A Lot Of Open Spots For Guardians In 2024.

With the Cleveland Guardians now six games off the pace in the AL Central, it’s time to look toward the 2024 season. The front office started this process at the end of July, when they decided to sell at the trading deadline.

Before we go on, let’s just say we are on board with the trades that sent Amed Rosario to the Dodgers and Josh Bell to Miami. Rosario was below average defensively and had an OPS of under 700. Based on that, it is a shock that the deal was made and the Guards got worse offensively at the position.

As for Bell, the Guardians would have been on the hook for $16 million next year. The problem was dealing a starting pitcher and not adding anyone who could help the offense, even incrementally in 2023.

Cleveland is now 13th in the AL in runs per game, and much like the standings, Detroit is getting close to passing them in this category. So, can they improve the hitting next season?

Right now, we would say the Guardians have five players etched in stone for next season:

Jose Ramirez 3B
Josh Naylor 1B
Steven Kwan OF
Andres Gimenez MI
Bo Naylor C

That means they have to fill four spots to improve the offense. We list Kwan as an outfielder, because although he’s a great defensive leftfielder, we could see him move to centerfield next season.

And we list Gimenez as a middle infielder because frankly, he could wind up at either second base or shortstop next season.

Most people thought moving Rosario would cause the shortstop position to be better, and no doubt it has defensively, but right now (and we stress right now), the offense out of the spot has declined.

Rosario had a 675 OPS. Since August 1st, Gabriel Arias has a 568 OPS and Brayan Rocchio’s is 662. The only option with a better number than the player who was dealt is Jose Tena, who has just eight at bats.

The organization probably hoped someone would step up and seize some of the open spots in the everyday lineup, but that hasn’t happened. And there is an old baseball adage that tells us not to be fooled by what happens in April or September.

We know about Kyle Manzardo, who came over from Tampa in the Aaron Civale deal, but right now he’s hurt and his numbers in AAA were down quite a bit from last season at lower levels. Maybe he shows he’s ready in the spring, but right now, the Guardians can’t count on him if they want to contend.

We feel the same way about George Valera, Jhonkensy Noel, or any of the minor leaguers touted by the organization. If you think of yourself as a contender, you cannot have four “hope they work out” guys in your lineup.

One problem that has arisen is the middle infield prospects on the top of the organization’s list of young players haven’t looked very good at the big league level, meaning they have probably lowered their trade value.

So, how do the Guardians get some bats they are insert into next year’s lineup? Seems like a tough job for the front office.

Because it will be tough to win in 2024 unless somehow this club figures out a way to score more.

Guardians’ Season Sliding Away

After the trade deadline when the Guardians’ front office raised the white flag on the 2023 season, we were asked several questions on social media as to why we disagreed with the decision and why the players seemed angered about it.

As for the players, they don’t look at things the way the front office does, meaning they don’t care about next season. Trading their best and most veteran pitcher at the moment for someone who quite possibly could help in ’24 does nothing for them. Kyle Manzardo isn’t with them, so he is irrelevant.

What they think is they are one hot streak from taking control of the division, which is what the Minnesota Twins are doing right now. And now with the injuries to Josh Naylor and a likely suspension for Jose Ramirez, that winning streak will be very difficult to achieve.

Currently, the management of the team says the right things. They are working toward a post-season berth, they are trying to win every game they can. The second statement is true, because that’s how Terry Francona manages: You try to win the game you are playing today.

But with Naylor out and Josh Bell traded, an already struggling offense has lost two of their four best hitters. Simple math tells you the hitting isn’t going to improve because of that.

There have been some changes already noticeable. We have seen Will Brennan playing centerfield more often with Oscar Gonzalez playing right. The organization seems to be moving away slightly from Myles Straw, who frankly isn’t the same player as the one who came from Houston in 2021.

That player worked counts, drew walks, played great defense, and stole bases. Straw still has a very good glove but doesn’t do any of those other things.

We would also say if the Guardians aren’t going to make the playoffs, we don’t care where they finish, as long as they are doing due diligence for the future. So, if the team isn’t going to be contenders, why is a player like Cam Gallagher still on the roster?

