Guardians owner Paul Dolan counting on offense improving ‘organically’

By JEFF SCHUDEL

PUBLISHED: January 20, 2024 at 3:52 p.m.

Baseball was in the air on Jan. 20 in downtown Cleveland. Don’t let the outdoor thermometer or the snow in the driveway tell you anything differently.

Fans packed the Cleveland Convention Center for the annual Guards Fest. They are excited for 2024 and to see what first-year manager Steve Vogt can bring to the Guardians. Pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., on Feb. 12. The first full squad workout is set for Feb. 20.

“It’s been a lot of fun the last couple of days,” Vogt said during an interview session with media. “Finally getting to see (players) in person and no longer zooming or on the phone or texting and just to get to meet everybody, see their personalities and get to watch some baseball yesterday, watch the pitchers throw some bullpens, see some guys take some swings. It’s fun that we’re getting closer to baseball.”

Vogt met dozens of fans before meeting with reporters. He said he felt their excitement with a new season around the corner.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “The people that I’ve been fortunate to meet today, everybody’s smiling. That’s the beauty of a new season. Everybody’s got the same record right now and we all feel like we’re going to win the World Series. You could feel that energy from the fans. The welcome that my family and I have received here in Cleveland has been really humbling and we’re really excited to be here.”

But one question hovers over the Guardians like winter storm clouds. How will run production increase from last season when the Guardians finished third in the mediocre American League Central Division with a record of 76-86? They won the division in 2022 at 92-70.

The Guardians finished last in the Majors home runs in 2023 with 124 — 27 fewer than the 29th-ranked Washington Nationals. They were 27th in runs scored with 662.

“We’re always looking to improve the team,” Guardians owner Paul Dolan told The News-Herald. “But, frankly, I think a lot of our improvement is going to come internally and organically. We’ve got a lot of young guys and we’ve got to see what they can do.

“They’re about ready to break through. So this will be an interesting year to see what our young guys can do.”

One of the “young guys” Dolan referred to is first baseman Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo is the player acquired from The Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline last summer for starting pitcher Aaron Civale. At the time it seemed team president Chris Antonetti was giving up on the 2023 season, but now the trade doesn’t look so bad — as long as Manzardo delivers.

Manzardo, 23, will be a non-roster invitee to spring training. He hit six home runs and drove in 19 runs in 22 games in the Arizona Fall League.

Mostly, though, Vogt is depending on the players already on the roster to add more scoring — players such as Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor, Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez and Will Brennan.

Vogt and hitting coach Chris Valaika want batters to approach hitting differently than they have in the past.

“Val and the hitting group, we’re putting plans in place,” Vogt said. “They’ve put players on really good plans this winter, improving swing speed and swing decisions to swing at pitches that we can do damage on and really just putting an emphasis on it.

“Outside of anything else than that, there’s not much more you can do, but we’ve been talking about it and putting an emphasis on it and we’re hoping to get a lot more power and impact the baseball a lot better.”

Hope springs eternal.

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Why Guardians have not been aggressive in free agency, per team owner Paul Dolan

Guardians fans won't love this...

By Joey Mistretta | Last updated 1/20/24

Cleveland Guardians fans want the drought to end. The team hasn't won the World Series since 1948, and fans aren't sure when the Guards will be able to compete for a Fall Classic victory again.

They almost snapped the drought on multiple occasions during the 1990's, reaching the World Series in 1995 and 1997. In fact, in '97, Cleveland was just a couple of strikes away from winning it all. However, the Indians, as they were called at the time, fell short.

In 2007, they blew a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Boston Red Sox. They proceeded to blow a 3-1 World Series lead in 2016 to the Chicago Cubs in a series that still haunts fans of the team. Instead of being aggressive in MLB free agency, however, Cleveland is choosing to rely on its ability to develop players.

Owner Paul Dolan addressed this mindset during a recent interview with Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald.

“We're always looking to improve the team,” Dolan responded when asked if the Guardians will look to add another bat. “But frankly I think a lot of our improvement is going to come internally and organically. We've got a lot of young guys that we gotta see what they can do and they're about ready to break through. So it's going to be an interesting year to see what our young guys can do.”

Are the Guardians rebuilding?

