Guardians Good At Saving Cash, Now Need To Spend It.

The Cleveland Guardians made another logical move in shedding payroll trading some international pool money to the Toronto Blue Jays, who were trying to sign international free agent Roki Sasaki.

In order to make the transaction, the Jays had to take Myles Straw’s contract off their books. The veteran outfielder was designated off the 40-man roster at the end of spring training in 2024, received just four big league at bats, and the Guardians owed him $13.8 million over the next two years.

Including the deal of Josh Naylor, who was to be a free agent after the ’25 campaign, it was the third move based on saving money made by the front office after winning the division.

They also moved Andres Gimenez, owed almost $100 million over the next five seasons to Toronto.

Depending on what kind of deal Naylor would have settled for on a one-year basis, let’s say conservatively $10 million for him, the Guardians would have had to be this trio almost $27 million in 2025.

They moved that money out and signed veteran Carlos Santana to a $12 million deal for the upcoming season.

For the mathematically challenged, that’s a $15 million savings in payroll, and the biggest question for fans of the franchise is will the ownership put that saving back into the team?

And our question is this: After a season with a significant attendance boost and a run to the League Championship Series, we would say matching last year’s expense on payroll simply isn’t doing enough.

Again, we agree with the Straw and Gimenez moves. We have said several times in the past 12 months that the Guardians as an organization overpay for defense. Both of those players are very good defenders, Gimenez is without a doubt the best second baseman in the game, but neither are good enough with a bat in their hand.

Getting out of being on the hook for almost $100 million for a below average bat at 2B makes total sense, and as noted, Straw wasn’t even on the 40-man roster anymore.

The problem, as is always the issue with the Dolan ownership is they frequently make these smart moves to save payroll, but too often the cash saved goes into their pockets, not in order to help the ballclub.

The 2025 Guardians are not some rebuilding team. They won 92 games and once again were one of the four teams still playing at the end of the season.

The also have a superstar player who took a hometown discount to stay with the franchise who is getting older. Jose Ramirez is 32 years old and is no longer in him prime, and not to be maudlin, we don’t know if he is going to keep putting up MVP-like seasons.

It would be nice if the ownership would give the green light to spend some money to give Ramirez some help in winning a World Series, and by the way, Cleveland’s drought in this regard is 76 years, the longest of any current franchise.

Not only hasn’t the ownership not added payroll from last season, it seems they are going backwards.

Yes, we know…boo hoo, the local TV revenue, etc. The Guardians could have shopped for their own deal, and no doubt they will get money from somewhere. But let’s also remember that attendance is up, the 6th highest increase in the sport from 2023 to 2024.

There’s about a month to go before players start spring training. It would be nice to help the players who helped your fan base love your team.

Guards Make Two Deals And Get A Much Needed Starter

It was about one month ago that we wrote about the Cleveland Guardians overpaying for defense (https://wordpress.com/post/clevelandsportsperspective.com/21673). Three of their top five contracts (Andres Gimenez, Myles Straw, and Austin Hedges) are for players who are great with the glove, not so much with the bat.

Our theory was that there are tons of players in the minor leagues who can pick it, there is no reason to overpay for fielding. More money should be spent on hitting and pitching.

Essentially, the move the Cleveland Guardians made on Tuesday was dealing Gimenez, the best defensive second baseman in the game, for a starting pitcher, an area of huge need.

We cannot complain about that.

While we are no fans of the Dolan family ownership, we don’t view these moves as a salary dump. Cleveland would have had to pay Gimenez over $23 million per year starting in 2027, and let’s face it, in Gimenez’ four seasons with the Guardians, he was above average as a hitter only in 2022.

In exchange, the Guardians get Luis Ortiz, who made 15 starts with the Pirates a year ago, pitching 135.2 innings with a 3.32 ERA (3.22 as a starter). He struck out 107 hitters, walking only 42.

The 26-year-old right-hander figures to be in the Cleveland rotation to start the season, and let’s face it, the Guards need starting pitchers.

They also received three minor leaguers, all who have either never played professionally (Josh Hartle) or played in low A last season (Nick Mitchell from Toronto and Michael Kennedy from the Pirates). Those guys are lottery tickets.