If David Fry can catch, he and Bo Naylor should be catching every game at this point. And Gallagher is taking the spot on someone else who can be looked at.

The front office is doing that in some regards. Xzavion Curry seems to be getting a look at the fifth starter job. Brayan Rocchio has been called up and has been in the lineup each game. The Guardians want to see what Gabriel Arias can do on an everyday basis, and hopefully when Tyler Freeman comes back, he will be afforded the same responsibility.

If they want to carry three catchers to take advantage of David Fry’s versatility, then maybe take another look at Bryan Lavastida, who played here a bit last season. He has a 769 OPS between Columbus and Akron this year.

One other thing about building for the future. Your franchise player will turn 31 before the end of the calendar year, and Ramirez has stated he wants to win a World Series here. The front office needs to keep that in mind.

Guards Just Keep Getting Bad News.

If the trades made earlier in the week didn’t deal a crushing blow to the post-season hopes of the Cleveland Guardians. Friday’s news didn’t help.

Josh Naylor went on the injured list with a strained oblique and the team offered that he will be out 3-6 weeks, a rather vague length of time. Naylor currently ranks 5th in the league in batting average and third in RBIs, and provided solid protection for Jose Ramirez.

And while we understand the logic of the Josh Bell deal to Miami because the Guards would be on the hook for $16 million next season as Bell was not going to decline his option, the fact remains that the 12th best scoring offense in the AL has now lost two of their five best producers.

Too bad the just acquired Kyle Manzardo isn’t ready to play.

It’s funny that everyone complained about the Guardians not being able to find playing time for some of their young players throughout the first four months of the season, and now, they have nothing but opportunities for them.

One player who won’t be able to take advantage for now is a guy we have clamored to see more of in Tyler Freeman. Freeman also went on the IL with a shoulder issue, and hopefully he will be back before Naylor.

For now, we will likely see a lot of David Fry and Gabriel Arias at first, we guess, with possibly a little of newcomer, veteran Kole Calhoun, acquired from the Dodgers after hitting .297 with a 906 OPS in AAA this season.

Keep in mind though, in 125 games with Texas last season (in the big leagues) he hit .196 with a 587 OPS.

Brayan Rocchio, probably the Guardians’ top prospect will come up and get regular time at SS, we would imagine. A switch-hitter, he batted .291 with a .383 on base percentage at Columbus this season, and we have heard folks complain about his lack of pop this year (he hit 18 homers last year), his slugging percentage is just slightly off from a year ago, because he had 26 doubles and five triples at AAA.

With the DH slot opened up, Jose Ramirez will be able to get off his feet at times, and we would imagine Oscar Gonzalez will get plenty of time there as well. Gonzalez was called up after Cleveland moved Amed Rosario last week, and has gone 6 for 16 since returning to the big club.

Speaking of Rosario, is anyone else amazed that all of a sudden, he can play other positions? If you haven’t noticed, he’s playing second base with the Dodgers. Why didn’t the Guardians move him there? We think everyone would agree the Guards’ defense would have been better had Andres Gimenez and Rosario simply swapped spots.

And lastly, it looks like the club is finally going to see what Xzavion Curry can do with the fifth spot in the rotation. He will start today and stay in the rotation going forward. We believe that decision is about a month too late.

Meanwhile, Cleveland still hovers just 3.5 games out of first in the AL Central.

With the injuries to Naylor and the trades of Civale and Bell, it would seem the chance of defending the division title grows smaller each day, but here we are.

We know the players will keep grinding. But will that be enough. The fact that the team is gritty is probably the biggest reason they were upset with the front office on August 1st.

Status Quo Should Be Over For Guardians, Time To Act That Way

Before the 2023 baseball season started, we thought it would be very difficult to evaluate what kind of season the Cleveland Guardians would have because most of the key players from last season had no proven track record.

We still thought the Guards would prevail in the AL Central, but our worst fears appear to have come true about the first- and second-year players who helped the team get to the playoffs in 2022.

Josh Naylor is the only Cleveland hitter performing better than they did a year ago. That’s a big reason why the team ranks 12th in the league in runs scored. The bullpen, so solid down the stretch last season, is springing leaks seemingly on a weekly basis.