Okay, to be fair, nobody expected Cleveland to out-bid the Los Angeles Dodgers for Shohei Ohtani. Fans also weren't expecting the team to pursue Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Blake Snell in free agency.

But right now, Cleveland's prized free-agent acquisition this offseason is… Austin Hedges. No disrespect to Hedges, who seems to have a great personality and is a strong defensive catcher, but the Guardians seemingly have not made much of an effort to add more help.

So are they rebuilding? Dolan's comments about relying on their young players would suggest that Cleveland is headed in that route. After all, we haven't heard the Dodgers and New York Yankees saying things like that.

In all reality, it is uncertain what direction this ball club is headed in. In 2022, despite featuring MLB's youngest roster, the Guardians reached the MLB playoffs. They took a step back in 2023, however, and missed the postseason. Perhaps Dolan's strategy of turning to players already within the organization will work.

But again, for a franchise that fans who were born in 1949 or later haven't even seen win a World Series, one would expect more of an aggressive pursuit in free agency. Adding an outfielder or two to boost the lineup would give Guardians fans some hope.

Unfortunately for Cleveland baseball, it may be a while before the team has another opportunity to snap the World Series drought. But who knows, perhaps the team will take a page out of the movie Major League's playbook and shock the world in 2024.

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Cleveland Guardians prospects: Will Jhonkensy Noel be a power savior?

Jhonkensy Noel has the raw power the Cleveland Guardians so desperately need, but will he be able to take the next step forward in 2024?


By Steve DiMatteo | Jan 18, 2024

The Cleveland Guardians are on a constant, desperate hunt for power, and while it hasn't recently materialized at the major-league level, there are some compelling players in the minors who could potentially provide it.

First baseman/designated hitter (and maybe right fielder if we're really dreaming) Jhonkensy Noel is just 22 years old now and playing in Triple-A Columbus, where he has begun to display the prodigious power that makes him such an enticing prospect. In 2023, Noel hit 27 home runs and 23 doubles at Triple-A, where he spent the entire season. As you might expect for a 21-year-old at that level, his experience wasn't without its growing pains. Noel struggled at times, finishing with a .220/.303/420 line and 145 strikeouts in 585 plate appearances.

He did finish strong, with a September line of .247/.333/.507 with six home runs and 15 RBI.

Noel is a classic boom-or-bust player at the moment, and profiles much like other Cleveland sluggers of the past, like Bobby Bradley, Franmil Reyes, and even what Oscar Gonzalez quickly became. When it comes to guys like Noel - or George Valera, Johnathan Rodridguez, etc. - the question becomes what their swing selection ultimately ends up being. It doomed Gonzalez - will it doom this next crop of prospects?

Currently, Noel is hanging out on the Guardians' 40-man roster, and though he is young, time is likely running out to see if he'll be able to adjust his approach at the plate and be more consistent. Like many before him, Noel has such tantalizing raw power, but how will he adjust to even better pitching? One silver lining is that he only struck out roughly 25% of the time in 2023 (down from 27% in 2022) - in today's game, that will absolutely play at the major-league level, especially if we're talking about 30-homer potential.

There is no question Noel works hard, is continuing to get better, and is still very young to be playing in Triple-A. It's not a foregone conclusion that he'll flame out at that level or get to the majors and have limited success like players of a similar profile before him. But 2024 is going to be a big year for Noel to see what kind of progress he can make. The Guardians clearly see something in him to protect him on the 40-man roster; now he just has to reach that level consistently.

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Guardians notes: Triston McKenzie’s elbow, Josh Naylor’s contract, Stephen Vogt’s new gig Sep 24, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (11) pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Josefczyk-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel
6h ago

26
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CLEVELAND — With snow covering Cleveland’s streets and subzero wind chills forcing everyone indoors, it might not feel as though baseball is around the corner.

“No, not at all,” Tanner Bibee said.

Pitchers and catchers, however, will descend upon Goodyear, Arizona, in three weeks. The Cleveland Guardians gathered at the Huntington Convention Center for their annual Guards Fest on Saturday.

Here are some takeaways:
The most popular elbow on the team

Triston McKenzie (along with a slew of fellow pitchers) threw a bullpen session at St. Ignatius High School on Friday. He said he feels completely normal, a reassuring report after shoulder and elbow injuries wrecked his 2023 season. McKenzie totaled 16 innings last year, so he has thrown more throughout the winter than he normally would.

