Bo Naylor Youngest Player Since Manny Ramirez To Do This For Cleveland

Bo Naylor is the youngest Cleveland Guardian to hit homers in three consecutive starts since Manny Ramirez.

TOMMY WILD 19 HOURS AGO

Manny Ramirez was in town a few weeks ago to be inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame. He came up through Cleveland's organization and spent the first eight years of his career in the city.

Ramirez was one of the best hitters that ever put on a Cleveland uniform which is why he was honored by the organization. One young player is following in his footsteps with what they've done at the plate over the last handful of games.

Bo Naylor has been one of the Guardians' highest-ranked prospects for the last few seasons. He's an incredibly gifted catcher behind the plate, but what Bo can do in the batters' box is what separates him from normal backstops.

It took a while for Naylor to find his groove at the plate, but he's put it together in the month of August slugging .431 including three homer runs. Bo hit a home run off the Toronto Blue Jays and in games one and two against the Twins.

That's three home runs in his last three starts.

Bo is the youngest player to hit three straight homers in three consecutive starts since Manny Ramirez did this back in 1995, per Sarah Langs.

This isn't to say that Naylor will one day be as good as Manny or needs to be to have a successful MLB career. Still, it does show that Bo is putting himself in good company as he finds his way in the Big Leagues.

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Guardians grab Lucas Giolito as Angels castoffs find homes

Jeff Passan, ESPN
Aug 31, 2023, 01:36 PM ET
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The Cleveland Guardians on Thursday added three strong pitchers to their staff as an unusually busy late August day of waiver claims ended with a massive transfer of talent from the Los Angeles Angels.

After placing six players on waivers Tuesday, the Angels lost right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, left-handed reliever Matt Moore and right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez to the Guardians. Two other former Angels players -- outfielder Hunter Renfroe (Cincinnati Reds) and reliever Dominic Leone (Seattle Mariners) -- were also claimed.

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Every team was eligible to claim players, who would be awarded in reverse order of record. Cleveland surprised the industry by claiming the three best pitchers available despite carrying a 64-70 record and sitting five games behind first-place Minnesota in the American League Central.

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Thirty-seven days after the Angels acquired Giolito and Lopez from the Chicago White Sox to show their intentions of competing for a playoff spot, they deconstructed their roster, cementing the ill-fated decision to mortgage their farm system and receiving nothing but $50,000 waiver fees in return. The Angels, after a disastrous August that saw them fall completely out of contention, shed the players to save money and dip beneath the first luxury tax threshold of $233 million.

Prior to 2019, waivers in August were revocable, allowing teams to pull back -- or trade -- players claimed. With post-trade deadline deals no longer allowed, teams use the waiver period in hopes another organization will take on a player's contract.

Never had a team availed itself of the system quite like the Angels. On July 26, the day they decided not to trade superstar free agent-to-be Shohei Ohtani, the Angels acquired Giolito and Lopez from the White Sox for top catching prospect Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush. Four days later, they dealt for Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron and a day later landed Leone.

Then they collapsed, going an American League-worst 8-19 in August, with Ohtani injuring his pitching elbow and Mike Trout playing one game after a return from hand surgery went poorly. The deadline acquisitions hadn't gone well, either, though the claiming teams are hopeful that a change of scenery -- and potential playoff run -- will elevate their performances.

While some executives called privately for rules changes to avoid the potential enrichment of worse-performing teams with high-caliber big leaguers after the deadline, the Guardians and others were plenty glad to get essentially for free what the Angels barely a month ago spent heavily to acquire.

Giolito, 29, was one of the prizes of the deadline -- and should fit in better with Cleveland than he did the Angels. In six starts with Los Angeles, he threw 32⅔ innings, allowed 10 home runs and went 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA. In his previous 21 starts with the White Sox, Giolito's 3.79 ERA was more in line with his career performance.

Moore, 34, has been the most effective of the claimed players, posting a 2.66 ERA in 41 appearances. His transition from the rotation to full-time reliever started in 2021, led to a 1.95 ERA last year and could see him pitching in the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Lopez, 29, will join a Guardians bullpen that already includes closer Emmanuel Clase and setup man Trevor Stephan.