The only statistic that says the Guardians are a contending team is the number we see every day in the standings. The column “GB”, games behind.

Despite all the problems the Guards have had this year, they are still just 1-1/2 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins as we near the end of July.

Which makes it all the more maddening that the organization seems to go with the status quo in terms of the everyday lineup. They have been forced to make changes in the starting rotation, but that’s due to the injuries suffered by Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, and now, Shane Bieber.

Over the weekend, The Plain Dealer ran an article about the hitting philosophy of the organization and Terry Pluto’s column discussed improving the offense. We aren’t a genius, but a good start to improving the hitting might be to stop giving the worst offensive player in the league three at bats per game.

We are talking about Myles Straw of course. It’s time to make him a defensive replacement. We would add pinch-runner as well, but Straw has stopped running for whatever reason. It has been two months since his last stolen base.

That’s absurd.

Another question is when will the front office and skipper give Tyler Freeman regular playing time so they can find out if he can be a major league regular, be it at SS or 2B? Perhaps you could give him more time at the expense of the second lowest OPS in the batting order, that being Amed Rosario.

Yes, we have officially entered the patience vs. stubbornness phase of the season.

Sunday, the Guards lost a three-run lead (thanks to David Fry, who should share time at catcher. Cam Gallagher is superfluous) because the bench refused to be at least a little uneasy about Trevor Stephan pitching the eighth.

Stephan has been shaky as of late, and as soon as he walked Marcus Semien with one out (AND A THREE RUN LEAD!), someone should have started warming up. We aren’t a pitching coach, but it certainly has looked like Stephan is aiming the ball lately instead of trusting his stuff.

That would mean it’s a confidence problem.

Instead, he walked a second hitter and then gave up three straight hits before he was removed. It’s almost like it was a spring training game and he had to get his work in.

As we said before, the only thing that makes this edition of the Guardians a contending team is the games behind column. That’s why the time to sit back and do nothing should be ended.

And we aren’t just talking about Terry Francona either. The front office had a bad off-season. The signings of Josh Bell and Mike Zunino haven’t panned out. But they have time to improve things over the next couple of weeks.

With Bieber injured, they really don’t have anything to sell, but again, get a starting pitcher, re-arrange the bullpen based on current results, and stop gifting playing time based on 2023.

A disappointing season to date can still be salvaged.

Does The Guardians’ Front Office Succeed In “Big Trades”?

The other day we talked about the possible trade of Cleveland Guardians’ starting pitcher Shane Bieber. One of the reasons some folks say the Guards should deal Bieber is that they always do well in these types of trades.

Do they? Let’s take a look at the last three major transactions the Cleveland front office has made.

When evaluating the move, we aren’t going to focus on the performance of the player the Guardians traded away, simply going to talk about the return.

The latest move was dealing Francisco Lindor to the Mets along with Carlos Carrasco for Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, and two minor leaguers, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf. At the time of the deal, we said the key for Cleveland was Gimenez, who turned into an All-Star last season, and seems like a very good player at the least.

Rosario is a journeyman, likely playing his last season with the Guards. He’s a starter here, but there has been plenty of debate as to whether or not he should be.

We’d give Cleveland a slight edge, mostly because Gimenez has emerged as a potential star.

Then we have the Mike Clevinger deal, which considering he was probably Cleveland’s third starter (behind Bieber and Carrasco) at the time of the deal, was a tremendous haul.

Two of the pieces acquired, Austin Hedges and Owen Miller, have already moved on. Josh Naylor has been excellent, an everyday middle of the order bat, and a team leader. Cal Quantrill is currently out with a shoulder issue, but he’s a solid third or fourth starter on a good team.

We have our doubts about Gabriel Arias, tremendous with the glove, but struggles at the dish. Perhaps another solid piece is coming in lefty Joey Cantillo, currently at AAA, but at the AA level had a 2.13 ERA in 93 innings with 134 strikeouts.

This was a big win for the Guards. They got an impact bat, and solid starting pitcher and possibly more to come in Cantillo

The other trade was moving Trevor Bauer in a three team move to Cincinnati. The return was Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes, and two minor leaguers, pitchers Scott Moss and Logan Allen (not the one currently with the Guards).

