Guards Need Bullpen To Be Reliable Now

Lies, damn lies, and statistics. That’s the story of the Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen this season.

On first glance, the Guardians bullpen has good numbers. They rank 6th in the major leagues in ERA at 3.60. They haven’t thrown a ton of innings either, despite claims they have been overworked.

They are 23rd in innings pitched, but even though it seems they’ve allowed a ton of homers this season, they rank 24th in that category.

Now, we understand that teams using “openers” skew numbers a bit.

However, since July 1st it has been a different story. Let’s look at the statistics since that date–

Sam Hentges: 12.1 IP, 13 ER, 9.49 ERA, 5 BB, 13 SO
Eli Morgan: 15.2 IP, 11 ER, 6.32 ERA, 9 BB, 20 SO
Nick Sandlin: 15.1 IP, 8 ER, 4.70 ERA, 6 BB, 22Ks, and 4 home runs allowed
Enyel De Los Santos: 17.1 IP, 6 ER, 3.12 ERA, 6 BB, 16 Ks
Trevor Stephan: 17.1 IP, 7 ER, 3.63 ERA, 4 BB, 17Ks
Emmanuel Clase: 15.2 IP, 8 ER, 4.60 ERA, 3 BB, 16 Ks

De Los Santos has been the best of the group, but he has had two appearances since the first of August where he gave up two runs each.

Stephan’s numbers are pretty good, but he hasn’t been the same guy he was last season when he fanned 82 hitters in 63.2 innings. This year, those numbers are down to 56 punch outs in 52.1 frames.

And if Earl Weaver were still around, Stephan would likely be the new “full pack”, the terms he used to describe reliever Don Stanhouse, who seemed always to be in trouble. Stephan falls behind hitters too often and seems to be working out of trouble constantly.

Until Saturday’s meltdown in Toronto, Clase has been pretty good, although not the dominant pitcher he was a year ago. Before that, he had a 2.10 ERA in 25.2 innings with 30 strikeouts.

Overall though, his number aren’t what they were a year ago. He allowed just 43 hits in 72.2 innings. This season, he’s already given up 52 hits in just 54.1 frames.

One of our tenets of relief pitching is they can’t give up walks and they have to keep the ball in the park.

In the numbers listed above, Morgan and Sandlin have allowed the most walks and Sandlin has the double whammy of not being able to keep the ball in the yard.

During this season, Guardians’ relievers have seemed prone to the home run. Here are the leaders–

Sandlin 8
Stephan 6
Morgan 6
Karinchak 6

Which is why we like Clase in the closer role besides his 100 MPH cutter. He’s allowed just 2 home runs and has only walked 13 hitters.

The walk/home run combo is probably why the Guards haven’t tried Morgan as a late inning reliever, preferring to keep him in the 6th or 7th innings. Same for Sandlin.

Hentges has been the disappointment because the lefty has dominant stuff. He had an ERA of 2.91 after his appearance against the Cubs, when he came in a struck out two in a 1-2-3 10th inning.

He then gave up seven runs in the next three appearances, covering 1.2 innings, and later in the month had a two-game implosion giving up six runs in an inning and a third.

He’s been better lately and the Guardians need him to be.

There is no doubt the Guardians need better hitting, but without a good bullpen, the great job by the starting pitchers goes to waste way too many times.

Some Things We Would Like To See In Second Half For Guardians

Baseball’s All Star break is upon us, and the Cleveland Guardians somehow go into their mini-vacation (except for Jose Ramirez) with a half game lead in the American League Central Division despite a .500 record.

To be fair, since they fell to their low point of the season on May24th at 21-28, the Guardians have gone 24-17 and not all of the games were against the A’s and Royals.

The offense has improved a bit, moving up to 12th in the league in runs scored per game, and the pitching is still 6th in the AL in ERA, despite having three rookies in the rotation for much of the year.

One problem for the Guardians is that the Twins have an easier schedule the rest of the way, but Cleveland has played better than Minnesota in games vs. teams above the .500 mark, going 17-20, while the Twins are just 21-28.

