Face of the franchise: Cleveland Guardians, José Ramírez have an agreement in place on 5-year extension



ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 03: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians is greeted by teammates after scoring a run in the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on October 03, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

By Zack Meisel 1h ago 97
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Against all odds, conventional wisdom and decades of organizational behavior, the player who struck the long-lasting extension to become the king of Cleveland baseball was José Ramírez. It was the pint-sized teenager who dropped out of school as a pre-teen. It was the guy whose sister teases him because, as she says, she’s the true professional, an architect. It was the guy who blossomed only after a couple of rough years in the majors and an untimely injury to Michael Brantley.

It wasn’t Manny Ramirez or Jim Thome or CC Sabathia or Francisco Lindor who landed the lifetime deal. It was the short, stocky infielder who was never a top prospect, who once kept the seat warm at shortstop for Lindor, who was once Juan Uribe’s underling. It’s the guy who has forged friendships with every teammate from Mike Napoli to Franmil Reyes to Myles Straw, who obliterates anyone foolish enough to accept his Mario Kart challenges. It’s the guy who refuses to find a better-fitting helmet and who last year wore a chain that contained a picture of him wearing said chain.

The guy who received the heftiest contract in team history, the face of a franchise that recently unveiled a new name and brand, is someone the organization originally penciled in for a utility role until he implausibly developed into a lineup cornerstone, a middle-of-the-order power threat who feasts on fastballs, rarely swings and misses, and never caves to a pitcher’s demands. Ramírez, 29, has an agreement in place on a new five-year, $124 million extension, sources told The Athletic, that could keep him in Cleveland through the 2028 season, right around the time he turns 36.

It’s what he wanted all along.

For almost a year, Ramírez and those close to him have voiced his desire to remain in Cleveland for the rest of his career. He doesn’t crave a big market or national attention. He didn’t want to be traded. Cleveland had never handed out a contract larger than the three-year, $60 million commitment they awarded Edwin Encarnacion on the heels of the club’s march to the 2016 World Series. They have long been financially risk-averse under the Dolan ownership, especially after free-agent deals with Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn fizzled.

The Guardians tossed out an initial offer early last week after touching base with Ramírez’s camp about each side’s expectations for a framework. Ramírez’s camp, disappointed in the proposal, submitted a counter. There was an impasse, as the Guardians were uneasy about tying up a considerable percentage of their (paltry) payroll to one player, especially once he reaches his mid-30s. They preferred a four-year extension; Ramírez’s camp, pointing to deals that Christian Yelich, Paul Goldschmidt and others have signed that cemented them as franchise centerpieces, wanted six years.

When Ramírez woke up on Tuesday, the final day of spring training, he decided he wanted to end the stalemate. He called his mom in the Dominican Republic to discuss his situation and to tell her how close he was to securing a nine-figure contract. He called his agent and directed him to find some middle ground with Cleveland’s front office.

Ramírez played in the club’s split-squad game against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Tuesday afternoon, before the team flew to Kansas City in advance of their season-opening series. Ramírez exited in the fifth inning, and the negotiating began. Team president Chris Antonetti stopped the team bus, bound for the airport, so they could hash out an agreement. As the team headed east, Ramírez informed his teammates he’d be sticking around for a long time.

When he arrived on the big-league scene nearly a decade ago, Terry Francona referred to him as “Little Shit” for the way he pestered opponents with reckless abandon on the basepaths. Teammates compared him to George Jefferson, citing his carefree strut, a walk he flaunts whether he’s mired in a funk at the plate or soaring toward the top of voters’ MVP ballots.

When Ramírez was 20, he aided Cleveland’s quest for a wild-card spot as a frequent pinch-runner in September. Francona often reminded him he wasn’t invisible, as he ran amok, overslid bases and had little regard for caution. Now, he’s routinely rated as one of the league’s top base runners, a teammate younger players such as Gabriel Arias and Andrés Giménez monitor during games to learn how a player with pedestrian speed can steal so many bases at such an efficient clip.

Only two players, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, have amassed a higher WAR total over the last six years than Ramírez. He provided all of that value on the league’s best bargain contract, a five-year, $26 million pact that evolved into seven years and $52 million because of his regular appearances as an MVP finalist. His next deal was always going to be exponentially more lucrative. The Guardians knew that.

They also knew they needed to generate some buzz ahead of a new season after a shaky, polarizing rebrand and after a dormant offseason in which they struck out on other spending initiatives, keeping their payroll especially low, despite their insistence it would rise.

This equips the club with a foundation of an all-world third baseman and an annually proficient starting rotation. They can build a lineup around Ramírez with the wave of well-regarded position player prospects who figure to join the fold in the next year or two. Had they not struck an agreement, Ramírez would have been the most popular player on the trade market this summer. Instead, he’s the first face of the Guardians.

— Ken Rosenthal contributed to this story.

(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)

Great news!

And how about Jose Really Meant It that he wanted to stay wirh Cleveland and gave up millions to do so

This deal won't cost the Gs a penny for the next two seasons. Nickle-squeezing Dolan dodges a bullet. Although it contains a no-trade clause, players waive that for the right amount of bucks.

Jose is happy. Two years from now, he might be working relatively cheap again.

Nothing has changed as to the competitiveness of this team. Can they score enough runs to win games? Will they get no-hit 3 more times this season?

So, it's pitching, Jose and the jags.

Lloyd: How does Jose Ramirez’s extension become the standard in Cleveland and not the surprise?


By Jason Lloyd 37m ago 2
For a variety of reasons, it had to end this way. The Guardians and Jose Ramirez had to find common ground on an extension. Credit to both of them for getting it done.

