Moving Quantrill Is Odd, Getting Barlow Is Good

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On The Guards’ New Skipper

The Cleveland Guardians picked the successor to Terry Francona earlier this week when they tabbed Steven Vogt to be the new skipper of the Guards.

Is it a good move? We have no idea. Vogt just retired as a player after the 2022 season and spent last year as Seattle’s bullpen coach. He just turned 39 years old earlier this week. He made two all-star teams as a player.

That’s what we know about Vogt. We aren’t going to make any claims as to how he will do as a manager because he’s never done it before. And that doesn’t mean he will not be good at the job; it simply means he has no track record.

The front office did their due diligence reportedly speaking to Francona and other experienced skippers about what they feel was the best attributes to having success as a manager. They felt Vogt had those qualities and it is a good thing that he can still recall what it was like to be a player.

It reminds you what things you can ask a player to do.

Apparently, Sandy Alomar Jr. will remain on the coaching staff and his experience should be invaluable to Vogt as he navigates his way through a 162 game regular season. And Carl Willis, the Guardians’ long time and very successful pitching coach will also remain on the staff.

Vogt couldn’t hope for two better guys to be able to bounce ideas off, and hopefully, he listens to them as well in terms of communication from a manager’s standpoint, rather than that as a veteran leader.

He should develop a relationship with Jose Ramirez as soon as possible. Ramirez is the Guardians’ de facto captain and bonding with him and getting his support will go a long way into having the rest of the roster buying in.

Francona liked having veteran leadership in the locker room. In his first year in Cleveland, he had Jason Giambi in that role. Because Ramirez has been here awhile, an older player isn’t needed for that purpose, but Vogt and Ramirez need to be a team.

We would like to see the new pilot and the organization be a little more flexible about starting the season with rookies in everyday spots. Francona seemed to be a little more concerned with cold weather affecting the performance of rookies, but we would like to see them as opposed to mediocre veterans with track records.

It is a bold choice for sure and for that we commend the front office.

Speaking of the front office, they already improved the catching situation by claiming Christian Bethancourt on waivers from Tampa Bay. He belted 11 homers last season (635 OPS) and has a rocket for an arm, he pitched for a bit in the minors early in his career.

He doesn’t have a great strikeout/walk ratio, but is certainly better than Cam Gallagher, who put together one of the worst offensive seasons we have seen in a long time.

We don’t understand the other waiver pick up, 1B/OF Alfonso Rivas, who slashed .303/.422/725 with Pittsburgh and San Diego last season. He’s not an on base guy and doesn’t have a lot of pop either. He is having a good winter league season and had good numbers in AAA last season.

Just seems like a AAAA player right now. However, he may not be on the 40-man roster by the time spring training begins.

And that spring training will be guided by a new manager for the first time since 2013. Maybe Vogt can be the first World Series winning manager for Cleveland since 1948.

No One Will Know What To Expect With Guards’ New Skipper (Probably).

Likely, the first order of business for the Cleveland Guardians is to find a new manager to replace their all-time leader in wins as a skipper in Terry Francona.

We find it funny seeing some fans trumpeting candidates when the names come out that Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are interviewing. It has been reported that Giants’ bullpen coach Craig Albernaz and Yankees’ bench coach Carlos Mendoza have had conversations with Cleveland.

And add in the other speculated candidates like Rangers’ bench coach Will Venable, who was with the Guards in spring training a few years ago and went to college with Chernoff, Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada, and current Cleveland third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.

We would guess the Guardians would be interested if Kevin Cash (739-617) with Tampa Bay) or Craig Counsell (707-625 with Milwaukee) came available. The great Peter Gammons speculated last week that Cash would love to manage in Cleveland, and the front office would love to have him.

However, outside of Cash and Counsell, we really don’t know what you are going to get as from any of the men who have never managed at the big-league level. Bench coaches would seem to have good experience, but there is still a big difference between being someone who “suggests” moves rather than making the ultimate decision.

And it’s also different piloting a minor league team where player development is the goal rather than winning games. We would agree though that handling minor league players well should translate to the big leagues.

If you hire guys who have had success at the big-league level, not only do you get that, but they also understand all that goes along with the job in the majors, meaning dealing with the media, and being exposed to players who have been in the game for a while.