So, maybe the tougher slate isn’t the disadvantage it seems to be.

After all that, here are some things we would like to see for the Guardians in the second half (besides a long winning streak that would salt away another division title):

More playing time for Tyler Freeman. Freeman had 72 plate appearances in the first half, collecting 20 hits for a batting average of .308 and an on base average of .352. We understand that Terry Francona feels incumbent shortstop Amed Rosario is a culture setter, but why can’t Freeman be as well?

It was only a few weeks ago that Freeman went from first to third on the wild pitch, so he’s seems to be an aggressive baserunner like Rosario. And he might be a better hitter and a better glove. It feels like the organization needs to find a way to pencil him in the batting order more often.

Flexibility With Myles Straw. We aren’t going to bash Straw here. He’s a tremendous defensive centerfielder, perhaps the best currently in the sport. But both the organization and Straw himself both have to make some changes.

When the Guardians take the field Friday night in Texas, they will be just a few days shy of the last stolen base for a player who swiped 30 bags in 2021 and 21 bases a year ago being two months ago. He simply has to run more often. He has great wheels.

And the organization has to change and stop letting him hit in situation with the game on the line and other options available. Do they think they will hurt the centerfielder’s feelings if the pinch hit for him?

There have been at least three games this year where the highest leverage at bat in the game was taken by Straw, who has an OPS under 600 over the last two years. That shouldn’t happen.

Figure Out The 8th. For all of the hand wringing around Emmanuel Clase, who is second in the AL in saves and has allowed just two homers on the season, the biggest problem for the Cleveland relief corps in the 8th.

The latest problem was Saturday, when a three run lead was a great relay away from being coughed up by Sam Hentges and Enyel De Los Santos.

The two relievers who started the year primarily in that role were Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak, and both gave up six homers. Stephan still in used in the 8th and is still falling behind a lot of hitters.

Hentges rescued Clase in the Cubs’ series and we felt he was poised to take over the 8th, but he’s allowed four runs in his last 1.2 frames. Maybe go back to De Los Santos more often? Eli Morgan has been pretty good, but he’s prone to the long ball.

The bullpen has to get back to the point where having a lead after seven means the game is in the bag. That will be a big factor if the Guards want to go on a hot streak in the second half this year.

Guardians Can’t Get Traction, And Know When To Question Tito

Treading water. Two steps forward, one step back. Stagnant.

These are all words that can be used to describe the Cleveland Guardians’ season to date. They are 28-33 after 61 games, and almost half of their games have been decided by one run, 29 of them, and they are 12-17.

By the way, winning one run games is pretty much luck. Bad teams can do well in them. The Kansas City Royals are 18-43 for the season. They are 7-6 in one run games. The Oakland A’s are 8-11 in these contests, and they are 13-50.

Sixty games into the season, and the Guards haven’t swept a series, and they’ve only been swept in a series once, that by the New York Mets.

Because of all of the close games, the decisions made by Terry Francona become magnified by fans, and most of the second guessing comes from emotion. Never forget that the word “fan” is derived from fanatic.

And we understand the frustration. We have said many, many times that Francona is not infallible, he makes mistakes. All managers do, but we don’t watch every game of other teams, so people don’t see the mistakes.

When a team’s bullpen isn’t going well, particularly the back end of it, the failures get magnified. While Emmanuel Clase hasn’t been as dominant as last year, he still leads the league in saves, and he’s only allowed one home run and walked just seven batters.

Getting to Clase has been the issue. The two primary set up men starting the year, James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan, have been prone to the long ball, and giving up dingers turn around games in a hurry. Enyel De Los Santos has been getting the job done, but he coughed up a lead on in the opener vs. Boston.

So, what does the skipper do? Our guess is he will go back to Karinchak and Stephan, with some Sam Hentges mixed in. We’ll see how that works out.

To us, the more concerning thing is the continued playing of guys who simply aren’t producing. We understand it’s a long season, but 61 games have been played, and while we are not saying to release anyone, the continuation of writing their names in the lineup every day is an organizational problem.