So how does this become the new standard and not the exception? No team outside of New York and Los Angeles keeps all of its stars, but how does Cleveland find a way to retain more of its impact players into the future? It’s complicated, but perhaps a path is clearing. More on that in a minute.

As for Ramirez, there was a growing risk from Cleveland’s side this was going off the rails. All of it. From the time the Guardians slashed and burned the payroll, there were assurances it would all be temporary and there would soon be room to spend again.

Then they missed on Matt Olson, they couldn’t get Jesse Winker because they didn’t want to absorb the bad money on Eugenio Suarez. Veterans who could’ve helped like Luke Voit and Austin Meadows were sent elsewhere while the Guardians invoked their right to remain silent. Opposing players and even a division-rival manager began taking subtle digs at Cleveland’s $35 million payroll. The home opener hasn’t sold out yet. Even with a Cy Young winner and MVP candidate on the roster, fan anger and apathy were swelling rapidly around Carnegie and Ontario.


One signing doesn’t fix everything, but it’s certainly a bit of a pressure release. Five years and $124 million are still far below Ramirez’s market value. Nolan Arenado signed for eight years and $260 million. Anthony Rendon received $245 million over seven years. Manny Machado got $300 million over 10 years. Ramirez is as good or better than all of them, but he came up through this organization and wanted to stay in Cleveland and was willing to take significantly less to do so, just as he did on his first extension.

Nevertheless, it’s an incredible commitment from the Dolans. It’s the first time in 20-plus years of ownership that they invested heavily to retain a homegrown star during his prime years. It didn’t happen with Manny Ramirez or Jim Thome or CC Sabathia or Francisco Lindor. It did happen now. There’s an excellent chance that Ramirez can finish his career here, something he has made clear is important to him. If Ramirez would’ve insisted on Lindor or Arenado money, which he was certainly entitled to do, this deal wouldn’t have gotten done and he assuredly would’ve joined the list of stars to be traded out of town. His willingness to take less forced the Guardians to act.

That’s why it had to end this way for the Dolans and Chris Antonetti. Really, what was the alternative? Flip Ramirez at July’s deadline for more prospects? This organization is already stuffed full of prospects. The 40-man roster is packed so full of minor-leaguers that team officials have privately acknowledged they’re going to have to make a flurry of moves over the next 6-12 months or else face a real roster crunch sooner than later.

Shane Bieber has now entered his arbitration years and the clock is ticking on him. Eventually, it was time to plant a flag somewhere and get off the hamster wheel of trading stars for prospects, developing them and then trading them away for more prospects.


This opportunity was a perfect and necessary mix of events such as a player willing to take less and a payroll stripped to nothing that made this type of commitment feasible. Paul Dolan gets full credit for finally making this type of commitment to one of the team’s foundational pieces, while it’s also fair to acknowledge this is the price of doing business in professional sports in the 21st century. He’s fortunate Ramirez wanted so badly to stay.

I wrote after the Lindor trade that the Dolans are a mom-and-pop stand trying to compete in corporate America. Eventually, you’re going to get priced out of the game. It’s a bit remarkable they’ve held on as long as they have.

We might be starting to see that transition with David Blitzer, whose minority stake in the team isn’t yet official, but certainly seems to be trending that way. It’s only a matter of time before Blitzer gains majority control, although if the final deal looks anything like John Sherman’s prior agreement, Dolan will dictate exactly when that happens.

Blitzer and Josh Harris are often a tandem. Harris is the principal owner and managing partner of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers. Blitzer is his partner with both. They also are shareholders in Crystal Palace of the English Premier League, but it’s not a far bridge to cross to envision a scenario in the future where Blitzer and Harris are partners in Cleveland, too. That would make the Guardians part of corporate America.

Blitzer’s real estate background could be a game-changer for Cleveland. Throughout the recently completed lease negotiations, I was told the idea of mixed-use development around Progressive Field was important to the Dolans. It has become the trend across sports and it could become a new revenue stream here that ownership does not have to split with Major League Baseball.

But how was it feasible? The Dolans don’t own any of the land around the stadium and don’t have the liquidity to start buying old buildings.

Guardians beat writer Zack Meisel and I canvassed the area around the stadium last summer. We spoke to lot attendants and real estate developers and city officials. One of our main conclusions was that there was entirely too much parking in the immediate vicinity around the stadium, and while I thought the Gateway garage was a terrific concept when it was constructed, times have changed and it is now valuable real estate that could be more lucrative to the club as a mixed-use site.

So how do extensions like the one Ramirez received become the new standard in Cleveland? By creating new revenue streams in and around the ballpark that can be funneled back into payroll. As Zack and I spoke to club officials last summer about the renovations soon to begin at Progressive Field, the one part I couldn’t reconcile was: How will any of this create significantly more revenue? All of it looked beautiful and some pieces, such as the overhauling of the service level and expanding the clubhouse, would be a key benefit to the players. But how was any of it going to generate additional revenue?

The Guardians have quietly made clear this spring that Blitzer won’t come in and immediately begin writing big checks to cover expenses. Rather, his checkbook and real estate acumen can be vital in purchasing and renovating the areas around the stadium, creating the sort of Ballpark Village the Dolans sought during lease negotiations. It will take time. This isn’t a one or even two-year project. It will take multiple years to complete — Blitzer, remember, isn’t even part of the franchise yet. But Ramirez’s extension doesn’t begin until 2024 and runs through ’28. By the end of his new deal, perhaps the landscape around Progressive Field is vastly different. Perhaps the ownership landscape is, too.

All of it is necessary for transforming this franchise so that days like this aren’t so surprising and eventually become the standard in Cleveland.

