Different Things For Guardians So Far

We all knew there would be a change in philosophy for the Cleveland Guardians when Terry Francona decided he would not be back as manager of the team. We also know that the front office is also deeply involved in the day to day running of the team, so there would be a question of how the change would manifest itself.

So far, the change has worked out very well, as the Guards are off to baseball’s best record at 16-6. Yes, we know the schedule hasn’t actually been loaded with the best teams in baseball, but Seattle and Minnesota were regarded as contenders coming into the season, and the A’s are basically a .500 team when not playing Cleveland.

One change we’ve noticed is the organization isn’t selling out for defense at all costs. Over the last two seasons, Cleveland played Myles Straw almost exclusively in centerfield because of his defense. They did this even though Straw was one of the worst offensive players in the sport over 2022 and 2023.

In 2024, Tyler Freeman has moved from shortstop to be the primary CF, and already has three homers and 11 RBIs, compared to Straw’s single long ball and 29 ribbies a year ago.

New manager Steven Vogt has made a concerted effort to use the entire roster. Through 16 games, every Cleveland player has at least 39 plate appearances save for Austin Hedges, who has 26. Hedges has been in seven contests, but every other player has been in at least 13 games.

One thing that has continued has been versatility. David Fry has already caught, and played 1B, 3B, and LF. Gabriel Arias has played six different positions to date (3B, 1B, SS, 2B, RF, and CF). Being able to play several positions helps a player get at bats.

Another thing that seems different is the earning of at bats by players. With Arias swinging a good bat right now, he has been in the lineup at different positions pretty much every day.

Fry is hitting .303 with a homer and seven runs batted in and a 917 OPS, and Vogt is finding ways to get him in the lineup. Remember last season how Freeman seemed to only play on Sundays?

The bullpen usage has been different too. Francona had a bit of a caste system, certain guys pitched when they had the lead, and others pitched when they were behind. Granted, the Guardians haven’t trailed a lot this year, but Vogt seems to use anyone at any time.

He has said the only reliever who has a set “role” is Emmanuel Clase, otherwise, everyone else needs to be ready.

That said, it seems Hunter Gaddis has earned the most trust from the skipper, and he seems to get the ball in the 8th inning of close games.

Vogt does seem to go to the bullpen if the starter is getting near the end of the line. He removed both Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco with two outs in an inning after they allowed a baserunner.

We understand the thought process, but with the relief corps taking on a huge burden early this year, perhaps give the starter an opportunity to get the last out. However, on Sunday, he did let Tanner Bibee go an extra couple of hitters and he didn’t get the third out and Cleveland had to go to the ‘pen anyway.

Of course, it would help if the starters could go six or seven innings on a regular basis. The walks have plagued the rotation. They’ve issued 51 of the 85 bases on balls given up by the pitching staff to date.

We just wanted to point out some of the changes from last year. It’s not meant as a criticism of Francona, who would admit that every manager likes to do things a certain way.

Right now, Steven Vogt is pushing the right buttons. And the results are in the standings. So far, so good.

Length Of Starters And Walks Troubling Guards’ Pitchers

The Cleveland Guardians are off to a very good start, winning 10 of their first 15 games.

We saw a comment over the weekend saying the Guards are taking advantage of an easy early schedule, but the Mariners and Twins were considered contenders coming into the season, so we don’t know where that is coming from.

After this series in Boston, the Guardians finish up the season series with the A’s, and then have Boston, Atlanta, and Houston coming up, and those series will be an early season measuring stick.

Competing with those teams will probably hinge on the performance of the starting rotation. Normally the strongpoint of this organization, so far, their performance has been not up to par.

Outside of Shane Bieber’s two six scoreless inning outings before he went on the injured list to get elbow surgery, the rotation has been more miss than hit, and only Logan Allen through 15 games, has pitched into the seventh inning.

Even worse, Tanner Bibee got into the sixth in his second start vs. Minnesota, but just for one out. Triston McKenzie went 5.2 IP innings in the home opener. And that’s the extent of starting pitching after the fifth inning three times through the rotation.

It does not take advanced sabermetrics to figure out this is not a sustainable way to win over a 162 game season.

With Bieber out, the front office has to find a replacement and both Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively are getting auditions this week. Whoever pitches better in Boston probably stays in the rotation going forward, although we believe Lively has an edge because he’s a veteran and the team brought him in as a free agent, although Curry made a great case yesterday with five scoreless innings.