The Guardians’ best position playing prospect is Bo Naylor, and he is playing at the highest level of the minor leagues. The current Cleveland catchers rank last in the American League in WAR (wins above replacement player).

Is the organization really telling us Naylor couldn’t help the big league club? We have noted that Naylor has walked 46 times at Columbus. Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher have combined to walk 16 times. At the very least, Naylor would make less outs than the catchers in Cleveland.

The second lowest rank in WAR among positions is shortstop. The Guardians’ roster and minor league system are loaded with highly ranked middle infielders. Do the Guards need to play Amed Rosario each night or could we look at possible alternatives that possibly could do better.

If you want to question Francona or the front office about something, these latter two issues would be better things to complain about.

Keep in mind though, that usually their patience gets rewarded, like the use of Josh Naylor vs. left-handed pitching.

The easiest thing to second guess is bullpen usage, because if the pitcher who comes in doesn’t do their job, the Guardians lose. The problem is everything is magnified because the offense hasn’t been doing its job and every other game is decided by one run.

Guardians Failing In All Aspects Right Now

The Cleveland Guardians are close to reaching the 1/3rd point of the season, so claims that it is “still early” are ringing hollow. Right now, there are more negatives about certain facets of the ballclub than positives.

The offense has been abysmal, ranking last in the American League in runs scored, behind even to woeful Oakland A’s, and a quarter run per game behind the next lowest squad the Detroit Tigers.

The league average OPS is 721 and the Guards have exactly one player above average, their perennial all-star Jose Ramirez. The players who rank behind Ramirez(804) are Steven Kwan (678) and Josh Naylor (670).

That is, of course, unless you count Tyler Freeman in his 20 plate appearances. Freeman sits at 771 in a very, very small sample size.

As a team the Guardians are last in OPS and slugging percentage and are 13th in on base percentage. It doesn’t take a genius to tell anyone that if you don’t get players on base and once they are on, you cannot move them, you are going to have a problem scoring runs.

They pride themselves on making contact, but too often they aren’t very patient at the plate. Last night, Will Brennan’s first plate appearance involved Cardinals’ pitcher John Flaherty making five pitches to get him out, and not one was a strike.

The pitching staff is respectable, ranking 7th in the AL in staff ERA, but the bullpen has been a big issue as of late, and the signs tell us Terry Francona is losing a bit of faith in his relief corps.

Last Sunday, he allowed Shane Bieber to go the distance in spite of having a jam in the bottom of the 8th inning. Bieber also stayed in perhaps one hitter too long Friday, walking an extra hitter, before Trevor Stephan came on.

Stephan had to be relieved in the bottom of the 8th after getting into trouble, but thankfully, Enyel De Los Santos got a double play grounder.

James Karinchak has walked 16 in just 21.1 innings. So, he can’t be used in a close game unless there is absolutely no other option.

Closer Emmanuel Clase leads the league in saves with 17, and also he’s not walking people (5 in 25 IP) and not giving up the long ball (just 1 HR allowed), his strikeouts are down (18) and the balls put in play are finding holes.

Cleveland relievers are giving up the long ball in bunches, and last weekend’s series in New York was a microcosm, as home runs allowed changed the course of two games.

There is an old baseball axiom the says, you show me a bad bullpen and I will show you a bad team.

The defense also hasn’t been up to par. Amed Rosario has messed up some routine plays and the wild pitch epidemic continues, the Guardians were 11th in this category a year ago, and sixth this year.

And in trying to create time for Gabriel Arias, he’s playing rightfield and let’s just say the inexperience shows every so often.

Also, because the hitters cannot get on base, Cleveland cannot use the running game. The Guardians had two stolen bases twelve times in their first 27 games. In the last 23 contests, they’ve done it just once.

Right now, the Guardians are lacking in every aspect of the game. Yet, they are still just 4.5 games out of the division lead. We are getting to the point in the season where patience and stubbornness is becoming one.

Close Games Equals More Burden On Guardians’ Bullpen

The Cleveland Guardians have played 36 games this season and a whopping 22 of them have been decided by two runs or less.