We think the ideal candidate is someone who can combine the old school type of managing, with a feel for the game, with analytics. We thought it was insane for John Schneider to remove Jose Berrios from his start against Minnesota in the wild card series because it was scripted, and the numbers said to do it.

If a starting pitcher is doing his job, let him keep doing it until the hitters tell them he is losing effectiveness. We understand sometimes it’s too late to take action, but remember, some people treat analytics as a way to explain why they made a decision that didn’t work.

We don’t want a manager who goes strictly by the numbers, but we don’t want someone who will ignore them either. At this point in baseball though, we doubt you could find a manager described by that second statement.

At the end of the day, what you want is someone who has the trust of the players and has everyone pulling in the same direction. And with the Guardians still being a very young team, the new guy in charge will also need to guide them.

Terry Francona liked to have a veteran around to help with that, be it Jason Giambi, Jose Uribe, or Mike Napoli. And we agree having an experienced player around is important.

The truth is, we really won’t know anything about the new manager (if he has no big-league experience, that is) until the games start for real next spring. And even then, you have to allow a new major league skipper to grow into the job.

Thank You, Terry Francona

Terry Francona managed his last home game as the Guardians/Indians’ skipper last night and what a fun 11 years it has been. Six post-season berths, one American League pennant, and currently sitting at 920 regular season victories.

He is respected by pretty much everyone he comes in contact with, and unfortunately this 2023 Guardians didn’t have a better finish to the season.

We remember being very surprised that he would take the Cleveland position after winning two World Series in Boston, but thrilled we were getting a winner.

We are sure there are some who is glad he is leaving, and even Francona himself has said maybe the next guy will be better. As former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove once said, two things everybody thinks they can do better than everyone else are cooking a steak and managing a baseball team.

We have said Francona is not infallible, he made mistakes, just like every other manager. He gave some players too much of the benefit of the doubt, and sometimes that patience lapsed into stubbornness. But many times, the skipper was right, and the player he waited on started producing.

He’s what they call a “baseball lifer”, he spent his whole life in the sport, and we’ve all seen the picture in the dugout at the Father/Son Day in Cleveland in the early 60’s. He grew up in the game. And with his dad playing here and him managing here for 11 years, he’s a Cleveland guy.

That alone should be cause for celebration.

And for all the talk that he loves veterans, let’s not forget during his tenure here, he broke in Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Steven Kwan, and really Josh Naylor too. And his first pitching staff here featured Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Danny Salazar, and a very young Corey Kluber.

He had Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer on the World Series team of 2016, and brought along Shane Bieber to be the latest ace, with perhaps Tanner Bibee getting ready to take his place.

He’s done a pretty good job with young players too, and always has if you look at his time in Philadelphia (Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu) and Boston (Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis).

Let’s also remember how masterful Francona was in the 2016 post-season, when he guided the Indians to the ultimate game despite losing Carrasco and Salazar for pretty much the entire playoffs.

He and Joe Torre changed how bullpens were used in the postseason, and now all managers use that strategy come October.

And think about the relationships with his players. When the Pirates were in town earlier this season, Carlos Santana ran over to the Guardians’ dugout after the top of the first inning to give Francona a hug.

We are sure there are a few players who don’t like Francona, but they are few and far between.

We are sad about his departure because it marks the end of an era in Cleveland baseball. It has been noted that the only two teams with better records since Francona has been at the helm are the Yankees and Dodgers. Let that sink in a bit.

Say what you will, but that’s a pretty good run.

We would like to say thank you for 11 great seasons of baseball. In an interview given last week, Francona sounds like he still would like to be part of the organization going forward, and that sound right.

Since he was a little kid, he seems like he’s been one of ours.

The Weird Twists And Turns For Guardians This Year

We don’t think anyone could debate this has been a weird season for the Cleveland Guardians. They were coming off a 92 win season and a playoff appearance, and the front office even signed free agents to fill holes.

It just didn’t work out. The Guardians’ longest win streak all season has been four games, which coincidentally is also their longest losing streak. They just couldn’t build any momentum, either positive or negative all season long.

It was a season filled with weirdness and here were some of the strangest things we saw this year.

1). They carried three catchers most of the season, but started the season with Meibrys Viloria as the third backstop. He was on the roster for the first 35 games of the season, playing in 10 games, accumulating four plate appearances.

Talk about a waste of a roster spot.