Guardians claim Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Matt Moore off waivers from Angels, per sources: Why now

Aug 28, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (24) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
By Jim Bowden and Zack Meisel
1h ago
116

Save Article
The Cleveland Guardians have claimed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and relievers Reynaldo López and Matt Moore off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, major-league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:

Giolito is 7-11 in 2023 with a 4.45 ERA and 1.275 WHIP. This is the fourth MLB team Giolito is playing for in his career.
López holds a 3.93 ERA through 55 innings pitched, while Moore has a 2.66 ERA through 44 innings.
The Guardians, 64-70, are in second place in the American League Central, five games back from the Minnesota Twins.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

So, uhh, why?
The Guardians, at 64-70, sit five games behind the Twins in the slapfest that is the AL Central race. FanGraphs’ projection system gives Cleveland a 5.2 percent chance at securing a second straight division title. But the Guardians do host the Twins for three games beginning Monday, an opportunity to carve into that deficit.

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It appears as though this will be Terry Francona’s final month at the helm, the closing chapter on an 11-year run as Cleveland’s all-time winningest manager.

And all it cost the club to claim the three pitchers is about $3 million. They saved far more than that when they dealt Josh Bell to the Marlins last month. If the Guardians’ front office thought the team had any chance at chasing down the Twins, these moves were imperative, considering the Twins weren’t far behind them in the waiver wire order. — Meisel

How will the new guys fit?
The other aspect to consider is the state of Cleveland’s pitching staff. Rookie starters Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee have exceeded their innings totals from last season, and Logan Allen could do so as soon as this weekend, so the club will be cautious with them down the stretch. Williams exited his start Tuesday with knee soreness after one inning.

Cal Quantrill will return to the rotation Friday; he’ll assume the spot of Noah Syndergaard, whom the club designated for assignment last weekend. Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are still working their way back from elbow injuries. They have bullpen session checkpoints to meet before they can begin rehab assignments.

As for the bullpen, Lopez and Moore arm Francona with a ton of depth. Cleveland owns the fifth-best bullpen ERA in the league (3.48), but the Guardians are just 5-12 when tied after seven innings and 21-25 in one-run games.

Cleveland will need to clear space on both its active roster — which expands to 28 players on Friday — and its 40-man roster, which has only one opening. — Meisel

Backstory
On Aug. 29, the Angels placed Giolito and four other players on waivers. The Angels acquired Giolito, a former All-Star with the Chicago White Sox, on July 27 for two of Los Angeles’ top prospects. The Angels also put Moore, López and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers. Grichuk was a trade deadline acquisition as well.

Zack Meisel
@ZackMeisel
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To clear space for the new guys, the Guardians are designating Eric Haase and Peyton Battenfield for assignment. Guardians already had one spot vacant.

As for the bullpen, Lopez and Moore arm Francona with a ton of depth. Cleveland owns the fifth-best bullpen ERA in the league (3.48), but the Guardians are just 5-12 when tied after seven innings and 21-25 in one-run games.

That's because you actually have to be able to score runs in addition the having a bullpen hold the other guys.

Love the moves! 2 excellent bullpen arms and Giolito has the potential. Maybe Carl Willis has some ideas.

I agree it was exactly who I had hoped they would claim. Got to get those 2 relievers !

Guardians Add Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore via the waiver wire
This seemingly indicates that the Guardians see a division title as within reach

By Quincy Wheeler Aug 31, 2023, 2:09pm EDT 67 Comments / 67 New

The Guardians have added right-handed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez on waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, and Matt Moore, left-handed reliever. All three players will become free agents at the end of the 2023 season.



Giolito has had his worst professional season since 2018 in 2023 with the White Sox and the Angels, with a 4.45 ERA, a 4.94 FIP and a 4.48 xFIP. His K/BB per 0 is very similar to his overall career numbers at 9.66/3.34, but his hard-hit rate is up 2% and his barrel rate is up 3% over his career numbers.

I would assume that a big part of Giolito’s addition is managing the workload for rookie starters. My guess is that Giolito would move into the rotation and Curry would move to the pen, but it’s also possible that the team wants to shut either Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams or Logan Allen down for innings limit purposes. Giolito has approximately $1.9M remaining on his contract, so it’s nice to see the Dolans agree to take on some money late in the season.

Giolito is a perfectly serviceable 4th or 5th starter. He had a 4.96 xFIP in Los Angeles, but the Angels are apparently cursed, so I’d expect him to be in that 4.5 ERA/FIP range for Cleveland. He may also be able to help the Guardians understand how he has owned Guardians’ hitters in his career 3.17 FIP against them. Just pretend every opposing team is the Guardians, Lucas.

