What Guardians Should Do With The Rest Of The Games.

The Cleveland Guardians’ struggles since the All-Star break, they’ve gone 9-18, makes it pretty clear to most fans that it is time to look toward 2027 (or maybe 2028). We say that because it would not be a shock if labor issues caused Major League Baseball not to be played next year.

It remains to be seen how long the organization continues to look at salvaging this season, because the players and Steven Vogt will want to keep trying to win games until they are mathematically eliminated, which with the three wild card spots available, may not occur until mid-September.

However, among those who don’t kid themselves on a daily basis, it is time to look towards the next season, and what moves should be made with that in mind.

The Guardians made a move yesterday, bringing back southpaw Logan Allen, most likely because the relief corps has been used a lot and the pitcher he replaced, Franco Aleman, pitched in the last two games and wouldn’t have been available.

One thing we would like to see is playing Angel Genao at shortstop. The 22-year-old switch-hitter looks very mature at the plate, starting his big-league career with a four hit game, and overall has gone 10 for 34 with a home run and just three strikeouts to date. He uses the whole field, which is a good sign, but it is time for him to get an extended look at his natural position.

We like Brayan Rocchio, and we understand that this move is not fair to him, but that’s baseball. Does Rocchio fit in as a utility man next year or can he be used as trade bait? He’s shown he’s more than capable defensively, but he’s blocked at second base unless Travis Bazzana changes positions.

And that might be on the table. We wouldn’t be shocked if the former first overall draft pick went back to the minors where a transition might be started. Since June 1st, Bazzana has hit just .208 with 60 strikeouts in 256 plate appearances. He seems very susceptible to the high fastball. He just can’t lay off.

Somehow, the Guardians need to get another look at Cooper Ingle, who is terrorizing the International League with an OPS of 999. Yes, we know what he looked like in his brief time with the big club, but he only had 24 plate appearances.

At AAA, he’s batting .306 with 18 homers and has drawn 63 walks. Where to play him might be an issue because the organization obviously doesn’t view him as a catcher, and he struggled in LF in the bigs. However, he could get some at bats at DH, since the Guardians seem to need guys who can hit.

It’s also probably time to see more of Daniel Espino, who has had control issues at AAA (20 walks in 30 innings), but he’s stuck out 39 hitters and has electric stuff. We would also bring Aleman back as soon as possible.

The Allen recall also made us think that Parker Messick’s innings should be limited the rest of the way. He’s already pitched more innings than ever in his career, and with the team falling out of it, there is no reason to overextend him.

These are just a couple of things to do as the season winds down. And if the Guardians go on a winning streak, that’s great. We just don’t see that taking place.

Moving Quantrill Is Odd, Getting Barlow Is Good

Former Guardians’ manager Terry Francona, and yes, it’s weird to write that, used to say that when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more. Apparently, Cleveland is no subscribing to that adage with one of their first off-season moves.

In order to add rookies Daniel Espino and Cade Smith to the 40-man roster, the Guardians designated Cal Quantrill for assignment.

Quantrill will likely never be in the conversation for a Cy Young Award, but he is a reliable starting pitcher.

The Guards received minor league catcher Kody Huff from Colorado, he played in A ball last season. Team president Chris Antonetti said the Guardians didn’t think Quantrill was worth the likely $6 million he would receive in arbitration, and in a vacuum, he’s probably right.

However, sometimes there is hidden value. With Shane Bieber (who may be traded) and Triston McKenzie coming off injuries, if they aren’t ready, the starting rotation right now looks like Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, and a mixture of Hunter Gaddis, rookie Joey Cantillo, Xzavion Curry, and perhaps Cody Morris.

That would be three second-year starters, who have no proven track record in the bigs, and a bunch of arms without a track record in the majors.

Wouldn’t Quantrill, a proven big-league starter have some value to Cleveland? He has made 94 big league starts, pitching to a 4.06 ERA in those outings.

If you were a contending club, or one who says they are, you would want pitchers who you know can give you a decent outing. And as much as we like Bibee, Williams, and Allen, we don’t know if they will pitch as well in 2024.

So, if we were Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, we’d be looking for an established starting pitcher. Our philosophy as a GM would be to guard against things as best you can if things go wrong. With the injuries to Bieber and McKenzie, and depending on second-year players, we think a lot could go wrong.

Cleveland did make another trade on Friday, getting reliever Scott Barlow from San Diego for Enyel De Los Santos.

De Los Santos had two solid years here, pitching in 120 games with a 3.18 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 119 innings, but seemed more comfortable in a sixth or seventh inning role. His ERA is almost a run higher in the 8th than in the 7th in his career.

Barlow has closing experience, saving 53 games with the Royals from 2021 to 2023, including 13 last year before being dealt to the Padres. He’s also a strikeout pitcher, fanning 393 hitters in 332 innings for his career.

He should give Emmanuel Clase some relief at times, because he seemed to be the only reliable alternative the team had in ’23.

And he would also seem to move Trevor Stephan, who struggled mightily in the second half last year into more of a 7th inning role.

The Guardians also signed Ramon Laureano to a one-year deal, after he hit .243/.342/.382/724 after being released by Oakland. He also has a career 791 OPS vs. lefties since coming to the major leagues.

They paid Laureano a reported $5.1 million next year, and that makes us wonder about Myles Straw’s future. Laureano can play CF and RF, and is a good defensive outfielder. It’s hard to see Cleveland paying Straw $4.9 million (and it escalates in ’25 and ’26) and Laureano.

Just something to keep an eye on and the hot stove season moves on.

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.