Three Guardians Who Could Have A Breakout Season In 2022

Originally posted on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider

By Tommy Wild | Last updated 4/6/22

Every year as fans we get to enjoy watching players have something click for them, and finally have their breakout season at the major league level. Usually, for us Guardians fans we usually see this happen with our pitching staff. Last year it was Cal
Quantrill and in the shortened 2020 season it was Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. So as we are on Opening Day eve, let’s take a look at some players who could have potentially have their breakout season in 2022, and why.

Steven Kwan

Coming into Spring Training, not many people may have known who Steven Kwan was. I certainly was not expecting him to make the Opening Day Roster. But Kwan has already become a fan favorite and the regular season hasn’t even started yet. That is every indication to how well he has been playing this spring. The main reason for all this hype is his approach and production at the plate.

Kwan’s offense numbers in Spring Training show exactly why he is ready to have a breakout season in 2022. Over his 32 at-bats, Kwan hit for an average of .469, with 15 hits, a 1.031 OPS, and zero strikeouts. Yes, that is right, Zero strikeouts! To go through this long of a stretch without striking out represents tremendous plate discipline.

It’s no secret that the Guardians need more offense coming from their outfield and Kwan certainly has shown that he can provide that. He has also shown this spring that he can hold his own on defense as well. If Kwan keeps this offense production up combined with solid defense, he could quickly be become an everyday outfielder for the Guardians while having a breakout season.

Yu Chang

For all the attention that young Guardians infielders have been getting, Yu Chang might be the most deserving to get a starting job in the infield, at least to start the season. This starting job could quickly turn into a bigger role. Even though Chang has played the utility role for Cleveland the past three seasons, filling in all over the infield, his spring training numbers show that he is ready to take the next step and have a breakout season as an everyday player.

This spring, Chang has had a total of 36 at-bats while hitting for an average of .306 and an OPS of .925. This includes two home runs, one of those being a grand slam. With such a strong spring, Tito is going to have no choice but to find Chang playing time once the season starts.

Chang’s emergence this spring is not a total surprise when looking at how he finished last season. After a very difficult start to the year in 2021, Chang hit an average of .286 from July until October. This included a .323 average in the month of August. Chang’s hot end to the season, combined with his great Spring Training makes him a great Guardians player to watch for a breakout season.

Andrés Giménez

Andrés Giménez had quite a lot to live up to as one of the main pieces in the Francisco Lindor trade. His defensive ability was never in doubt, but throughout 2021 his offense surely was.

Giménez could be looking at a breakout season for a few reasons in 2022. The first one is that he will be moving back to his natural position of shortstop more often with Amed Rosario playing more left field. With Giménez feeling more comfortable on the defensive side, this comterability could also translate to the plate as well.

The other reason that Giménez is looking to have a breakout season is his spring offensive numbers look great. He had a monster spring training with an average of .360 over 11 games. Francona also seemed optimistic about Giménez’s offense heading into the season as well, saying that “I think that is encouraging that he showed up with the same batting stance then he did last year.” This shows that Giménez has gotten comfortable with his swing at the plate, and ready to have a big year for the Guardians!

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Amed Rosario is an undervalued asset for the Cleveland Guardians

by Adam Roberts4 hours ago

Amed Rosasio is the kind of player who helps glue together a team over the course of 162 games. He is an important part of the Cleveland Guardians makeup, and may not receive as much appreciation as he should.

When Francisco Lindor was moved from the then-Indians to the New York Mets in January of 2021, incoming infielder Andrés Giménez felt like the safe bet to take over duties at the shortstop position in Cleveland. He was coming off of a good 2020 rookie season where he slashed .263/.333/.398, albeit in 132 plate appearances, and seemed to be the premier player coming back to Cleveland in the trade.

Once the 2021 season got underway with Giménez starting off slow at the plate, another addition from the Lindor trade stepped up to show his chops at short and in the lineup. Amed Rosario took over duties on the infield after playing positional musical chairs in spring training, and became one of Cleveland’s most consistent batters, as well as one of its heartbeats as the season wore on.

For a player who initially seemed like a throw-in at the time of the long-dreaded Lindor trade, Rosario has proven to be the kind of guy who will step into any position he’s asked to, and will do what he can to help his team win, regardless of the glamour of the role he is playing. What Rosario brings to the table in terms of attitude, effort, and overall skillset is undervalued in comparison to its true worth for the Guardians.

Amed Rosario’s First Season in Cleveland

Amed Rosario came into 2021 looking like he’d need to find somewhere other than shortstop to slot into Cleveland’s everyday lineup. With Andrés Giménez projected to hold down short, and César Hernández starting the year at second, there didn’t seem to be a place for Rosario to play one of his more natural positions, leading to his trial run in center field for the then-Indians.

During spring training, Rosario would have his infamous three-error game in center field when he was testing the waters at the position, showing the wide gap between manning the infield and patrolling sizable real estate in the outfield. He had virtually no time to figure out the nuances of playing in center, and it was apparent in his struggles to acclimate as quickly as he was forced to.

When the regular season got underway, Rosario bounced between center field and shortstop through the early stages of May while struggling to get things rolling at the plate. Where he turned it around actually came in his final appearance in center on May 12, when he would go 4-for-5 and fuel a win in a tight game over the Chicago Cubs.

From May 13 on, Rosario assumed regular duties at shortstop, and his season picked up significantly from that point on. Although he is not a defensive maestro in the same vein as Lindor and Giménez, Rosario played well enough to help hold short down while also finding himself in the batter’s box. He went on to slash .282/.321/.409 on the season, hitting 11 homers, stealing 13 bases, and driving in 57 runs primarily out of the two-hole in the lineup.

Rosario also went on to have a scorching August, where he would slash .372/.397/.584, good for an OPS of .981.