“The buildup is a little more gradual,” he said, “as opposed to low-to-high.”

The ulnar collateral ligament in McKenzie’s right elbow might be as pivotal and as scrutinized as any ligament on the roster. McKenzie emerged as a frontline starter in 2022, with a 2.96 ERA across a career-high 191 innings. He recovered from a shoulder strain last season to make a pair of starts in June, only to sprain a ligament in his elbow. He opted not to undergo surgery, and after 10 weeks of rehab, he made a pair of appearances in late September.

He maintained a cheery disposition in the clubhouse, but he said being sidelined for so long tested him.

“There was a certain point in the season,” he said, “where I felt like, even though I was in the clubhouse and I was bringing energy, I wasn’t really a part of the team, to a degree. Steven (Kwan) said, ‘You mean more here than you know.’ When they were on the road and I wasn’t able to travel, he said, the team definitely missed me. That definitely warmed my heart and made me push harder to get back.”

Cleveland’s rotation has plenty of potential, with standouts McKenzie and Shane Bieber joining three sophomores who proved they belonged last year: Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen.

“The sky’s the limit,” Bibee said. “We all think we can be one of the best in the major leagues.”

Health will be paramount, though. McKenzie and Bieber combined for only 25 starts last season, and there’s a dramatic drop in ability and/or track record after the top five in the Guardians’ starting pitcher hierarchy.
Up to speed

The Guardians handed Stephen Vogt the reins to a roster full of unproven position players ahead of a spring camp that figures to feature a bunch of open competitions. First, he needed to learn who all of these people are.

“I’ve done a lot, just trying to get up to speed on what guys have done in the past and what their skill sets are,” he said. “At the same time, I want to see it with my own eyes. It’s a fresh start for everybody. I don’t want to go into it with a ton of preconceived notions about everybody. So, asking opinions and doing some research on my own, but really want to see how guys play and watch them go about their business once we get to Goodyear.”

We appreciate you. Yes, you!

Thank you all for coming out to Guards Fest, in spite of the weather.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/x6Epg68nq8

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) January 21, 2024

The outfield is wide open, with Kwan occupying one spot, Ramón Laureano, Estevan Florial, Will Brennan and Myles Straw factoring into the equation in some fashion, and Johnathan Rodríguez, Jhonkensy Noel and George Valera also on the 40-man roster. Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman will battle for the shortstop and utility infielder gigs, with Juan Brito, Angel Martínez and José Tena lurking. Rule 5 Draft choice Deyvison De Los Santos will attempt to convince Cleveland that, as a 20-year-old who’s never played above Double A, he’s worth keeping on the big-league roster.

The Guardians employed an uninspiring offense last season, which ranked 27th in runs scored. After a dormant winter from the front office, it remains a group full of question marks.

As for one of the new faces, consider Vogt intrigued by Florial, the former top-100 prospect who floundered in limited opportunities with the Yankees.

“I love the swing. He passes the eye test,” Vogt said. “This guy is physical, he has a lot of power, he’s fast, he can play some outfield. For him, getting a fresh start with us, getting out of the situation in New York, where he was kind of blocked, he’s going to get a chance to play.”
Catchers corner

If Bo Naylor needs any guidance, he has options. His manager caught for a decade in the majors. His first-base coach, Sandy Alomar Jr., did it for two decades. His bench coach, Craig Albernaz, spent nine years as a minor-league catcher and recently drew rave reviews for his work with the Giants’ backstops. The club’s assistant hitting coach, Dan Puente, is a catcher by trade.

“I’m going to try my best to be a sponge and take everything I can from them,” Naylor said.

There’s also veteran backup Austin Hedges, who returned to the organization on a $4 million deal.

“He’s a fool. He’s a clown,” Kwan said. “But it’ll be good. He keeps the locker room together. He’s a vocal leader. He’s one of those guys who will let people know what’s going on. He’ll talk just to talk, also, but the locker room, I think, should be a certain way and he’s the enforcer.”