And let’s face it, the Guardians system is loaded with middle infielders. We would think Juan Brito (807 OPS at AAA in ’24) would get the first shot at taking the spot. Brito, a switch-hitter, hit .256 with 21 homers at Columbus last season, but also drew 88 walks against 105 strikeouts.

His career lifetime on base percentage in the minors is .384.

Besides Brito, the Guardians also have Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, Daniel Schneemann, and/or Angel Martinez who can play second base next year. So, it can also be a move made from strength.

And you cannot forget the organizations’ best prospect is Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick in last year’s amateur draft. He could be arriving sometime during the upcoming season.

There is a difference between a salary dump and moving a contract that an organization doesn’t think is going to age well, and we think the Guardians did the latter.

We still think the Guardians’ ownership needs to spend more, and they freed up almost $11 million to the pool as that was what they were going to pay Gimenez this year. Hopefully, these funds can be used to sign or trade for another starting pitchers or another bat.

If the result of this trade is being able to get another solid starting pitcher or getting another solid hitter to play every day, then we are all in.

But if this is all the Guardians’ front office is going to do? Then they have probably kept the payroll the same after a good year at the gate and on the field. That won’t play well with the people who buy tickets.

Do Guardians Overpay For Gloves?

Both of these things can be true. The Cleveland Guardians can and should spend more money on players, and the World Series between two big market behemoths indicate baseball needs to do something to even the playing field for all franchises.

In looking at the Cleveland projected payroll for the 2025 season, the highest paid player is of course the team’s resident superstar, Jose Ramirez. The next two are players known for their glove more than anything else in Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw.

This begs the question: Do the Guardians overpay for defense?

If the franchise is going to limit the amount of money spent on players to less than $100 million, we believe they need to examine where they would get the most bang for their buck.

We have noted this before, but offense (meaning scoring runs) is what gets teams into the playoffs. Of the top seven teams in runs scored in the American League this past season, six of them made by the post-season.

The same holds true in the National League.

So, if you are going to spend cash on something in the game, it should be on good hitters.

We aren’t saying defense isn’t important. Heck, the fifth inning of the fifth game of the World Series is proof of that. But, let’s face it, guys who can hit are extremely more difficult to come by. On the other hand, there are players who are tremendous defensively scattered all over the minor leagues.

We also say that no matter how good players are defensively, in order to hold a regular job in the big leagues, you have to be able to swing the bat.

The proof of that is the current third highest paid play on the Guardians’ payroll, Straw. Why did Straw spend most of last season at AAA and was recently outrighted to the minor leagues? He simply cannot hit.

Which brings us to Gimenez, who the Guardians will be paying $10.57 million next year, $15.57 million in 2026, and then $23.57 million in ’27, ’28, and ’29.

There is no question at all that Gimenez is the best defensive second baseman in the game. He has won three consecutive Gold Gloves and also won the Platinum Glove in 2023. The play he made in game four of the ALCS was just spectacular.

However, does he provide enough offense considering what the Guardians are paying him?

He has spent 3-1/2 years with the team and provided one excellent offense year in 2022 (.297/.371/.466/837) and one year at around league average in ’23 (.251/.314/.399/712).

Last season, his OPS slipped to 638, well below league average, mostly due a big drop off in power. Gimenez had 46 extra base hits in his very good ’22 season, and 47 in ’23. In 2024, that figure fell to just 32.

He is an excellent base stealer, swiping 80 bases in the last three seasons combined.

The Guardians probably were too quick to give him a big contract after 2022, much like they were with Straw after he came over from Houston and had a 739 OPS (.362 on base percentage) in 2021.

However, now the front office has a huge decision. If Gimenez doesn’t rebound offensively, they will be stuck with another huge contract without matching production.

We feel you need six or seven solid hitters in a contending lineup, so maybe the front office can build up the rest of the lineup so they can afford to pick Gimenez and his outstanding defense in the lineup.

And if the organization is trying to keep salaries under $100 million, and we would be surprised if they went over the threshold (not because they can’t, they could), then it might be prudent to move the second baseman this winter.