At the time, we thought the deal was made more for the following season than it was for 2019, a year Cleveland won 93 games and missed the playoffs.

Just four years later, there is nothing left from this deal.

Reyes provided pop for two and a half years here, but we are sure the organization wanted him to be the middle of the order slugger the Guardians are still looking for. He experienced a drastic fall off in production last year and is currently with Washington at the AAA level.

Puig finished the season with Cleveland and moved on. We don’t think Terry Francona and he hit it off. Although he didn’t hit for the power that was expected (slugged just .423), he did get on base to the tune of a .377 OBP.

Allen was a solid prospect but had a 5.45 ERA in 69.1 innings with the Guardians. He’s currently with the Rockies organization and has a 6.70 ERA in AAA. Moss isn’t pitching in professional baseball to date this season.

The Guards certainly didn’t win this one.

Our conclusion? The Guardians have done alright for themselves in these deals but haven’t “killed it”. Gimenez and Naylor are big parts of the current team, with the former having the possibility of being a multi-time all-star.

Make no mistake though, the Cleveland front office has done a solid job getting back good players for potential free agents they have no plans to sign. However, they still haven’t received the slugger they seem to have trouble developing, nor have they received a top-of-the-line starting pitcher.

The Rosario Dilemma

Last season, Amed Rosario was a key cog in the Cleveland Guardians winning the American League Central Division championship.

He was third in the league in hits with 180 and led the AL in triples with nine. He was a big reason the Guardians’ offense put pressure on opposing defenses. Along with leadoff man Steven Kwan and #3 hole hitter Jose Ramirez, the Guards would go first to third relentlessly with three speedsters at the top of the lineup.

Rosario isn’t an on base machine, because he rarely walks, but he hit .283 and had a .312 on base percentage, so he was effective where he was at.

However, the shortstop’s value as an everyday player comes from his batting average because as we said, he doesn’t walk, and he really isn’t an extra base hit machine either.

For example, last year Rosario slugged .403 about the same as Kwan. What makes Kwan a better than average offensive player was his .373 on base average, about 60 points higher than the man who follows him to the plate most nights.

FYI, Kwan’s OBP has dipped this season to .342.

The three seasons Rosario had an OPS+ of over 100 (that’s average), his batting averages were .287 (2019), .282 (2021), and .283 (2022). If he’s not hitting at around the .275 level, he’s a poor offensive player. Right now, he’s at 65.

Now you make think that’s true for everyone, but it’s not. Currently, Josh Naylor has an OPS+ of 109 and he’s batting just .253. But Naylor walks a bit more and has 16 extra base hits, making his slugging percentage .437.

The right-handed hitter currently has the worst OPS+ among Cleveland regulars, yes worse than Myles Straw (77), Mike Zunino (73), and Will Brennan (82). Another disappointment for the Guardians is free agent signee Josh Bell, and he’s at 92.

Cleveland lives with Straw’s below average offense (for how much longer, we will see) because he’s an elite defensive centerfielder, a Gold Glove winner a year ago.

Rosario is a below average defender. He ranks last on the Guardians in defensive runs saved, just behind Zunino. You can probably make the argument that of the shortstops currently on the big league roster, including Andres Gimenez, who played the position in the minor leagues, he’s the worst defensively.

That list would include Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Brayan Rocchio, who has played a pair of games there.

So what gives?

We realize many people will use the argument that Rosario is a close friend of Jose Ramirez, who lobbied for a contract extension for him last season, but we refuse to believe that’s the reason, management keeps writing his name in the lineup.

We think it’s the usual patience vs. stubbornness we see from the organization all the time. They believe based on the past two seasons, Rosario will get hot any day now, and the team will reap the benefits.

But that’s the problem with hitters whose entire worth is based on batting average and another problem with players who don’t have an idea of the strike zone. Rosario’s strikeout to walk ratio for his career is 607:136, he’s never walked more than 31 times in a season.

His walk ratio is actually up this year (5.8% compared to his lifetime mark of 4.5%), but his strikeout rate (22.3%) is also higher (19.9%). Pitchers usually figure out they can get these guys out without throwing strikes, thus the effectiveness wanes.