Cleveland is 8-9 in games decided by a single tally, and 5-2 in those decided by a couple of runs. Overall, the Guardians are 13-11 in these games and 4-8 in the other contests.

First, all of these close games are going to give a collective ulcer to the die-hard fans of the team.

Second, playing this many close games means it will be interesting to see what kind of toll it will take on the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen.

We know that Terry Francona has sort of the “caste system” for his relief pitchers. When the Guards are in the lead, he prefers to use James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, and now that he is back, Sam Hentges to set up closer Emmanuel Clase.

He uses Eli Morgan with a lead if one of the above needs a day off. He will use Nick Sandlin and/or Enyel De Los Santos after that group. That’s his current arrangement.

But in checking the American League leaders in appearances, you will see that Clase leads the league pitching in 20 of Cleveland’s 36 games and Karinchak is tied for second at 19.

Stephan is 21st appearing in 16 contests.

With the Guardians treading just below the .500 mark early in the season, we understand their need to put as many games in the win column as they can, so Francona wants to use his best guys, and maybe the best closer in the league to lock down a W.

And despite Clase’s “struggles” this year, this shows how good he is. He hasn’t pitched at the dominant level he did a year ago so far, but he still has a 1.86 ERA, allowing just 15 hits and five walks in 19-1/3 innings. Oh, and he leads the AL in saves with 13.

Clase led the junior circuit in games pitched a year ago with 77, but right now, he’s on a pace to pitch in 90 of them. Now, we know that’s not going to happen, and Clase is also pretty economical in the number of pitches he throws. In his last five appearances, he’s thrown no more than 13 pitches.

Two things need to happen if the Guardians keep winning. First, it would be a huge help if they could win games by four or five runs over the next few weeks. That would enable Francona to lessen the workload of his primary bullpen guys, using them just enough to keep them fresh.

Adding Hentges to the mix has helped lately.

Or the skipper may have to expand the late game usage for pitchers like Sandlin and De Los Santos. We understand though they have to earn the confidence of the manager. Sandlin, in particular needs to command the strike zone and throw quality pitches.

The starting rotation seems to have picked it up over the last couple of weeks, covering at least six innings on most nights. But playing this many close games will take a toll on the Guardians’ relief pitching.

Just another reason to hope the offense comes out of the collective funk it has been in over the last four weeks.

More On Guardians’ Bullpen And Arias

The good news for the Cleveland Guardians last week was when they played one game in a day, they were undefeated, going 2-0.

However, because of our beautiful springtime weather, the Guards were forced to play two doubleheaders and were swept in Detroit by the Tigers and at home by the Marlins.

The offense was the main culprit as in the five games played prior to Sunday’s 7-4 win over Miami, Cleveland scored a total of nine runs. It’s hard to win averaging less than two runs per contest, but the Guardians did it once, winning the series finale in Motown, 3-2.

The pitching hasn’t been bad, allowing 20 runs in the six games, just a shade over three per game. So, as has been the case in pretty much every game in 2023 thus far, the result of the game was in doubt all the way to the bitter end. Only the 6-1 loss in game one Saturday was not in doubt when the ninth inning started.

Home runs continue to be a problem for the bullpen crew, as both Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak gave up solo shots in the win over the Tigers and the latter served up a three-run bomb on Sunday to make what was a commanding 6-1 advantage into a close game.

Cleveland pitchers have allowed 21 homers this year, and a dozen of those have been served up by the relievers. The only bullpen members who have been unscathed by the long ball are Eli Morgan and Enyel De La Santos.

There was some good news as southpaw Sam Hentges made two rehab appearances in Akron last week and is getting closer to returning to the big league roster. That’s needed as rookie Tim Herrin hasn’t been effective, allowing two dingers and four walks in his eight innings of work. He has a 7.45 ERA.

Karinchak has allowed four bombs in 12 innings of work, and probably will not be used in the eighth inning until he cures that issue.

Here’s our current bullpen confidence rankings–

Clase
Stephan
De Los Santos
Morgan
Karinchak
Sandlin
Curry
Herrin

Sandlin gets ranked lower because he still has control issues, walking five in 9-2/3 innings and he seems to fall behind in the count an awful lot.