2). After years of dominating the AL Central, the Guardians had a terrible time in the division this season, pretty much an explanation for their below .500 record. They won the series vs. Minnesota, ironically, but are just 15-21 against the other three teams who have a combined record of 181-278 (.394).

Weirdly enough, they’ve held their own against the teams likely to play in the post-season in the American League, going 27-24 vs. Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Minnesota, Houston, Seattle and Texas.

3). How about Zach Plesac’s fall from grace. Yes, he didn’t have a good year in 2022, but he still had a 4.31 ERA and allowed 136 hits in 131.1 innings.

This year, he simply imploded, allowing 18 earned runs in 21 innings and was sent to the minors by early May after just five starts, and designated for assignment later on. And to support the organization’s decision, he compiled a 6.08 ERA in AAA.

A far cry from his first two years in the bigs in 2019 and 2020.

4). The 1968 World Champion Detroit Tigers’ had a shortstop named Ray Oyler, who hit .135 for the season in 247 plate appearances. Cam Gallagher only has 142 times at bat, but he’s hitting .130 as the Guardians’ back up catcher, and somehow made it through the season on the big league roster.

He survived even though David Fry came up from AAA and demonstrated the ability to do a solid job behind the plate, and can swing the bat a bit.

5). How many times did Myles Straw, one of the league’s worst hitters with an OPS of 575 with a single home run on the year, bat in the late innings with the game on the line? In high leverage situations, Straw hit .198 with a 500 OPS.

And Terry Francona appeared irritated when asked why he didn’t pinch hit for Straw in these situations.

6). Speaking of Fry, he pitched more innings for the Guardians this season than August 31st waiver pick up Matt Moore. Fry went four innings on a Labor Day blowout loss against Minnesota, and Moore pitched in five games totaling 4.2 innings before being put on waivers again and being claimed by Miami.

7). Emmanuel Clase leads the AL in saves, and likely will do so for the second straight year. He also became the first Cleveland pitcher to have 40+ saves in consecutive seasons.

He also blew 12 save opportunities. He did that despite allowing just 2 home runs on the season. It seemed every softly hit ball against him found a hole, or the team played bad defense behind him.

It didn’t help that Cleveland had so many close games.

We didn’t even go into the voodoo that left-handed pitchers do to the team.

Hopefully, the Guardians don’t add to the strange doings on in the last week of this disappointing season.

Important Series In Minnesota? Don’t Think The FO Thinks So

The Cleveland Guardians should be entering a crucial stretch as five of their next eight games are against the Minnesota Twins, who currrently lead the AL Central Division by six games over Cleveland.

We say should because we aren’t sure the management of the team are interested, or should we say fully invested in catching the Twins.

We are sure the players are trying to win every night, but it seems like Terry Francona, Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are ambivalent.

In Sunday’s game, the Guards had a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning and Noah Syndergaard had thrown over 80 pitches. He allowed a runner to reach, but no one was warming in the bullpen meaning the starter was out there to complete the inning.

He gave up a two-run homer to allow Toronto to capture the league and was removed after six frames. He was also designated for assignment after the contest.

With Cal Quantrill likely to be activated on Friday, he will take Syndergaard’s place in the rotation, but to replace him, the Guardians called up retread Daniel Norris to take his place.

Norris replaced Xzhavion Curry last night and promptly gave up four runs turning a 6-5 contest into a 10-6 Twins’ lead.

Last year, the organization was very aggressive bringing up young players like Will Brennan, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Cody Morris, even if they weren’t on the 40-man roster to help down the stretch.

Why not bring up Franco Aleman, who has made 13 scoreless appearances at Akron, striking out 29 and walking just 3 in 19.1 innings at AA. To be fair, he didn’t have great numbers at Lake County (5.52 ERA) but did whiff 46 batters in 31 innings.

Norris is a 30-year-old journeyman who made six appearances at the big league level this year and walked 11 batters in 10.2 innings coming into last night. Heck, if they didn’t want to go with Aleman, Hunter Gaddis, who opened the season in the starting rotation would have been a better choice.

Francona could’ve turned to Eli Morgan in the 3rd and maybe went with Morris later, but no, it was Norris, just like a game in June against a team not ahead of them in the standings.

We understand the Blue Jays threw two southpaws at the Guardians over the weekend, but instead of playing Bo Naylor, the best catcher on the roster, in one of the games vs. a lefty, both Cam Gallagher and Eric Haase, who at best are replacement level major leaguers both got starts.