We aren’t saying to “run away” from Rosario, as Francona likes to say. However, we are saying perhaps it’s time to see what Freeman and/or Arias can do with increased playing time.

That Rosario can be a free agent after this season, doesn’t help his argument.

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.

Lots Have Gone Wrong For Guards, But They Are Hanging In

This season certainly hasn’t been easy for the Cleveland Guardians so far. The offense has sputtered, ranking last in the American League in runs scored per game.

They are last in the AL in home runs and aren’t really close to the team with the second least dingers, the Detroit Tigers (Cleveland has 23, Detroit 31). They don’t strikeout but are only eighth in the league in walks.

Terry Francona’s teams are usually second half teams and if the 2023 Guardians are going to make the playoffs and/or win the Central Division title, they will have to be that again.

The hitting did show signs of life over the weekend, well, at least Josh Naylor and Amed Rosario did. Still, the Guardians need Andres Gimenez, Josh Bell, and that duo to get hot over a period of longer than three games.

The Guards have had 28 of their 40 games decided by one or two runs, a whopping total and one that, if it continues will take a helluva toll of the bullpen and also cause ulcers for many of their fans.

Getting a few more players other than Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan contributing to the offense would certainly help in providing more than one or two run margins at times.

It has been tough for Cleveland to get come from behind victories this year because the bullpen hasn’t been able to hold opponents if they get out to an early lead. The relievers have given up 17 home runs, almost the same total as the starters (20), need we remind you the latter pitch a lot more innings.

The defense hasn’t helped either. The Guardians are ninth in the league in errors with 21, and defense has been more important this season because the pitching staff ranks at the bottom of the AL in striking hitters out, so more balls have been put in play.

The catching, a position viewed organizationally as a defense first spot, hasn’t been up to last year’s standards, allowing the most passed balls with five and the pitching staff ranks fifth in wild pitches. Last year, Cleveland catchers had just two passed balls and ranked fifth last in wild pitches.

In the past, the organization has sacrificed offense for defense, but if you aren’t getting the defense, why not take a look at Bo Naylor, hitting .256 with nine homers at Columbus and has a 925 OPS because he’s walked 32 times.

By the way, the last hit by a Cleveland catcher? Try April 29th.

Rightfield has become a large hole. Oscar Gonzalez hit .192 with just four extra base hits and was sent back to AAA. Will Brennan is hitting just .193 with five extra base hits, and is being platooned with converted infielder Gabriel Arias, who has struck out in 26 of his 61 plate appearances.

You have to wonder if Tyler Freeman is the next middle infielder to get a try in RF. Freeman has 11 big league at bats with four hits, including a double, and was hitting .329 (950 OPS) at AAA.

Despite all of these problems, the Guardians are sitting just two games below the .500 mark. Hopefully, Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale will be back by the end of May, adding depth to the starting rotation.

And let’s also hope what we saw over the weekend is the start of the offense being more consistent.

By the way, some easy wins would be nice for Francona and the coaching staff and the fan base.

Looking For A Bounce Back From Straw

A year ago, the outfield for the Cleveland Guardians was largely unsettled. Myles Straw, who came over from Houston in ’21 was entrenched in centerfield, but the other two spots were up for grabs.

We would bet most people don’t remember Amed Rosario was the opening day leftfielder in Kansas City, and Steven Kwan played in right after a great spring training forced the front office’s hand.

Oscar Mercado was getting time against southpaws and Josh Naylor was still in the mix out there as well.

By seasons’ end, it was pretty set, as the Guards had two Gold Glove outfielders in Kwan and Straw, and Oscar Gonzalez was called up and secured right field and was a post-season hero.

Will Brennan parlayed a tremendous minor league season (.314, 13 HR, 107 RBI, 850 OPS) into a September call up and post-season roster spot.

Straw wound up being one of the most criticized players on the Cleveland roster, mainly because he had three months where he was dreadful with a bat in his hands. He hit .178 (508 OPS) in May, .149 (412) in June, and .093 (222) in August.

That last month probably was what got Brennan the big-league opportunity.

In those months where the bat was really struggling, he seemed to be pushing everything to the opposite field, rarely even pulling ground balls through the left side.

