Got it. If no one is that interested in our 2nd level prospects, neither is Cleveland. Arias and Freeman will compete to be utility guy, although I guess both could hang around. Either could blossom into a very solid player, too.

Another day of frantic action by the FO.......not

I guess they're gone for the holidays.

My team is pretty well set.
what are you looking for them to do now?
I think you can repost that same comment every day until spring training opens with pretty good confidence it will be true.

I'd like them to dump Straw and add more offense to the outfield. He's probably not worth much to another team. We know Tito loves his defense but he's probably alone.

So far, all this team has done is dump a couple of under performers and add 2FAs that ended last season on the down side. Now they're hoping (and praying) they can return to previous levels. I'd like to add someone that ended last season on the up side.

I realize the G's can't/won't/refuse to spend cash like other teams are throwing around.

I assume they know they can't single and bloop their way to post season success. We all know they need more pop.

Got to make some trades. Sooner than later before you end up with leftovers.

This will not meet unanimous agreement on the site

The Top 10 lineups in baseball for '23 are ...
December 21st, 2022 from mlb,com

Number 10: Guardians

1) Steven Kwan, LF
2) Amed Rosario, SS
3) José Ramírez, 3B
4) Josh Bell, 1B
5) Josh Naylor, DH
6) Oscar Gonzalez, RF
7) Andres Giménez, 2B
8) Mike Zunino, C
9) Myles Straw, CF

Look at the pesky young Guards weaseling their way into the top 10. They were decisively a middle-of-the-pack offense last year, ranked 15th in runs per game (4.31). But it’s not really a big leap from 15th to 10th, and I would argue that Cleveland can make it by drastically improving two positions (DH and catcher) where it ranked 29th in OPS last season (Bell and Naylor can now essentially share the 1B/DH at-bats). Bell and Zunino both bring needed power to the equation. Add a little muscle to a club that had the best contact rate (80.8 percent) and ranked fourth in FanGraphs’ Baserunning score (13.2) last year, and you’ve got the makings of a top 10 offense.

Pirates want pitchers for Reynolds. Who does not want pitchers ?

Pitching wins championships ! Hitting is great to have but pitching wins.

My largest concern for the Guardians is the bullpen. The bullpen out performed and led the team to their success. To do that 2 years in a row does not usually happen. Any trades should be to bolster the pitching.

Plesac and Civale should be available in any trade talks. Make room on the pitching staff for promotions from their ample pipeline.

Kluber still looking for a job.

Pirates looking for major league players? How about Plesac, Civale, Straw and Rosario for Reynolds? Might have to throw in some cash.

3 of those players currently have no value.

Jon Morosi
@jonmorosi

If #Pirates trade Bryan Reynolds this offseason, they’re looking for at least one top starting pitcher to headline the package — such as Bobby Miller (#Dodgers) or Ricky Tiedemann (#BlueJays), both of whom rank among the top 40 prospects in
@MLB

@MLBNetwork
2:11 PM · Dec 22, 2022

if Pirates are looking for a top prospect pitcher we have Espino and Williams. I like the idea of making them take Civale and Plesac instead.
Although I would prefer to trade one, not both of Aaron and Zach
I am OK with Cody Morris in the rotation from day one.
Konnor Pilkington was hardly ovewhelming but did a reasonably good job, stats comparable to Civale and Plesac; although there is the question of why he was so much better in the majors than in Columbus

Months ago there was a story that Phillies were interested in Plesac.

this is the trade deadline story I was referring to

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to add to their rotation ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, and one AL Central pitcher has piqued their interest.
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Zach Plesac "is on the radar of the Phillies," according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
Plesac, who has a $2 million salary this season, is under team control through the 2025 campaign with three more years of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent.
The 27-year-old has spent the first four years of his career with the Guardians and has been a decent mid-rotation pitcher for the franchise. In 18 starts this season, he is 2-8 with a 4.09 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 99 innings.

I posted a story about Plesac's unimpressive 2022 in articles

In their annual prospect report for each team, Baseball America also projects the team's lineup 4 years out. They always start with the assumption that anyone currently on the team will still be around despite the possibility of signing elsewhere in free agency. With that in mind for 2026 they project

PROJECTED 2026 LINEUP with age on opening day. Still a remarkably young team.

Catcher: Bo Naylor (26)
First Base: Josh Naylor (29)
Second Base: Andres Gimenez (27)
Third Base: Jose Ramirez (33)
Shortstop: Brayan Rocchio (25)
Left Field: Steven Kwan (28)
Center Field: Chase DeLauter (24) he's this year's 1st round draft pick. The team's OF draft picks tend to range from not particularly successful [Naquin] to major flops [Zimmer, Danny Peoples]
Right Field: Will Brennan (25)
Designated Hitter: George Valera (25)

No. 1 Starter: Shane Bieber (31)
No. 2 Starter: Triston McKenzie (28)
No. 3 Starter: Daniel Espino (25)
No. 4 Starter: Gavin Williams (27)
No. 5 Starter: Cal Quantrill (31)
Closer: Emmanuel Clase (28)

I'm saddened by the thought that owners like Cohen and the big money teams are blowing up the game I love.

Let's hope the FO keeps its eyes and ears open for any improvements to our team now and throughout the upcoming season.

Unfortunately, the G's can't compete on the money front.

I know they realize they must sometimes sacrifice some of their prized players for the improvement of the entire team.

Jose needs some help.

Reynolds(or some other big bat) would be a great Christmas present.





Best Wishes and Happy Holidays to all our forum members.