Lopez has a 3.93 ERA, a 4.27 FIP and 4.20 xFIP in 2023 with the White Sox and Angels. His strikeout rate is 11.6 per 9, a career high, but his walk rate is near 5 per 9, close to a career high. His HR/FB and barrel rates are up a couple percentage points, explaining the regression teams have seen in him. He’s still a very serviceable reliever with a career high average on his fastball of 98.4 mph. To fit Lopez, and Moore, on the roster, I’d assume the Guardians considered DFAing Cam Gallagher, Eric Haase, Michael Kelly or Peyton Battenfield, unless there was a player heading to the IL. Zack Meisel just reported the choices were Haase and Battenfield:


I’d then expect James Karinchak and Hunter Gaddis to return to Columbus (again, unless a rookie starter is being shut down). Lopez is owed approximately $623K for the rest of 2023.

Moore has been something of a revelation in 2023 as a reliever, appearing in 41 games with a 2.66 ERA, 3.77 FIP and 3.91 xFIP with a 10.02/2.45 K/BB/9. He has the highest K-rate and lowest BB-rate of his career. His fastball is at his career high in average mph at 94 and his changeup looks as good as ever, but he’s had a little decline in curveball quality, which seems like something Cleveland can generally help fix. Weirdly enough, Moore has been better against right-handed hitters than left-handed hitters in his career, and in 2023 his FIP has been almost a run and half worse against lefties. But, he’s still a very capable reliever who significantly lengthens the pen at approximately $1.3M for the rest of the season.

Guardians kept the Twins from acquiring all 3 pitchers.

Awesome! I always liked Giolito. Got to see him pitch quite a few games for Chicago. Looks like Josh Naylor is almost ready to return. Could be an interesting finish to the season. The acqusitions can't hurt. Too bad we got rid of Bell. He's the missing hole in the lineup. Big loss.

Cleveland Guardians Gabriel Arias celebrates in the dugout after scoring a Steven Kwan single against the Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Minneapolis. The Guardians won 5-2. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)



John Shipley: Twins didn’t put Guardians away, they encouraged them

By JOHN SHIPLEY | jshipley@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press

PUBLISHED: August 31, 2023 at 4:58 p.m. | UPDATED: August 31, 2023 at 5:11 p.m.

So, the Twins didn’t exactly put the fear of God into the Cleveland Guardians this week.

Given the opportunity to mortally wound Cleveland’s chances of winning the American League Central with a sweep, the Twins instead encouraged their closest division to keep fighting.

Do something more than keep fighting, in fact.

On Thursday, the last day major league teams could add players and make them eligible for postseason play, the Guardians claimed, and were awarded, three pitchers who could start making a difference immediately — right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, and relievers Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore.

All three were recently released by the Los Angeles Angels, who, suddenly without both their star players, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, are shedding payroll and roster spots with a zeal that should alarm Major League Baseball’s front office. They are completely focused on payroll tax and compensatory draft picks.

By claiming those arms, the Guardians proved they are focused on the last month of the regular season.

It’s only appropriate. In first place for all but four days this season, the Twins have had all summer to pull away from what was assumed to be an inferior group of division rivals. With the chance to all but put Cleveland away this week, they instead convinced the Guardians they can, by season’s end, overtake them.

The Guardians finished a three-game set with the first-place Twins on Wednesday by rallying for a 5-2, 10-inning victory at Target Field to take two of three to leave Minnesota with a five-game deficit in the Central with three games left against the Twins — Sept. 4-6 at Progressive Field — and 28 games in their regular season.

The Twins started the series with a six-game division that could have been nine had they followed a 10-6 victory on Monday with another pair of wins. Instead, they went down meekly in a 4-2 loss on Tuesday and coughed up a 2-1 lead in the ninth with their closer on the mound on Wednesday.

“It’s a little energy that we needed,” Cleveland ace Tanner Bibee said after the game. “It’s not even September yet.”

It will be tomorrow, and while not exactly neck and neck in their race for first, the Twins and Guardians find themselves in a genuine contest when the Twins could have, by playing just a little better, made next week’s three-game set at Progressive Field all but meaningless.

And while the standings say otherwise, it’s hard to say with certainty the Twins are the better team after watching the teams play this week, especially after Cleveland shored up their biggest weakness with Giolito, right-hander Reynoso and left-hander Moore.