What become apparent about Rosario during his first season with Cleveland was his ability to play an entertaining game of baseball. He isn’t the best player on the diamond, he isn’t the flashiest, and he isn’t going to put up the most mind-boggling statistics, but wherever he is slotted in at, he’ll just go out and play.

Amed Rosario’s Outlook for 2022

In the early goings of 2022, it looks like Rosario will split time between the infield and outfield like he did early in 2021. He has gotten spring reps in left field, creating a conduit for him to transition back and forth until he cements a place and the roster irons itself out.

At the plate, Baseball-Reference.com projects Rosario to slash .276/.319/.412 while driving in 56 runs and hitting 12 dingers.

From early spring lineups and based on recent history, Rosario will likely start out the new season hitting from the two-hole. If he can work a good average and take his walks, he can create scoring opportunities for José Ramírez and Franmil Reyes behind him in the three and four-holes, especially with Myles Straw leading off ahead of him. With many of the Guardians bats still questionable in terms of production potential, Rosario is a key figure in what will likely be the run-scoring core of the lineup. If the Guardians are going to be successful offensively in 2022 and surpass their less-than-desirable preseason projections, having strong production from players like him will be a necessity.

While he can be streaky, has stretches where he struggles at the plate, and isn’t a defensive wizard, Rosario does play with heart and hustle. From legging out infield grounders on his way to first base, to his willingness to play where manager Terry Francona and the front office think he can best help the team, Rosario displays all of the elements of a team-first, me-second type of player.

In today’s game, having players with that type of attitude is always a huge clubhouse boost to any team. Although he won’t always light up the scoreboard and will boot the occasional grounder, what Rosario offers Cleveland is indispensable, and helps to create winning culture for a team with lots of youngsters looking to find their way. As a fan base, it’s important not to take for granted the contributions Amed Rosario brings to the Guardians on and off the diamond.

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MLB clubs increase their price for the 2022 season

Wednesday 6 | 10:30 pm

Carlos Colon | @carlosac1_

The sport that is played inside a diamond, despite popular belief, is still an attractive sport not only for the fan, but also for the team owners and investors who make a living in it. Baseball against every adversity presented has found a way to find itself viable for investment and money production, as presented by Forbes magazine in its annual publication of the analysis of the Major Leagues.

According to this publication, the average value of the franchises increased by 9.0% in value during 2021 in all teams except the Miami Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles (Miami maintained its value during the past year, Orioles lowered it by 4.2% ).

Only nine of the 30 teams lost money during 2021, which was restricted by the pandemic until midseason. The Texas Rangers led the league in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) with $97 million of the $645 million made by the entire MLB.

The new CBA or collective labor agreement brings even more profits for the organizations, since the clauses include the possibility of inserting advertising patches on shirts or helmets, which would generate an income of $400 million a year.

[ A nice winter ball touch ]

Also the increase in the teams that will battle for the playoffs would generate benefits. With the entry of two teams to the "Extended Playoffs" the organizations will earn at least $65 million annually, which is added to the new $115 million they will earn due to the agreements with streaming platforms Apple TV and Peacock.

Side Note:

The Guardians extended their lease at Progressive Field with the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga county in January through at least 2036. It's areal sweet deal for the team. The 15-year extension is expected to generate $435 million. The city and county collectively will contribute $17 million annually, the state will contribute $2 million annually, and the Guardians organization $10 million a year. About $200 million of the proceeds will are targeted for ballpark renovations following the 2022 season, including an extension and upgrading of the left-field experience inclusive of the Terrace Club; a reworking of the upper-deck concourse; creating a larger, more engaged social space in the seating area behind home plate; and clubhouse/front office building renovations. Proceeds from the lease will also be used for ballpark capital repairs and maintenance.

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SPORTSMONEY

Cleveland Guardians’ Chris Antonetti Faces His Biggest Challenge Yet

Jim Ingraham Contributor

Mar 28, 2022,02:34pm EDT

By now Chris Antonetti knows the drill. Now in his 23rd year with the Cleveland Guardians, the last seven as President of Baseball Operations, and the five before that as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Antonetti has been around the baseball block in Cleveland in both good times and bad times.

These times? These are neither good nor bad.

These are hard times.

Being the top baseball decision maker for a financially-challenged major league team during a pandemic is nobody’s idea of a good time. But the Guardians’ Mr. Roll with the Punches never met a scenario he couldn’t out-finesse.

While Cleveland’s baseball fans continue to roil and boil over the lack of activity by the hometown team, which had the lowest payroll in baseball last year, and, not coincidentally, its first losing season in nine years, the unflappable Antonetti still sees the glass as half full.

“We’re in a position right now financially to add for 2022. So that’s not a limiting factor for us right now,” he said.

Maybe not, but it’s a disturbing factor to Guardians fans, and others around baseball who interpret Cleveland’s do-nothing offseason as an admission that the team is either unable or unwilling to compete.

“I probably shouldn’t be in the chair I’m in if I was going to be too sensitive to criticism,” said consummate team player Antonetti. “I’m guessing if I asked you what our payroll was in 2016, no one cares. What they remember is we played in Game 7 of the World Series. Our goal is to figure out how to win that last game.”

The perception of Antonetti throughout the game is that he’s a patient, consistent highly-intelligent executive who has had opportunities to pursue positions with other freer-spending teams, but chooses to stay with the financially-conservative Guardians, under owner Paul Dolan.

Indeed, it is Dolan, not Antonetti, who is the target of fan backlash over the Guardians’ failure to improve the team either through trades or free agent signings.

The biggest news the Guardians made over the winter was to add an unheard-of 11 minor league players to their 40-man major-league roster.