As for Naylor, he posted a 1.113 OPS over the final six weeks of his rookie campaign, and he enters the new season as the unquestioned starter, one who’s ready for all of the responsibilities that come with a daily spot in the lineup and behind the plate.

“He’s the cog that makes everything run,” Tanner Bibee said. “He does a ton of research. He was a rookie like me last year, but he showed so much work ethic behind the scenes and a way to put trust into me that he knew what he was talking about. It came to a point where I was rarely shaking off, I was trusting everything he put down, whether we were on the same page or not.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, it worked, and the 1 percent of the time it didn’t work, it was probably my fault.”
The other Naylor(s)

The Guardians control Josh Naylor for two more seasons before he can test free agency. They sorely need his stick. His brother could soon develop into a cornerstone of the roster. He seems like a candidate with whom the front office would at least consider a long-term contract. They typically reserve those conversations for spring training, and Naylor opted not to reveal whether an extension is a possibility.

“I’m going to leave that to them,” he said. “You can ask them that question. Cleveland is an incredible place to play. I love my teammates. I love my coaches. My brother is here, too, which is awesome. We’ll see.”

Bo said the novelty of playing in the majors with his brother will never wear off. The two have trained all winter in Arizona, Florida and Toronto with their youngest brother, Myles, whom the A’s selected with the 39th overall pick last summer. It’s the first offseason the three have been able to spend together. Since Myles can’t work out at the Guardians’ complex, they often meet at a batting cage in a central location in Arizona.
José for MVP … and then HOF?

José Ramírez has six top-10 finishes in the American League MVP balloting in the past seven years, but has yet to capture the hardware. Perhaps Shohei Ohtani’s relocation to the National League will help his chances, but Ramírez is also 31, so the clock on that award might be ticking. That won’t stop Vogt and the coaches from reminding Ramírez that he’s plenty capable.

“He’s an MVP-caliber player every year,” Vogt said. “He, in my opinion, has a chance to be a Hall of Famer. That’s something that myself and the rest of the staff want to push him toward. When he’s that type of player, we’re going to have a chance to win a lot of games.”

Kwan, for one, spent time this winter studying Ramírez’s approach at the plate, trying to emulate his bat speed and how he angles his bat during his swing.

“Bat speed’s been a big one,” Kwan said, “just trying to get a little uptick anywhere I can. I don’t think it’ll sacrifice any of the contact, but I think if I can swing the bat a little harder, have a little more intent, anticipate a little more, I think it’ll be a good starting point.”

Josh Naylor Discusses Contract Situation With Guardians

By Darragh McDonald | January 23, 2024 at 6:36pm CDT]

First baseman Josh Naylor has been a mainstay of the Guardians’ lineup for the past two seasons but free agency isn’t far over the horizon. He’s now over four years of major league service and slated for the open market after 2025. He was recently asked at Guards Fest about the possibility of an extension and it doesn’t appear as though there’s much smoke there.

“I’m going to leave that to them. You can ask them that question,” Naylor said, per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Obviously, Cleveland’s an incredible place to play. I love my teammates, I love my coaches and, yeah, my brother’s here, too, which is awesome.”

Naylor, 27 in June, has hit 37 home runs over the past two seasons. His 7.2% walk rate is subpar but he’s been tough to strike out, with a 14.9% rate in that department. He slashed a combined .282/.336/.471 over those two campaigns for a 124 wRC+, indicating he was 24% better than league average over that span. He was also given solid grades for his glovework at first, helping him tally a combined 4.3 wins above replacement over those two years, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

Looking at the standard operating procedure of the franchise, there’s more precedent for a trade than an extension in this situation. As they look to continually compete with small budgets, the club has often traded players approaching free agency, bringing back younger and cheaper players. That’s how Naylor came to the club in the first place, as the Guards flipped Mike Clevinger and two other players to the Padres for a six-player package that included a young Naylor. In addition to Clevinger, they have also traded players like Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor and others as their club control was dwindling.

They have given some extensions over the years, but usually for players earlier in their careers. Players like Andrés Giménez, Emmanuel Clase, Trevor Stephan and Myles Straw have signed extensions with the club in recent years, but each of those guys agreed to their deals before reaching arbitration when their earning power was still fairly low. Naylor qualified for arbitration a year ago and made a salary of $3.35MM in 2023. He’s already agreed to a $6.5MM salary this year and will be slated for one more raise next year.