We have seen fans angry that Naylor only played in one game in essentially his hometown. That shouldn’t be the argument. He’s clearly the best hitter of the three, and isn’t a terrible defensive catcher. He should be in there most nights.

This shouldn’t be news. The organization told the fan base they weren’t interested in contending on August 1st. And it wasn’t trading Amed Rosario, Josh Bell, and Aaron Civale that was the main crime, it was not trading for someone to help a bad offense and a struggling bullpen.

A sweep could have cut the Minnesota lead to three games, heck, they could still walk out of the Twin Cities down five. But we don’t think that was a major consideration.

Fans can’t want something more that the organization does.

If Tito Retires, Who Should Be Next In Line?

Terry Francona is certainly leaving all the hints that this will be his last year as manager of the Cleveland Guardians. Of course, this has led to all kinds of speculation as to who would will be his successor.

First, no matter how frustrating Francona can be at times to fans, particular younger ones, he has been a tremendous leader. He has won a club record 906 games to date, winning 55% of the contests he has piloted.

Overall, he sits currently at 1935 victories, so he will not become the 13th skipper in big league history to get to that plateau. Every manager with more wins that Francona are in Cooperstown, except for Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy, who are still active, and will be enshrined when they retire.

He has managed in three World Series, winning two in Boston and of course, losing in the 7th game with the Indians in 2016.

In the four years prior to his arrival, Cleveland won 68, 80, 69, and 65 games. Their lowest since? The 80 wins in 2021.

Francona has faults as a manager, all good managers do. We have always said he skirts a fine line between patience and stubbornness, and we are willing to admit that as much as much as we may want a particular player’s playing time reduced, usually Francona was right in staying with him.

That doesn’t mean we want a current coach to take over though. No matter how much DeMarlo Hale, Mike Sarbaugh, or Sandy Alomar Jr. (three people mentioned as successors) will carry on the foundation of what Francona has built in terms of culture, they aren’t Francona, and that will likely cause a conflict down the road.

We would like to keep Carl Willis, but he’s 63 years old and may not want to work with a new manager. But he’s a big reason for the organization’s “pitching factory” and if the new manager wants a chance to win, the knowledge of the young starters that Willis has will be crucial.

Let’s bring in someone new, perhaps even someone from outside the organization, but also a manager who can combine the analytics-based thinking with some “old school” thoughts as well.

For example, we don’t like the use of openers. We still believe the best way to win a baseball game is to have your starter go six or seven innings of effective work and turn it over to the bullpen.

Francona always said the problem with an opener is what happens if the pitcher you designate gives up three runs in the first. Then you are screwed.

But we don’t want someone who is a slave to the numbers. Someone once said that analytics often get used to justify a decision even if it doesn’t work. We agree with that thinking.

So, we would hire from outside the organization, and let the new manager pick his staff. Sometimes, having someone with a different “perspective” looking at the players is very much needed for an organization.

However, whoever the next skipper is, he won’t have the impact or the longevity of Terry Francona. Cleveland hasn’t had a revolving door in that position since Mike Hargrove was hired in 1991.

Hargrove was here 8-1/2 years, Eric Wedge seven, and Francona 11. Yes, Charlie Manuel and Manny Acta were mixed in, but the organization has been very stable. We would guess that’s something Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be looking for.

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’ Front Office Caps Off A Bad Year Of Decisions

After the Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central last season, Terry Francona told his players to make this a beginning, a springboard to future success.

Apparently, Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff didn’t get that message. Heading into the last two day prior to the trading deadline, the Guardians closed to within a half game of Minnesota for first place in the division.

The front office decided to pass on competing for the post-season in ’23. Sure, they said the right things, they are confident in the group in the clubhouse and still think they can compete, and maybe they can. But the message to fans and the players was pretty clear. They had no confidence in this squad.

It’s not trading Amed Rosario, who was going to be a free agent, or Josh Bell, who was a disappointment this season. And we can even buy the theory behind trading Aaron Civale, who has been injury prone and at best is probably a #3 or #4 starter.

The problem is the organization did nothing to address the problems this team has had all season: The offense and the bullpen.

They picked up Noah Syndergaard in the Rosario deal to essentially take Civale’s place in the rotation, but they still need a fifth starter, and for some reason, they are reluctant to give Xzavion Curry a shot at the job.