“We did explore a number of things in our approach to free agency and trades, but we weren’t going to make a transaction just to make a transaction,” Antonetti said. “We didn’t want to put obstacles in front of some of our young players who we feel will be able to contribute this year.”

Skeptics would translate that into: “We didn’t want to spend big money on proven major league players, even if they helped make the team better.” Such is life as the top baseball decision maker for a financially challenged major league team.

Antonetti and Guardians manager Terry Francona are both considered at or near the top of their field. Where others of their ilk might be inclined to pursue positions with other more financially ambitious teams, the Guardians’ two most important non-players remain comfortably ensconced in a work environment they both regularly praise.

“Each market has its own challenges,” Antonetti said. “Our job is to figure out how to overcome those challenges.”

Cleveland does have an outstanding pitching staff, starting with a rotation led by former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, plus Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Cal Quantrill, Triston McKenzie, and a top closer in Emmanuel Clase.

But pitchers don’t hit, and last year the Guardians hitters didn’t hit. At one point Cleveland got no-hit by opposing pitchers twice in the span of 16 games. Most of that same group of hitters are back this year, which is not exactly a good thing.

According to Antonetti, the Indians did pursue a group of targeted players. “But more often than not they didn’t end up here,” he said. “On that level I can be disappointed. But that doesn’t take away from the excitement we have for the group of players we have. There have been times in the past where we didn’t have those options to turn to internally, and therefore our net was a little bit wider and we would have taken most anyone to fill a spot. We don’t feel like we’re at that point.”

Where the Guardians are at this point is a pitching-dominant team with an offensively-challenged lineup. If Francona can smoke-and-mirrors-it to contention at the trade deadline, the ball will be in Dolan’s court on whether he finances the pursuit of a position player difference maker.

Said Antonetti: “I can’t think of a time where, when we’ve been in a competitive position at the trade deadline, if there’s been an option for us to improve the team – finances haven’t been an obstacle.”

Can Cleveland get to the trade deadline still in contention?

“We’re counting on some young players. We need guys to take advantage of the opportunity that is in front of them,” Antonetti said. “To the extent that they are able to do that, it could make for an exciting year.”

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Jim Ingraham

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Meisel: The 10 Cleveland Guardians players I’m most looking forward to watching in 2022


By Zack Meisel 5h ago 27

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the youngest roster in the league — only Bryan Shaw and Anthony Gose have ages that begin with a three — the Guardians have a clubhouse filled with uncertainty.

What can Cal Quantrill, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac accomplish if they avoid the injured list? Can James Karinchak rebound from his second-half nosedive? Can Franmil Reyes punctuate his Cleveland tenure with a 40-homer season? Will Austin Hedges, hitting be damned, grade out as the best defensive catcher in the league? How will Nolan Jones, Tyler Freeman, Richie Palacios, Gabriel Arias and Bryan Lavastida work their way into the mix?

The list of rhetorical questions regarding those on the roster stretches longer than the line to enter the Muni Lot on a Sunday morning in the fall. The quest for answers should hold our attention as the season unfolds. As that hunt begins, these are the 10 players I’m most intrigued to monitor in 2022.

10. Owen Miller
I’m still convinced Miller can hit, despite his unsightly rookie numbers (a .204/.243/.309 slash line, with some not-so-encouraging metrics). Maybe he’ll feel more comfortable at the plate with those struggles behind him. Maybe his pre-lockout work with new hitting coach Chris Valaika will pay dividends. He did have a great spring, for what it’s worth.

I’m not sure how consistently Miller will find his name in the lineup. It’ll be up to his bat to ultimately force Terry Francona’s hand.

9. Emmanuel Clase
How much better can a reliever perform on the heels of a season in which he posted a 1.29 ERA and allowed only two home runs in 69 innings? It helps when that reliever wields a 101 mph cutter and a 94 mph slider, doesn’t walk many batters and induces a ton of weak contact that sends tremors of pain through a hitter’s hands. Clase now has financial security and experience, and he’s expected to anchor a bullpen littered with question marks. Team evaluators have noted his effectiveness increased last summer when he started to mix in more sliders.

“Hopefully he can build on that moving forward,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “His combination of stuff and location — now, if we can add sequencing into it, it makes him a really formidable guy out there.”

8. Andrés Giménez
It’s natural to wonder what Arias and Rocchio and Jose Tena might be capable of in the coming years, and it’s easy to forget that Giménez doesn’t turn 24 until September and was the crown jewel of the Francisco Lindor trade. This is, obviously, a pivotal season for him to carve out a spot on the roster moving forward and fend off the throng of middle-infield prospects vying for opportunities. He has proven he can run and defend, and his bat thawed as the summer wore on in 2021. Can he put it all together and become a steady, everyday shortstop?

7. Anthony Gose
With Karinchak sidelined and inexperience running rampant throughout the relief corps, it would benefit the club if Gose emerged as a reliable force in the late innings. Not to mention, it’s a Netflix-worthy script as he attempts to cement his transformation from outfielder to pitcher with a banner season in his new role.

Gose likes to keep to himself, and his piercing stare can disintegrate all 206 of your bones in an instant, but those in the clubhouse insist he’s an exceptional teammate and an easy guy to root for. The lefty throws in the upper 90s with a tricky slider. If he can consistently throw strikes, he could be a lethal arm to pair with Clase at the end of games.

Related: Gose’s implausible journey back to the majors

6. Steven Kwan
He was the talk of spring camp, and for good measure: Kwan didn’t strike out in his 34 plate appearances, and he batted .469 (15-for-32). I know, I know, it’s spring training, and some of the pitchers he faced have never legally sipped an IPA. But who doesn’t want to see how Kwan’s elite contact ability and command of the strike zone translate in regular-season games?

In his big-league debut, he walked twice and slapped a single to right field. He went home with the baseball he whacked and the lineup card.

