of high prospect middle infielders they’ve had and converting them into players they could use.

Instead, they’ve become marginal big leaguers who they can’t find at bats for.

Much like telling a pitcher to “trust his stuff”, the Guardians’ front office needs to trust their judgment. Two years later, they still have a lot of middle infield prospects who are ranked highly.

Let’s see if they have learned from their mistake.

Talking About The Glut At 2B/SS For The Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have been collecting middle infield prospects for the past few seasons. They either signed or drafted Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, Jose Tena, Angel Martinez, and Milan Tolentino.

They traded for Andres Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, and Juan Brito. And this is all in the six or seven years.

Plus, they acquired Amed Rosario in the Francisco Lindor trade.

The theory is sound. Middle infielders are usually great athletes and in high school the best player is usually the shortstop unless he throws left-handed. Because they are great athletes, they are equipped to move around the diamond and play other positions.

For example, we have seen Cleveland move Arias to first base and to right field, when help was needed at both spots.

The problem for the organization is the last time we checked, you can only play two people in a game at the middle infield spots, one at second base and one at shortstop.

So, decisions have to be made, but so far, they haven’t.

After the trade of Rosario to Los Angeles, the Guardians called up Rocchio from AAA, giving them Arias, Rocchio, Freeman, as well as Gimenez, the starting second baseman, on the big league roster.

As we noted, they have used Arias at 1B and RF, and Rocchio has played third as well as shortstop, and Freeman has been used at 2B, SS, and 3B, the latter position usually manned by the team’s resident superstar, Jose Ramirez.

We believe the organization feels (again, opinion) Rocchio is the heir apparent at some point, perhaps next season. He’s probably the best mix or glove and bat.

So, that leads us to ask what should be done with the others? There is no question the Guardians need hitting. They rank 12th in the American League in runs scored.

Freeman, who just turned 24, can hit. He’s a .311 hitter in the minor leagues with a 813 OPS, and at AAA, he batted .289 with a 782 OPS. In the big leagues on a limited basis, he’s batted .267 in 181 plate appearances.

That may not be great, but outside of Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Steven Kwan, no one else on the current roster is doing it.

Why do we like him? To quote Peter Brand in “Moneyball”, he gets on base.

Brito, who will soon be 22 and he has shown to be a very good hitter in the minor leagues, batting .286 with an 877 OPS last season in the Rockies’ organization and batting .293 with an 847 OPS between Lake County and Akron this year.

Our question is why not find spots for these two to play? The Guardians have a gaping hole in the outfield, and they already tried Arias there, so why not Freeman and Brito?

Add in the organization’s philosophy of finding hitters who have good contact rates and teaching them to drive the ball. Both Freeman and Brito put the ball in play.

Robin Yount was an excellent SS who moved to CF later in his career. Rick Manning started as a SS and became a Gold Glove centerfielder. Why not start using Freeman out there to get his bat in the lineup.

As for Brito, we have read scouting reports that say he’s limited to 2B defensively, so why not start moving him to the outfield.

The minor league people will say the players lose value once you move them off the dirt, but are the Guardians trying to have the “most valuable” farm system, or is their goal to win games?

Besides, they have plenty of middle infielders capable of playing the positions at the AAA and AA levels.

Hopefully, when Freeman comes off the IL this week, his name is in the lineup on a daily basis. The organization needs to see if his bat can play at the major league level.

And if Brito is as good a hitter as scouts think, the Guardians need to figure out a way to find him a place to play in Cleveland.

Trading Civale? Unless More Moves Follow, Don’t Like It.

We don’t know what else is to come by 6 PM today, but it looks like the Cleveland Guardians’ front office has decided to kick the can down the road again.

They traded their most experienced starting pitcher, Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay for AAA first baseman Kyle Manzardo, who was the 60th ranked prospect according to Baseball America coming into this season.

Manzardo hit .327 between high A and AA last season with 22 homers and an OPS of 1043. This year, playing at AAA, his numbers aren’t so good, .238 with 11 dingers and an OPS of 783.