The front office has had a bad run since the division title a year ago. They signed two free agents, Mike Zunino (we didn’t like that move) and Josh Bell (we did like that) and both are gone with two months to go in the season.

The offense struggled most of April and May, and the front office and management were slow to make changes. In fact, until Rosario was dealt last week, they played two very subpar offensive players (Rosario and Myles Straw) pretty much on an everyday basis.

And while they are patting themselves on the back for adding top 100 prospect Kyle Manzardo from Tampa, let’s remember that he put up great numbers last year at high A/AA, but in AAA, he has a 783 OPS. We aren’t predicting he will be a bust, and certainly we hope he can be an everyday player.

But we look at numbers in the lower tiers of the minor leagues with a jaundiced eye. There is a prospect in the Guards’ system who had a 977 OPS at high A and an 818 OPS at AA. That would be George Valera, who is currently hitting .196 with a 633 OPS at Columbus this season.

We aren’t writing Valera off, but his ranking on top prospect lists has dropped from 2022 to 2023, and we wonder if he will appear at all prior to 2024.

After years of ownership saying they need attendance to justify spending, after last year, the crowds have returned to Progressive Field. And the front office decided not to add payroll or talent to the current roster.

To us, the activity by the front office put a cap on a nine month streak of mostly bad decisions. We understand no front office is perfect and the Guardians deserve the benefit of the doubt. But we also would comment that kicking the can down the road is an easy decision.

It’s tougher to correct the problems of the current roster and make a run at another division title. And as for those who would say the Guardians aren’t good enough to win the World Series anyway? You can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.

The Weird Doings Of The ’23 Guardians

There is no getting around the inconsistency of the Cleveland Guardians season to date. Their longest winning streak to date has been four games. Their longest losing streak? Also, four games.

Fans are waiting for that hot streak, a week or so where the Guards rip off 10 wins in 12 games or win 14 of 18 contests. Just when you think the team can get some momentum, they stop it.

Last week, they blew out Pittsburgh in back-to-back games, and had a 4-0 lead in the series finale. They wound up dropping a 7-5 decision.

The inconsistency isn’t just on the field, it has extended off the field as well. Many of the decisions the front office and Terry Francona have made don’t seem to be logical, at least to the folks who follow the team.

First, we have the Myles Straw/Amed Rosario conundrum. The Guardians love Straw’s defense. He won the Gold Glove last season and justifiably so. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield and we are sure the pitchers love that.

Unfortunately, he is a terrible hitter, with an OPS of 617 (the league average is 724). To the organization though, his defense justifies his playing time.

But Rosario plays the most important defensive position on the diamond, and he is a poor defender. You might think he plays because he is a great offensive player, but he isn’t. His OPS is 657 (note the league average), and he doesn’t walk and doesn’t have a lot of pop.

So, our question if Straw plays because of his defense and Rosario plays essentially despite it, that doesn’t make sense, right?

Another puzzling thing is the handling of Xzavion Curry. Curry has done a very good job coming into games early when a starter has failed and soaking up innings to keep the rest of the bullpen rested.

He has a 2.87 ERA in 53 innings of work in 2023.

The Guardians also have a need for a 5th starter with the injuries to Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill.

After Sunday’s game, Francona said he didn’t want Curry to pitch more than three innings so he wouldn’t lose him for 3-4 days. You mean like a starting pitcher?

Curry was a starter in the minor leagues and has thrown as many as 67 pitches this season, although that was early in the year. Over the last month, he has tossed a high of 45 pitches and threw 42 on Sunday. He threw 39 in his previous outing, so they could have had him go to around 55 against the Phillies.

Our question is instead of using Curry as a starter going forward, you would rather have him available in case a starting pitcher gets hit around? It would seem to us that you could have a pitcher like Hunter Gaddis serve that role and see if Curry can lend some stability to the rotation.

We know “openers” and “bullpen games” are part of the sport, but it is still better if you can put someone on the mound to start the game, and have that guy throw at least six effective innings.

Just two weird things the Guardians are doing this year. We could also include the penchant for letting Straw hit with the game on the line, giving up an out to move a runner into scoring position for hitters like Cam Gallagher, and continuing to carry three catchers on the big league roster.

When you aren’t winning on a regular basis, these things make people scratch their heads. And it’s not like these questions come out of left field (no pun intended).