Maybe the Guardians would be better with a better bat, and a glove a tick below Andres Gimenez. Paying big cash and not getting offense doesn’t seem like a good way to allocate your resources.

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.

So Far, So Good For Guardians

The baseball season is way too early to make any legitimate comments about the Cleveland Guardians’ start. First, seven games is just 4.3% of the season schedule.

Second, Steven Vogt’s squad spent the first four games playing the Oakland A’s, who may just be the worst team in the sport this season. That doesn’t mean we aren’t happy they took three out of four in Oakland. As we always ask people who pooh-pooh beating poor opponents, would you rather they lost?

Certainly, the series in Seattle and Minnesota will be more of a challenge for the Guardians, but as we said earlier, it is much too soon to make any blanket statements about the 2024 team.

It is difficult to judge the performance of the hitters against the A’s pitching staff, but that doesn’t mean beating Luis Castillo on Tuesday night in Seattle wasn’t impressive. Two of the things we felt would improve the offense, upgrading at catcher and centerfield have showed a bit.

Myles Straw hit just a single home run a year ago and knocked in just 29 runs for the season. Tyler Freeman, getting the bulk of the playing time out there so far, has already matched the dinger total of Straw, and he’s knocked in four runs already.

And Bo Naylor had the big blow against Castillo, a two-run shot, and he’s already drawn three walks in the four games he has played.

One thing that has stuck out was the performance of the starting rotation the first time through. Shane Bieber has been phenomenal, looking every bit like the two-time all-star he is after two appearances, but the rest of the starters have struggled in one area.

None of the other starters has been terrible, but they have had a problem giving Vogt length. It’s not a big deal early in the season, but if it continues, the bullpen will have to carry a heavy burden.

Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco fought through five innings, Tanner Bibee went just four, and Triston McKenzie lasted just 3.1. The latter two really struggled finding the strike zone consistently, so let’s see how they pitch in their next outings vs. Minnesota this weekend.

It was encouraging to see Allen go 6-2/3 innings yesterday.

As an organization, the Guardians are centered around the starting rotation, and if they can’t take the load off the bullpen, that could be an issue.

On the other hand, the relief corps has been ravaged by injuries and illness, yet they performed admirably this far. Rookie Cade Smith was particularly impressive, fanning nine in 4.1 innings, and Hunter Gaddis might prove to be a weapon out of the ‘pen, with three scoreless outings.

We are sure it would ease Vogt’s mind if he could get six innings out of the rest of the rotation the next time through.

Back to the offense, the key is watching how the hitter perform against good pitching, which the Mariners and Twins have. Putting up competitive at bats is a good thing and something to watch against Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan.

The offense is the part of the team that was the biggest question mark coming into the season. We will continue to monitor if there is progress in scoring runs.

Moving On From Straw Is A New Direction From Guards?

Probably nothing signals a new era for Cleveland Guardians’ baseball than Myles Straw being put on waivers and outrighted to AAA.

Straw is kind of the poster child for the question of how important is being an elite defender to play on an everyday basis? Straw won the Gold Glove in 2022 and was certainly a tremendous glove in patrolling centerfield during his tenure in Cleveland, but frankly, he was one of the worst hitters in the sport.

For a team that finished 12th in the American League in runs scored a year ago, his bat was no longer a luxury they could afford.

In Ozzie Smith’s second season, he batted .211 with a 522 OPS. As good as Smith was with the glove, if he didn’t provide better offense, we would have been a bench player for a while, and then would have been released.

And he’s probably the greatest defensive shortstop ever.

Smith gradually got better with a bat in his hands. Perhaps Straw will at some point, but if he doesn’t, we would guess he won’t be a regular in the major leagues again.

Not to get bogged down with Straw, but the curious thing about him is he never changed his offensive approach in games. He never learned or improved his bunting skills. He also stopped running when he did reach base, which was even more curious.

As for the rest of the roster, it does look like Straw’s replacement in center might be converted shortstop Tyler Freeman. We have long wondered what Freeman would do if he was getting regular playing time, and we guess we will know find out.