Here are the oddities to us. First, the Guardians’ second best hitter happens to play first base in Josh Naylor. Manzardo has never played the outfield in college or as a professional.

Second, the Guardians are down three starting pitchers to injuries and are relying on three rookies and they moved their best remaining veteran starter. Who replaces Civale in the rotation? That’s why another deal has to happen.

And lastly, hasn’t Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff learned about dealing with Tampa? We feel like we’ve seen this movie before, only the left-handed power hitting prospect was named Jake Bauer.

We understand that’s not fair to Manzardo, but it sure sent a shiver up our spine.

Are the Guardians a great team this season? No. But as we said to someone yesterday, you know what they call the person who finishes last in their class in medical school? That would be doctor.

Did people in 2006 think the St. Louis Cardinals, who finished 83-79, were going to win the World Series? How about the 1987 Minnesota Twins, who won the AL West with an 85-77 mark?

It’s a long shot for sure, but you cannot win the lottery unless you buy a ticket. No one thought the Guardians would get to game seven of the 2016 World Series with injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, but they did it.

So, on face, we don’t understand the move, nor do we want to hear any “big picture” stuff.

We just wrote on Sunday, the Guardians’ biggest weaknesses involved the bullpen and an offense that still ranks 12th in the American League in runs scored per game.

This deal did nothing to address either of those problem areas. It might help in 2024, but not now. And it is much easier to keep building for the future than it is to win now.

We are sure Civale’s injury history scares the front office and that is probably the biggest motivation to move him. They could have done that this winter.

We weren’t asking for Cleveland to trade players like Brayan Rocchio, George Valera, Juan Brito, or Chase DeLauter to get marginal big league players. They could get them with lower tier prospects and help this year’s team get to the playoffs.

Now, if the front office has some more deals and they can get a starting pitcher to replace Civale or maybe even get two guys to not only replace the traded pitcher and protect the young arms brought up this season, then fine.

Hope we see some more moves by tomorrow night at 6 PM. Because if the front office doesn’t improve the 2023 team by then, put up the sign at Progressive Field:

FREE BEER TOMORROW!

Is Rosario Trade The First Shoe To Drop?

The Cleveland Guardians took their first step in rebuilding their roster before the trade deadline when they dealt SS Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reportedly, the Guards are getting RHP Noah Syndergaard and cash in return.

Reports are Cleveland is not releasing the veteran right-hander.

Moving Rosario helps clear up some of the glut of middle infielders Cleveland has either at the big-league level or in the high minors.

When the Guards moved Francisco Lindor to the Mets, we said Andres Gimenez was the key to the trade because Rosario doesn’t walk much and doesn’t have much pop. He has to hit in the .280 range to have value, and he did that in his first two seasons here but dropped to .265 this year.

Add that to his poor defensive work at shortstop, and it was time for Cleveland to take a look at other options.

What didn’t or doesn’t help Rosario’s cause is he didn’t seem to either embrace or take to any position changes. He played 24 games combined in the outfield his first two years with the Guardians but didn’t appear to be comfortable. He could be a bigger asset to a team playing vs. lefties and being a “super utility” type player.

Terry Francona always referred to Rosario and Jose Ramirez setting the tone for the team in terms of playing hard and being aggressive on the basepaths, and that was invaluable to the young Guardians in 2022 and carried over this season.

Now, who moves into the SS role in Cleveland? Gabriel Arias is the best defender, but he hasn’t been able to hit (590 OPS, 52 strikeouts in 162 plate appearances). Brayan Rocchio is probably the future at the spot, and is hitting .295 (804 OPS) at Columbus.

However, we would like to see Tyler Freeman get the first shot there. Freeman would be an upgrade defensively, and in his limited appearances seems to be a better offensive player with a 723 OPS. Rosario’s OPS was 675.

It seems in the organization’s best interest to see what Freeman, a career .312 hitter in the minors (813) can do with everyday playing time.