“I think there are better days ahead for him, too,” Francona said.

Kwan said he’ll gift the souvenirs to his parents.

“I’d definitely put it somewhere and it would disappear forever,” he said.

Related: Why Kwan is a hitter to remember for 2022

5. Myles Straw
The sneak preview was worth the price of admission. Straw is a Hoover in center field, a pest on the base paths and a guy who makes an elite level of contact and rarely chases pitches out of the zone. (Granted, he doesn’t make a ton of hard contact.) Those traits made him a rather valuable player after the trade with the Astros. Now, we’ll see him in the leadoff spot over the course of a full season.

4. Shane Bieber
Bieber is returning from a shoulder injury and his fastball averaged only 90.6 mph in the opener, down from last year’s average of 92.8 mph. Is there cause for concern?

“You asked me last year in Detroit, too, pitching in a blizzard,” he said Thursday, after his third consecutive Opening Day start. “I’m not going to look into it too much. I’m just going to let it happen. I still was able to use my fastball effectively and everything else is playing up.”

That’s true; he tossed 28 fastballs, 24 sliders and 17 curveballs. His offspeed pitches induced 10 whiffs.

Bieber is especially driven to make 30-plus starts this season, as he noted missing half of last year made him miserable. When he’s healthy, All-Star Game nods and Cy Young Award votes typically follow.

3. Josh Naylor
This one is self-explanatory. Naylor socked an opposite-field double in his Cactus League debut, his first at-bat in an actual game in nearly nine months. This team needs to identify a few hitters they can lean on beyond 2022, and Naylor blossoming as the productive bat the Guardians thought they were acquiring in the Mike Clevinger trade would be a significant revelation, especially after he suffered such a gruesome injury last year. He could rejoin the big-league roster as soon as mid-April.

2. Triston McKenzie
What can the team’s group of pitching coaches and analysts accomplish with a first-rounder who was a top-50 prospect, considering how they convert overlooked prospects into productive big-leaguers? The lightbulb went off for McKenzie last summer, and if the growing pains are fully in the rearview, he could be poised for a breakout season. (He did suffer the loss in the club’s season opener, as he said he didn’t feel “aggressive” enough in his delivery, which resulted in only one swing-and-miss in 47 pitches.)

1. José Ramírez
Everything he does, from outsmarting pitchers to swiping bases despite unspectacular speed to talking trash to opponents, is worth monitoring. Take his second at-bat of the season, for instance: He stretched an RBI single into a double, losing his helmet as he rounded first base.

Ramírez will be a member of Cleveland’s roster for a long time. This summer won’t be dominated by conversation about which team will trade for him, which would have been the case had he not agreed to a contract extension this week. Instead, we’ll have 162 games worth of reminders of why he’s such a joy to watch.

Zack Meisel
@ZackMeisel
·
Apr 9
Myles Straw and the Cleveland Guardians are in agreement on a five-year contract extension that includes club options for 2027 and 2028.

‘Fever dream’: Inside a whirlwind, record-setting first week for Guardians’ Steven Kwan



KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 07: Steven Kwan #38 of the Cleveland Guardians reaches third base against the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the ninth inning during Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium on April 7, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel 6h ago 26
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It began to sink in last month, in the fourth inning of a Guardians-Giants game in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan singled and advanced to second base, where he introduced himself to San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford, an All-Star shortstop Kwan rooted for as a Bay Area teenager.

And in the stands, Jane Kwan, a proud mother and loyal Giants fan, wanted to shout to her son: “Don’t fangirl on him.”

That was the moment this dream left the runway.

Kwan recalls his parents driving him up and down the West Coast to tournaments and showcases. He would sit in the backseat and alternate between Game Boy sessions and naps as they catered to the unrelenting schedule of the only sport he ever cherished (in part because Jane, citing his 5-foot-9 stature, denied his request to play football).

Jane and Ray were driving to a Japanese grocery store when their son called to relay the news that, after an initial scare from manager Terry Francona to throw him off the scent, Kwan had made the Opening Day roster.

“I think she screamed,” Ray said Sunday afternoon from Kauffman Stadium after Kwan went 5-for-5.

“Did I scream?” Jane said.

“My mom screamed,” Kwan said, “very deafeningly.”

Now, after a chaotic, hastened spring training, Kwan is authoring a historic start to his career, and his parents were in Kansas City to capture every moment.

Only, it still hadn’t quite sunk in. At least, not until Jane grabbed food at the ballpark and glanced up at a TV, with her son displayed front and center.

“That legitimizes it,” she said.

Related: What makes Kwan a hitter to watch

Kwan had no trouble falling asleep Wednesday night, after dinner with his parents. That is, until he woke up in the middle of the night because of a coughing fit. And that’s when it struck him: He’d be batting seventh and starting in right field on Opening Day, with award-winning ace Shane Bieber on the mound, with face of the franchise José Ramírez hitting a few spots ahead of him, with tens of thousands of fans praying for him to fail, with his parents, siblings, former coaches and friends watching from the stands.

When those daunting thoughts encroach, he leans on his morning meditation session.

“I catch those big thoughts and identify that they’re just thoughts,” he said, “not giving them any more power.”

After the national anthem on Thursday afternoon, as snow flurries fell, Kwan stood against the dugout railing and peered toward the seats behind home plate. He couldn’t find his family. They supplied him with a detailed description of their section, so when he hit a double on Saturday, he pointed in their direction as he stood on second base.

“They missed it,” he said, laughing.

Jane does connect with him before the game, usually during batting practice, with what she deems “mom radar.”

“I blow him a kiss and he catches it,” she said.