With Wednesday’s win, Cleveland is 6-4 against the Twins with three left. The Guardians won the last two games despite strong outings from starters Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray. Starting pitching is the Twins’ clear strength — Minnesota starters rank first in strikeouts (809), second in innings pitched (750⅔), and fifth in earned-run average (3.86) and walks allowed (193) — yet their starters are a combined 39-40.

That statistic somehow sums up the 2023 Minnesota Twins, whose offense, like most, will occasionally explode for a small stretch but inevitably settling back into the lineup that has struck out a major league-high 1,382 times.

Still, the Twins were two outs away from building their division lead to seven games on Wednesday when closer Jhoan Duran put runners on first and third with a walk and single. He allowed the tying run to score on a wild pitch thrown behind pinch hitter Bo Naylor’s back.

In the 10th, Kole Calhoun hit a three-run home run off rookie left-hander Kody Funderburk to break the Twins’ late-inning spirit.

“It’s tough. It’s tough all around,” Gray said after pitching seven scoreless innings on 80 pitches. “I don’t think anybody in that locker room feels good about it.”

After a day off Thursday, the Twins resume play with a four-game series at Texas, a game behind first-place Seattle and Houston in a strong AL West. The Rangers will be playing for their postseason lives this weekend.

The Twins had better be, too.

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Los Angeles Angels' Lucas Giolito plays during a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)



Cleveland Guardians claim Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Matt Moore off waivers

Ben Leibowitz, Akron Beacon Journal

Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 2:33 PM

The Cleveland Guardians brought in a slew of pitching reinforcements Thursday by claiming starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and relievers Reynaldo López and Matt Moore off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.

In a rather unorthodox array of moves, the Angels decided to waive a number of players from their roster as they slid down the standings post-All-Star break. Angels management did its best to bring in reinforcements to help two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and three-time MVP Mike Trout reach the postseason, but the moves didn't pan out (putting it lightly).

Ohtani suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, ending his ability to pitch this season. Trout returned from the IL for just one game before needing to be placed on the injured list again. Couple those death blows with a sub-.500 record after the All-Star break and it made sense for the Angels to try to at least salvage their season from a financial standpoint by waiving players to get under the luxury tax threshold.

The Guardians were happy to oblige, picking up three former Angels pitchers — and the haul is certainly talented.

Giolito, though, struggled mightily after being traded to California, posting a 1-5 record with a 6.89 ERA in six starts with the Halos. His numbers prior with the Chicago White Sox, however, were very respectable. He posted a 6-6 record with a 3.79 ERA with the Southsiders. No doubt the Guardians will hope to get that version of Giolito after picking him up on the waiver wire.

López and Moore are also solid pickups to shore up what has been a disappointing bullpen unit in Cleveland this year. The former joined Giolito in the trade to the Angels from Chicago. He posted a 2.77 ERA in 13 appearances for the Angels before being waived.



Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez throws to the Texas Rangers during a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)


Moore, a former All-Star starting pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays, has reinvented himself as an elite lefty reliever in recent years.

During his time with the Angels throughout 2023 (41 appearances), Moore posted an impressive 2.66 ERA to go with a 4-1 record out of the 'pen. Opposing batters are slashing just .208/.270/.377 against him this year.



Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Matt Moore plays during a baseball game, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)



The Guardians were able to poach all three pitchers through waiver claims by having the worst record of the teams that placed claims.

The Guardians are five games behind the Minnesota Twins for the division lead in the AL Central. With roughly a month left in the season, it's unlikely the Guards claw all the way back, but now manager Terry Francona has more arms to work with.

While it's fair to say the Guardians probably needed more bats to wake up the offense, more pitching is never a bad thing, especially given the rash of injuries Cleveland has dealt with on the mound this season — thrusting many rookie pitchers into prominent roles.

In corresponding moves, the Guardians designated Eric Haase and Peyton Battenfield for assignment.

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Lucas Giolito, who started the season with the White Sox before being traded to the Angels, has been claimed on waivers by the Guardians.AP



GUARDIANS

Guardians ready to throw one more haymaker to win the AL Central: Paul Hoynes

Updated: Aug. 31, 2023, 4:05 p.m.|Published: Aug. 31, 2023, 2:42 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes

CLEVELAND, Ohio --

Apparently the Guardians’ 4-2 swing through Toronto and Minneapolis convinced them that the AL Central is still within reach.

The Guardians have claimed pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore on irrevocable waivers from the Angels. They will be added to the 26-man roster when the players are able to join the club.