The pedigree is there as far as his minor league numbers go. He slashed 393/387/780 in AAA and overall, 382/430/812. Now, it’s up to him to prove those numbers can translate to the big leagues.

We were also happy to learn Brayan Rocchio will be the primary shortstop over Gabriel Arias, because we think the former is the better offensive player.

We aren’t saying the organization should ignore the defense, especially when you’ve built everything around your pitching staff, but to us, if it comes down to playing a pretty good fielder who can hit vs. a great glove who cannot, we go with the first option every time.

Estevan Florial made the team despite a lackluster camp, and it will be interesting to see how Steven Vogt uses him. Our thought with him is if he doesn’t do anything with the bat, there is the logical spot for Kyle Manzardo to come in and replace him on the roster.

The pitching staff is very much in flux because of injuries and the virus which affected the team all spring. Gavin Williams and Sam Hentges will start on the injured list, and we already know Trevor Stephan is out for the season.

So, Carlos Carrasco will open as the fifth starter, and Tyler Beede, a non-roster invitee who pitched in Japan last season also will be on hand. Hunter Gaddis is now a reliever, and was very good in Arizona, fanning 17 in 11-2/3 innings.

Rookie Cade Smith could also make the big club after striking out 11 in eight frames in spring training, coming off whiffing 95 in 62-2/3 innings in the minors last season, albeit with a 4.45 ERA.

How will this group of Guardians perform once the games count for real in Oakland on Thursday night? We will talk about that in a couple of days.

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.

Maybe Being Slightly Better At Some Spots Will Work For Guards

We have been critical of the inactivity this winter by the Cleveland Guardians. The Guards fell from a division winner in 2022 to last year’s 76-86 record, and really haven’t made any moves to get better.

However, we remembered that when the team gets to the trade deadline, we always remind people that it’s not always a blockbuster move that is needed, sometimes an incremental move works just fine.

So, in that spirit we have cut the front office a bit of slack. We still think going after one or two veterans to have around as a backup plan would have been a smarter play, and of course, we will remind folks of that if what they are doing doesn’t work out.

And that’s not a second guess.

New manager Steven Vogt has talked a few times about newcomer Estevan Florial taking over in centerfield and we have pointed out Florial’s struggles in making contact and his fall from ranking as a top 100 prospect.

Then we remembered he would be replacing Myles Straw at the spot. Last year, Straw was the third worst hitter in the American League with his 597 OPS. The only players who were worse were Javier Baez and Tim Anderson.

If Florial can have a 650 OPS this season (league average is 728), the Guardians’ offense will be better than last year. Heck, overall, Cleveland centerfielders had a 626 OPS, the worst on the team.

The second worst spot was rightfield, where the players manning the spot combined for a 629 OPS. The favorites to play there in 2024 are Will Brennan and Ramon Laureano in a platoon role.

Brennan had a 695 OPS vs. right-handed pitching in ’23, while Laureano had a 794 OPS against southpaws. And remember, the latter didn’t join the team until August last season.

If they repeat those numbers, the offensive production out of that position will be improved.

And the third worst spot should be better because it is the catching position and Bo Naylor should get the bulk of the playing time there. Barring the dreaded sophomore slump, that is.

Naylor put up an 809 OPS, belting 11 home runs in the 67 games he played last season. And he’s patient at the plate, drawing 30 walks. That’s nothing new, he had a .348 on base percentage in his minor league career.

We have no question that he can boost the production from that position, after all, the Guards unbelievably gave 149 at bats to Cam Gallagher last season, who put up a woeful 322 OPS.

Baseballprospectus.com listed Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez as the most likely players to have improved numbers at the plate this season. And we agree they will probably be better in 2024.

With the Central Division being what it is, perhaps those things, coupled with the usual solid pitching, can vault the Guardians back to the top of the division standings.

We still would rather have invested some money (we know, we know) into getting a decent hitter or two to improve the roster instead of trying to project how a 20-year-old who has never played higher than AA can make an impact. The front office is back to their Dusty Springfield approach.

For younger people, she was a singer who had a big hit called “Wishin’ and Hopin'”.

Maybe we just have a case of Spring Training Fever. After all, exhibition play started yesterday.

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.