Hopefully, the offense will continue to come out of the doldrums, but one player who worries us right now is infielder Gabriel Arias.

Arias has always had strike zone judgment issues in the minors, his career numbers in 494 minor league games are 539 strikeouts vs. 145 walks, and he wasn’t outstanding at AAA, a 768 OPS.

However, thus far this season, he’s made 40 plate appearances and has struck out in 18 of them, drawing four walks. He’s batting .167 (6 for 36) with a home run and a double.

We understand it is difficult for a young player to adjust to not getting regular playing time, but that’s the lot he drew with the Guardians. Terry Francona has tried to spot him vs. lefties, but he is just 4 for 24 with 13 Ks against them.

If he was hammering southpaws, we are sure Francona would be more anxious to put him in there against left-handers, particularly because Josh Naylor is a career .202 hitter (544 OPS) against them.

It will be interesting to see if Tyler Freeman, who was up for a handful of games last week (2 for 7 with a walk), starts getting some time at 1B in Columbus to see if he can take Arias’ spot on the roster.

A tough gauntlet is coming up for the Guards, a weekend series in Boston and then a trip to Yankee Stadium before coming home for a clash with the division contending Twins.

We will learn a lot about this year’s group in those nine games.

If Guards Have A Bullpen Opening, Who Takes It?

Every year, Terry Francona gives a talk in spring training to the entire roster, the 40 man and the non-roster invitees. It has been reported (we say that only because we aren’t present) that he always discusses how everyone in the room will be counted on to have a successful season.

As we know, stuff happens every year. At the beginning of camp last year, could we have seen Oscar Gonzalez, Enyel De Los Santos, or Will Brennan being contributors?

Some of us thought Gonzalez could get a shot and that Steven Kwan deserved a shot, but enough of that.

Slumps happen, some players don’t put up the numbers they did in the past, and certainly, injuries always play a role.

Right now, the Guardians’ bullpen is in that state of flux because of injuries.

It was reported earlier in the week that southpaw Sam Hentges has some shoulder inflammation and is “week to week”, which doesn’t sound like he will be ready for Opening Day. That’s a big blow because the big lefty is the only proven piece that throws from the left side.

And De Los Santos and Nick Sandlin, both of whom figured to be in Seattle on March 30th, have not pitched in an exhibition game.

Now, bullpen guys can get ready faster than starting pitchers because they usually work just one inning at a time, so conceivably if they are ready to go by the middle of March, there is a good chance they will not miss any time.

To be fair, closer Emmanuel Clase hasn’t pitched in a game either.

Many people had another left-hander, Tim Herrin, making the 26 man roster to open the year, but with Hentges’ shoulder barking, he seems to be a lock to make the team.

Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis like to use their big-league relievers early in games to get a look at better hitters. On Friday, Herrin pitched the fourth inning.

If Herrin becomes a lock, and the Guards bring 13 pitchers north (or northwest since they open in Seattle), who gets the last spot?

If the staff wants someone who could pitch multiple innings, they could go with someone like Xzavion Curry or Hunter Gattis, both of whom were starters in the minors last season, and by the way, also made some big league starts, each getting a pair with Cleveland.

Both have faced high quality hitters in Arizona (visit Baseballreference.com) and have fared well. Gattis has fanned six in 4-1/3 frames, allowing just one hit, but three walks. Curry has a pair of two inning outings, allowing five hits, but just one run.

Or they could go with Konnor Pilkington who did make 11 starts with the Guards last season, going 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA. His problem was throwing strikes, walking 32 batters in 58 frames.

Another 40-man roster option is recently acquired Jason Bilous, who fanned 131 batters in 105.2 innings in the White Sox’ system last year. He did have a 6.30 ERA between AA and AAA though, as his control has been an issue.

The Guardians seem to view him as a reliever, as he has made two one inning appearances thus far, striking out four and walking a pair.

There is still time for De Los Santos and Sandlin to be ready, but Hentges may not have enough time to get back by the end of the month.

So, Francona and Willis have to sort out some candidates to take his place.

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.