She was always candid with him as he poured his energy into pursuing a baseball career, reminding him of the unfavorable odds of converting his passion into a long-lasting career.

“He totally beat me,” she said.

Her messaging kept him motivated to attain his finance degree; he stands only six classes shy of graduating from Oregon State. His parents can’t wait for the day they can hang his diploma on the wall beside his OSU uniform.

They have a standing date on Thursday nights to talk about family goings-on. They encourage him to stay humble, which has worked wonders as he torments opposing pitchers and becomes inundated with interview requests.

Kwan set a slew of records on Sunday, with five hits and a hit-by-pitch in his third career game. And yet, here’s how he explains it:

“Just coincidence. Variance,” he said. “A lot of those balls could have been fielded or caught. Hit by a pitch, that doesn’t happen very often. I had a ball clank off the pitcher. That’s just how baseball is. Tomorrow, I could barrel up five balls and they’ll all be outs. I just got lucky today.”

Whatever you say.

“I can’t even believe I’m standing here in Kansas City,” he said, “so if you told me a stat, it would probably just bounce (right off me).”

Well, Kwan is the first player — ever — to reach base 12 times in his first three career games, two more than any other soul who has stepped foot on a major-league diamond.

“Huh. Yeah,” he said, “that’s pretty cool. That doesn’t even feel real hearing that.”

That’s been the theme for Kwan and his family the last couple weeks. Jane described the stretch as “hugely overwhelming.” Ray said “it’s surreal.”

A few days ago, Kwan’s heart was thumping through his chest as he approached the batter’s box for the first time. Royals catcher Salvador Perez and home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi greeted him, which helped him exhale. He has reminded himself all week to breathe, to think about the immediate task at hand and not about his at-bat in a couple innings or whether he’ll be in the lineup the next day or whether he’ll be on the roster in a week.

He got to keep the ball from his first hit and the lineup card from his debut. His torrid stretch at the plate convinced teammates to change their social media pictures to ones of Kwan.

His contact ability and handling of the strike zone have paid dividends atop Cleveland’s order, and it says a lot about the rookie that Francona demonstrated little hesitation in shifting him into the No. 2 spot.

The key to those coveted qualities? Pinball.

Jane and Ray met in the ’80s while playing pinball. They long for the days you could take a pocketful of quarters to an arcade or some establishment with a machine or two and set up shop until you established a new high score. They had Steven hooked on pinball before he reached kindergarten, and it helped his hand/eye coordination, an essential trait to his hitting profile.

So far, Kwan has eight hits and three walks in three big-league games.

“I don’t know how to react,” Ray said.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Jane said.

“This has surpassed any kind of fever dream I’ve ever had,” Kwan said. “This is unbelievable. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up pretty soon.”

When is the Hall of Fame voting? Will Kwan enter this year or will he have to wait for next?

Referring to those lists of who could break out and who could be exciting this year, it appears that Owen Miller may now be reading to come through [again very very early returns but .... ] as hoped for last year. Another solid hitter who doesn't swing big. He could be a much better fit for first base than Bradley.... and yes Bobby could turn out to be Jesus Aguillar Take Two if we let him go but Aguillar walked more and even his moment in the sun was not prolonged.

I like the way Straw and Miller and Rosario and Kwan play ball. If Naylor is little better that last year at the plate we might wind up with 7 or 8 perfectly satisfactory or better spots in the everyday lineup. Catchers are going for a 0-162 game record, that would be pretty cool too

The Steven Kwan hype train, Myles Straw’s extension and the Guardians’ hitting approach: Meisel’s Musings



KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 10: Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates with outfielder Steven Kwan (38) after hitting a two-run homerun in the seventh inning of an MLB game against the Kansas City Royals on April 10, 2022 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel 6h ago 53
KANSAS CITY — Have you settled on a favorite Steven Kwan statistic?

Maybe that he’s the first player since Abner Doubleday hit an apple with a broom or whatever to reach base 15 times in his first four career games?

Or that he’s the second major-leaguer since the Great Depression with a five-hit game within the first three games of his career?

How about the simple fact that he has yet to swing-and-miss at any of the 82 pitches thrown his way? Or that he leads the majors in WAR, batting average, on-base percentage and puns involving his last name? (Though, admittedly, that last one is un-Kwan-tifiable.)

The Kwan hype train is surging toward Cleveland — with a quick pit stop for a couple of games in Cincinnati — where he’ll likely be overwhelmed by an ovation from a sellout crowd on Friday night. He has remained humble and grounded during this record-setting stretch and has chalked up his results to good fortune and kindness from the BABIP overlords.

No matter what he thinks, he’s been the talk of the Cleveland baseball universe, and perhaps the entire league, through the first handful of games.

1. The goal of the top of Terry Francona’s batting order: Irritate the hell out of opposing pitchers. Shifting Kwan into the No. 2 spot in the lineup equips the club with three high-contact, low-chase hitters in succession.

Last season, Myles Straw ranked in the 97th percentile in whiff rate and the 94th percentile in chase rate. In other words, he resisted pitches out of the zone and made contact when pitchers ultimately tossed him a strike. He saw 25 pitches in the season opener. José Ramírez ranked in the 94th percentile in whiff rate and the 92nd percentile in strikeout rate last year. He’s a master at forcing pitchers to cave to his demands.

Kwan is a newcomer, but he has already exhibited similar traits. He walked more than he struck out in each of his minor-league seasons. His swinging strike rate last year was 2.7 percent. For reference, Bobby Bradley’s swinging strike rate in 26 games at Triple A last season was 20 percent.