Syndergaard has been terrible with the Dodgers, compiling a 7.16 ERA this season in 12 starts, allowing a whopping 71 hits and 12 long balls in 55.1 innings. He is currently on the 15 day injured list.

He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since June 7th when he allowed six runs in three innings at Cincinnati. So, don’t look for him to jump immediately into the Cleveland rotation.

It’s probably a little bit of we will make the deal if you take the balance of Syndergaard’s contract.

What the Guardians do get to do is have the opportunity to diagnose whatever problems he’s been having, perhaps it’s a mechanical issue. Last year, he was 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA in 135 innings between the Angels and Phillies. So, it’s not like he is far removed from being an effective starting pitcher.

Our guess is this isn’t the only move team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will make before Monday.

You also have to wonder if the front office made the move to eliminate the temptation to put him in the lineup on a daily basis.

Why Guards Aren’t Dealing Prospects

The Cleveland Guardians won the American League Central Division title last season, winning 92 games. The Cleveland Guardians also have one of the top five farm systems in baseball. Outside of trading Nolan Jones, who probably was no longer one of the system’s top ten prospects, and moving Owen Miller, who spent the entire season on the big-league roster, the Guards haven’t addressed the seeming glut of prospects about to hit Cleveland. It seems that many teams when in the situation the Guardians are in, like to package a number of prospects to get proven big-league talent. Think about what San Diego has done over the past few years. Unfortunately for the Padres, their excessive prospects are having success, but here in Cleveland. Let’s examine the top five prospects in the Guards’ system: pitchers Daniel Espino and Gavin Williams, catcher Bo Naylor, OF George Valera, and SS Brayan Rocchio. Espino, a right-hander and Cleveland’s first round pick in 2019, was injured much of last season throwing only 19 innings, albeit dominating one, fanning 35 hitters. Williams, another righty and also a first rounder in 2021, appears to be the definition of a horse at 6’6″ and 240 pounds. He pitched 115 innings at Lake County and Akron, with a 1.96 ERA and 149 punchouts. Now, the big-league situation comes into play. Shane Bieber, the ace of the staff, is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2024 season. After winning the division, the Guardians aren’t trading him this off-season, but with the dollars spent this winter, it isn’t a reach to see Bieber being moved next winter. It would seem Espino and Williams would be ready then. If Bieber agreed to an extension with the Guardians, maybe the front office would entertain a deal for their top two prospects. We wouldn’t unless the return was substantial. We would be surprised if Naylor opened the season on the big club, but we won’t be shocked if he’s getting regular playing time by the beginning of June. He is the catcher of the future. We feel the same about Rocchio being the shortstop of the future, the heir apparent to Amed Rosario. We believe the organization likes him better than Gabriel Arias or Tyler Freeman, who will likely battle in spring to see who is the reserve infielder. We have been hearing about Valera for years. A left-handed hitter, he has plus power, and has always shown patience at the plate. However, in 2021 between Lake County and Akron, he fanned 88 times with 66 walks. In ’22, with more at bats between Akron and Columbus, he whiffed 145 times with 74 walks. Not bad, but the ratio is much worse. That would make him the most likely candidate to be moved in a trade for big-league talent. The front office is gambling he will make adjustments and take some of the swing-and-miss out of his game, because if the ratio gets worse, so will his ranking as a prospect. Prospects #6 through #10 are: Pitchers Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee, SS Angel Martinez, OF Chase DeLauter, and OF Will Brennan. It’s more likely the Guards would trade someone from this list, but DeLauter hasn’t even played a professional game yet, and Brennan would seem to be insurance for the big club in the outfield. We are firmly NOT in the mindset that all prospects will turn out to be the next Mike Trout. We are just trying to explain what we think is the front office’s reasoning for not packaging a couple of these guys. How many players on the division winners have proven track records? It’s fewer than you think. Perhaps that’s why no deals as of yet.