The biggest problem has been throwing strikes. Every starter, save for Bieber, has been guilty of nibbling, causing their pitch counts to rise and forcing Steven Vogt to go to the bullpen much earlier than he wants.

Tanner Bibee has walked 8 in 13.2 frames after issuing 45 bases on balls in 142 innings in 2023. Carlos Carrasco has issued 9 walks in 12.2 innings.

But the most concerning number is Triston McKenzie who has walked 12 in 13 innings with just five strikeouts. Some have speculated that command issues stem from arm issues, and with McKenzie missed most of ’23 with injuries, it is definitely something to watch.

The bullpen has done yeoman’s work in keeping the pitching staff to where it has the 5th best ERA in the American League.

We know Vogt trusts Emmanuel Clase, and why not, but it seems like the second arm in the pecking order has fallen to Hunter Gaddis.

As a starter, Gaddis was prone to the gopher ball, allowing 11 dingers in nine starts, totaling 38.2 innings.

In his new role, Gaddis has been dominant so far, appearing in eight games for a total of 7.2 frames, striking out 11 and walking two, with just four hits allowed.

Scott Barlow was expected to be the primary set up man for Clase to begin the season, but he has had some control issues, allowing six free passes in 7.1 innings.

Cleveland pitchers have allowed the fourth most walks in the AL, and we know that Carl Willis has always emphasized the importance of getting ahead in the count. Hopefully, the staff starts doing what the veteran coach teaches, and starts it soon.

Issuing so many walks have the staff on a tightrope, and the walks by the starters are putting too large of a toll on the relievers.

Analyzing The Guardians’ Recent Moves

While the Cleveland Guardians did not make any trades at the August 2nd deadline, they certainly made a number of roster moves.

Will Benson, the team’s first round pick in 2016 was elevated to the big leagues on August 1st, replacing Alex Call. Call has been subsequently DFA’d and was picked up by the Washington Nationals.

The club then called up infielder Tyler Freeman to take Ernie Clement’s roster spot, and then in a shocking move, they cut ties with slugger Franmil Reyes last Saturday. Reyes was picked up by the Cubs a couple of days ago.

And we can’t forget Hunter Gaddis getting the call up to face Houston last Friday night. Although it didn’t work out in that game, we are sure we will see Gaddis again soon.

The Guardians continue to get younger and also keep playing good baseball, moving into a tie for first place in the AL Central with Minnesota on Tuesday.

Bringing up top prospects is a double edged sword because while it’s great to have them on a roster, it does not do them much good if there is no playing time. If you got better by watching, then we’d have a bust in Cooperstown right now.

So Terry Francona has to balance getting these recent additions some at bats and at the same time, continuing to win. At least that’s what we fans hope. The front office may care more about player development than making the post-season.

Freeman seems the easiest fit. Clement wasn’t contributing much at the plate (491 OPS) and the skipper seemed intent playing him vs. left-handed pitching even though he hasn’t had any discernable success against them.

Freeman can take those at bats, and if he can be in the lineup three or four times a week, he should be fine. He’s played in three games to date, going 2 for 8 with two walks.

Benson’s promotion was a little more curious. At the time, it was thought he was going to get some time at first base, and that might still be the plan, but he hasn’t played there yet. And as an outfielder, if he plays, he would seem to take away playing time from Nolan Jones.

Maybe he plays some in center, giving Myles Straw some time off, but the organization loves Straw’s defense, so that’s difficult to see.

And Jones fits in the same category. He needs to be in the lineup at least three or four days per week. Right now, Benson looks a little overmatched, striking out in half of his 12 plate appearances.

The roster might be better served with say, a third catcher, right now.

The Reyes release was a stunner. He had a poor season to date and with the Guards in the race, it was tough to put him in a lineup. He was supposed to bring some pop, but he was slugging just .350, less than Owen Miller.

With Josh Naylor’s leg injury, he needs to get at bats at the DH spot, and using Jose Ramirez at that spot also helps him get a partial day off too.

We agreed with sending Reyes to AAA because his power potential is something the Guardians need. They are 14th in the AL in home runs. The theory would be get him fixed in the minors and have him ready for 2023.

Obviously, there were other things involved that led to Cleveland just cutting ties with the big man right away.

There is a reason teams don’t just bring up every prospect as soon as they have success at AAA. There has to be a fit on big league roster because for most young players, to doesn’t do their career any good to come up and sit on the bench.

Let’s see if Terry Francona can find the delicate balance for Freeman, Jones, and Benson.