So, that’s three hitters who drive up pitch counts, put the ball in play, only swing at strikes, and rarely swing-and-miss at those strikes. That’s an agonizing assignment for an opposing pitcher. Kansas City’s Kris Bubic made 17 pitches to those three in the top of the first on Sunday. Ten of those pitches were balls. All three hitters reached base, sparking a six-run inning. On Monday, Carlos Hernández allowed a single to Straw and walked both Kwan and Ramírez to start the game. Fourteen pitches, five strikes, three base runners.

2. Those three offer a glimpse into what the organization has prioritized on the hitting front in recent years. This isn’t a lineup featuring a ton of boom-or-bust candidates. Bradley and Franmil Reyes are the outliers. The club has instead assembled a cast of contact-oriented hitters. It’s not just the top three in the order; Owen Miller, Ernie Clement, Tyler Freeman, Richie Palacios and, to an extent, Josh Naylor all fit that mold, too. (Miller and Clement are a combined 10-for-19 to start the season, by the way.) That’s not to say power isn’t valuable — that’s where George Valera, Nolan Jones or an external addition or two could help — but the organization has found it more plausible to teach contact hitters how to drive the ball than it is to teach power hitters to make more contact or grasp the strike zone better. Remember, Francisco Lindor hit only 21 home runs in nearly 1,900 minor-league plate appearances and then started clubbing 35 homers per season in the majors.

And, don’t forget, the contact-based approach could pay extra dividends when the league institutes restrictions on the shift next year.

3. A team long desperate for outfielders knew to secure one once they landed him. The Guardians sought Straw for about a year before they finally acquired him from the Astros last summer. He covers acres of ground in center field, and that has proven even more valuable given the team’s revolving doors in the corners. He steals a bunch of bases. He refuses to make life easy on pitchers, as already noted.

The club hasn’t had a steady, multi-year presence in center field since Grady Sizemore, who authored his last healthy, productive season in 2008. Since then, the club has cycled through 36 different center fielders. The following players have started at least one game at the position: Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco, Austin Kearns, Travis Buck, Trevor Crowe, Kosuke Fukudome, Jason Donald, Brent Lillibridge, Aaron Cunningham, Ezequiel Carrera, Drew Stubbs, Chris Dickerson, Nyjer Morgan, Tyler Holt, Mike Aviles, Michael Brantley, Michael Bourn, Michael Martinez, Daniel Robertson, Abraham Almonte, Lonnie Chisenhall, Austin Jackson, Brandon Barnes, Brandon Guyer, Jason Kipnis, Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis, Leonys Martín, Greg Allen, Delino DeShields, Ben Gamel, Oscar Mercado, Amed Rosario, Jordan Luplow, Harold Ramirez and Bradley Zimmer.

In that stretch, only on three occasions has a player started more than 100 games in center.

Michael Bourn, 2014: 104 starts
Michael Bourn, 2013: 124 starts
Michael Brantley, 2012: 140 starts

Straw’s extension, a source told The Athletic, is a five-year pact worth $25 million, with club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons for $8 million and $8.5 million, respectively.

4. Cleveland’s three rookies — Kwan, Bryan Lavastida and Konnor Pilkington — gathered in a quiet room in the team hotel on Wednesday. They discussed the journey that was about to begin, they posed for a photo together and toasted to what Kwan described as “a successful 15-year career for all of us.” All three had family in Kansas City to watch the first series of their big-league careers. Kwan set baseballs ablaze. Lavastida started in the club’s 17-3 victory on Sunday. Pilkington didn’t pitch, but he did nab Oscar Mercado’s home run on a fly while sitting in the bullpen on Monday.

Pilkington didn’t expect to break camp with the team. He has yet to pitch in Triple A, and he knows he’s likely bound for Columbus at some point in the near future. This experience should help him, he said. And it was a worthwhile few days for his parents, who flew in from Mississippi, where they live about a half-hour from the Gulf of Mexico.

Ron Pilkington, Konnor’s father, remembers sitting in the family’s townhouse in Seattle several months after Konnor was born. Konnor wasn’t even really crawling yet, but when Ron rolled a ball across the floor, Konnor chased after it, picked it up and tossed it back.

“I was like, ‘This is weird,’” Ron said. “Then I got a videotape, started recording, did it again and I was like, ‘We have us a ballplayer.’”

Ron coached Konnor in the early stages of Little League, and Konnor was the only kid who could complete the throw across the diamond from third base. Then, Konnor threw right-handed. Now, he’s a lefty, though he throws a football and bowls right-handed. He surmised he can throw about 80 mph with his right hand.

5. The universal designated hitter will be in place for Cleveland’s games against the Reds in the next two days. That means Triston McKenzie won’t have the chance to duplicate his feat from last April, when he smacked an opposite-field single, which drew him a compliment from Joey Votto at first base. McKenzie joked Monday morning he was going to convince the coaches to allow him into the cages for a few hacks. He said he was jealous last summer when he was optioned to Triple A and the team embarked on an interleague swing to Pittsburgh and Chicago.

“I’ve had to remind myself that a couple times,” Francona said about the universal DH being instituted. “You get so used to doing it one way. You’re worried about your pitcher getting hurt. I’m glad it’s like this.”

George Valera, Nolan Jones have power but also are good at drawing walks.

Jones drew 96 at two levels in 2019; 59 in Columbus over only 99 games before an injury shut him down.
In fact he takes so many pitches that he gets himself to lots of 2 strike counts which result in too many strikeouts: 148 in 2019, 122 in those 99 games last summer

Valera had a much better ration than that in 2021: 66 walks and 88 strikeouts in a total of 86 games. That would be up into triple digits in walks over a full season. The ratio was not so good during his time in AA: 11bb 30 k. In his 3 games of 22 he's been to the plate 10 times: drawn 4 walks, struck out 4 times and put the ball in play twice. Not quite Kwan-like but he is a selective hitter.