With his speed, we would still like him to add the bunt to his offensive repertoire, if only to make corner infielders pinch in at the corners and thus create more holes.

In total, Straw hit .221 (564 OPS) for the season without a home run, but his incredible defense kept him in the lineup, and makes him the incumbent coming into training camp.

However, we are forgetting that Straw has not been that poor of a hitter since he came to the bigs. He’s also not Willie Mays either.

After Straw came over from Houston, he played in 60 games with Cleveland and batted .285 with a .362 on base percentage, which explains why Terry Francona put him in the leadoff spot to start the 2022 season.

For the entire season, 156 games played, Straw batted .271 with a .349 OBP, hitting four homers and stealing 30 bases.

And in April, he kept up what he did to finish the season in ’21, hitting .291 and getting on base at a 38.7% clip. And he finished strong as well, a .364 on base average in September last season.

We felt all season that Straw just suffered through a bad season in 2022 and he will bounce back this year.

He may not get back to the numbers he had in 2021, but if he can get the average up to the .250 range and mix in 50 or so walks, he will get plenty of playing time.

Of course, what the other three outfielders do will help determine the amount of at bats Straw will get too. Remember, neither Kwan, Gonzalez, nor Brennan have much of a track record at the big-league level.

It plays well for Brennan that he is a left-handed hitter, so he can get some at bats vs. tough right-handers in place of either Straw or Gonzalez.

Although we are optimistic about the Guardians’ outfield in 2023, it is far from certain on any of the quartet, including Kwan, whose rookie season seemed magical. Pitchers will start attacking what they consider weaknesses, and it is up to him to adjust if the moundsmen have some success.

But we also expect a much better year from Myles Straw. We are sure he is looking forward to putting his performance in 2022 in the rear-view mirror.

Bell Fits Perfectly For Guardians

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about what the Cleveland Guardians might be looking for this off-season and pointed out they have a “type”.

Really, it’s an organizational philosophy and the front office tries to stick to these principles when building their roster, and who can argue with them. They’ve had a lot of success over the past 10 years.

In that framework, Tuesday’s signing of 1B/DH Josh Bell makes all the sense in the world.

First, it’s a two-year deal with the potential of a buyout by Bell after the first season, meaning if the switch-hitter has a huge season, he’s going to be a free agent again after the 2023 campaign, but the Guardians will be the beneficiary of that big season.

They say there is no such thing as a bad one-year contract, so committing a lot of cash to a player for two years isn’t a tremendous risk for an organization who treasures payroll flexibility.

Second, the Guardians appear to be embracing a more contact-oriented approach, and no doubt it paid off for them in 2022. Bell fits the bill here too. His strikeout to walk ratio per 162 games is 118:77, a relatively low whiff rate for someone who averages 25 homers per year in that same span.

And readers of this site know we love hitters who have a good walk to strikeout rate. The Guardians need to walk more often, and Bell’s 81 free passes last season would have led Cleveland in 2022.

Bell also fills a couple positions of need. Cleveland hitters batted just .240 with a 646 OPS vs. left-handed pitching a year ago, and for his career, the new Guardian has a 767 OPS against southpaws, and last year hit .276 with an 816 OPS.

And remember, for most of the season, when Terry Francona gave Josh Naylor a day off against a tough lefty, his usual choice was Owen Miller. Bell is much better with a bat in his hands.

It goes without saying that having Bell as an option will allow Francona to keep Naylor’s legs fresh too.

A short-term deal for a power hitter who can play 1B/DH and has success against lefties? Sounds like a match made in heaven for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff.

What does it mean for the rest of the roster? Well, right now, you have to wonder if Miller has a spot. It would seem he has a battle on his hands to make the team with Gabriel Arias. And don’t forget Tyler Freeman as well. One would think a trade is on the horizon for one, if not, more of those players.

You have to think getting at least one catcher is next on the agenda for the front office, and likely whoever they trade for, or sign will be an offensive upgrade. When your primary catcher had an OPS of 489, that’s not a big stretch.

After an off-season where the big moves were signing Luke Maile and Enyel De Los Santos, it’s good to see the organization understanding how close they were to getting to the AL Championship Series and a shot at another World Series visit.