Cleveland moved within five games of the first-place Twins with Wednesday’s 5-2 victory in 10 innings at Target Field. They are 64-70 with 28 games to play in the regular season. After the Rays this weekend, the Twins come to Cleveland for a three-game series starting Monday.

The Guards lead the Twins, 6-4, in the season series.

By claiming Giolito, Lopez and Moore, the Guardians will take on an estimated $3.5 million in salary.

Before the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Angels acquired several players to try and get Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout to the postseason. Giolito and Lopez were among them.

When the Angels tanked in August, they placed six players on waivers Wednesday, including Giolito, Lopez and Moore, to cut payroll.

Those three pitchers basically fell into the lap of Chris Antonetti, Guardians president of baseball operations.

The Guardians don’t make trades easily. But they didn’t lose a single player in this deal. All it took was money.

“I give our ownership a ton of credit, and I think it’s a consistent theme,” said Antonetti on Zoom call. “Every opportunity that we’ve had to improve the team, the limitation hasn’t been finances whether that’s this year or years past. . .It’s mostly been because the player value we would have to give up exceeded what we thought made sense.”

The deal will allow Cleveland to ease the workload of a rotation that currently includes four rookies -- Tanner Bibee, Xzavion Curry, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. The bullpen has been taxed as well.

The addition of Giolito, along with Cal Quantrill coming off the injured list to start against the Rays on Friday, will add some veteran presence to the rotation.

The waiver claims may also mean that the return of Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie from the injured list might be farther away than expected, athough at last report, they were both throwing off the mound while recovering from right elbow injuries.

Giolito and Lopez are familiar with the Guards from their days with the White Sox.

This year Giolito is 7-11 with a 4.45 ERA in 27 starts. He was 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA with the White Sox before being dealt to the Angels. He went 1-5 with the Angels.

Giolito is a free agent at the end of the season.

Lopez has made 56 appearances, including 16 starts, with a 3.93 ERA this year with Chicago and the Angels. Moore, a left-hander, was 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 44 relief appearances for the Angels.

“Lucas Giolito has been a really effective and durable major league starter for most of his career,” said Antonetti. “We’re excited to have him join our rotation and help stablize it.

“In Matt Moore and Ronaldo Lopez, we feel like we’ve added two arms to our bullpen that will both improve our depth, guys that have experienced pitching late in the games, and should give us some more options to match up.”

By claiming the three pitchers, the Guardians kept them away from the Twins.

This most likely will be Terry Francona’s final season managing the Guardians. There is little doubt that this move was made to help him reach the postseason one more time.

“I mean, we’re obviously cognizant of that, but I think our focus is how we came off a good road trip and how do we try to continue to build on that momentum and give ourselves the best chance to compete for the postseason.” said Antonetti. “Whether or not that will be good enough, and whether or not we can close the gap that’s in front of us, we don’t know, but we want to try.”

In Francona’s 11 years as manager, Cleveland has made the postseason six times.

Catcher Eric Haase and right-hander Peyton Battenfield were designated for assignment to make room for the newcomers on the 40-man roster. On the 26-man roster, more movement is coming even with the rosters expanding to 28 players on Friday.

A five-game deficit with 28 to play is tall hill to climb. Still, this is a gutsy move by a front office that drew heat for trading Aaron Civale, Amed Rosario and Josh Bell at the Aug. 1 deadline. Now on the final day players can be added to be eligible for the posteason, they’re trying to get back in it.

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The BIG question now is: Can the Guards offense put some points on the board? Can't win if y'a can't score. I think losing Josh Bell might prove to be pretty painful. Hope not, but we don't have anyone that can hit behind Ramirez and Josh Naylor effectively and consistently.

Wondering if we should promote Johnathan Rodriguez to DH and hit 9th just to get another power bat in the lineup. Put up with the k's if he can get some extra base hits.

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JOHNATHAN RODRIGUEZ

To my point:

2023 Stats For Rodriguez:

AB 423; R 62; H 127; DBL 22; TPL 4; HR 27; BB 44; SO 143; AVG 294; OBP 364; SLG 551; OPS 915

I think Rodriguez is worth the gamble just like I think Bo Naylor should be the everyday catcher in September. It appears his power stroke is back. Bo batting 8th and Rodriguez hitting 9th would give some "pop" to the bottom of the lineup

I know not everyone is big on winter ball, but Rodriquez just kept coming up big during the regular season and playoffs. He was held out of the championship game because his contract expired. His Gigantes in Puerto Rico ended up losing that game against the Mayaguez Indios.

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