The notable exception to these trends is José Ramírez, who signed a second extension to stick with the club instead of getting traded or becoming a free agent. That seems to have been a perfect storm situation, with Ramírez having admitted that he was told the club couldn’t pay him what he was worth. But since he was happy in Cleveland and wanted to stay, he decided to leave money on the table and accept an extension rather than winding up on the trade block like so many others before him.

Those circumstances all suggest Naylor is more likely to be traded than extended. Beyond his contractual situation, there’s also the fact that the club may have a ready-made first base replacement. Kyle Manzardo was acquired from the Rays in last summer’s Aaron Civale deal, yet another instance of an arb-eligible player being shipped out of Cleveland for prospect help. Manzardo is a first baseman who has yet to make his major league debut but has hit well throughout his minor league career thus far. Like Naylor, he is generally tough to strike out with the ability to hit a few bombs.

The club doesn’t have a strict designated hitter at the moment, so both could fit into a lineup. That will likely be the plan if Manzardo hits well in Spring Training this year or early in the 2024 season. But if he is able to successfully prove himself as a capable big league bat, it would fit with Cleveland’s typical M.O. for the Naylor trade rumors to pick up steam. This winter, he’s already reportedly drawn trade interest from the Cubs, Mariners and Pirates.

Here's the staff.

Now all we need is the players.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/cl ... dc&ei=19

Tony Arnold still with us.

Who is Amanda Kamekona? Female?

Stephen Vogt Plans To Give Newest Guardians Outfielder 'Chance To Play'

Stephen Vogt has high praise for the newest Cleveland Guardians outfielder Estevan Florial.

TOMMY WILD 1/24/24 6 HOURS AGO

The outfield is among the biggest question marks for the Cleveland Guardians heading into 2024. Outside of Steven Kwan, it's a long list of players who have something to prove.

One player who will be in the mix is the newest member of the position group, Estevan Florial. First-year manager Stephen Vogt had high praise for the 26-year-old about what he can contribute both offensively and defensively.

“I love the swing. He passes the eye test,” Vogt said. “This guy is physical, he has a lot of power, he’s fast, he can play some outfield. For him, getting a fresh start with us, getting out of the situation in New York, where he was kind of blocked, he’s going to get a chance to play.” (quote via Zack Meisel of The Athletic)

Florial certainly was blocked in New York. There was no opportunity for playing time with the Yankees between Aaron Judge, Oswaldo Cabrera, Trent Grisham, and newcomers Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo.

There are plenty of holes in Cleveland's outfield and Florial has a chance to fill them, especially on offense. As Vogt said, Estevan hasn't had a tone of Big League experience but he's put up solid numbers in the Minors.

Florial has a .265/.358/.490 slash line and a .848 OPS in three seasons at the Triple-A level. He's also hit 28 home runs in 2023 and that power potential is really what sticks out.

Cleveland's offense needs a boost and that has to come from the outfield. Florial may be the answer to those issues and Vogt appears ready to give him the opportunity to show what he can do.

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Don’t be surprised by shakeups as Guardians evaluate outfield

January 24, 2024

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

We’re back with another edition of Around the Horn. If you’ve missed any of the previous installments, our goal is to go position by position to examine what questions the Guardians may need to answer before the end of Spring Training.

Projected starters: Steven Kwan, Myles Straw, Will Brennan

Maybe instead of projected starters, we label this category as “placeholders” for now. The Guardians have some question marks across the outfield, and who could play where won’t become clearer until Spring Training is underway. For now, we’ll stick with what they’ve turned to in the past. However, there could easily be some shakeups this year.

The one name that’s for sure is Kwan. The Guardians’ leadoff hitter will once again be a mainstay in Cleveland’s lineup. In 2022, Kwan had as consistent of a season as he could’ve asked for. Last year, he had one hot month (July, hitting .330 with an .899 OPS) and battled for the rest of the season. But the two-time Gold Glover still has excellent patience at the plate and above-average defense that makes him a no-brainer to get everyday at-bats despite any hiccups. And this year, he’s ready to right some of those wrongs.

“This offseason, I had [José Ramírez] as one of the guys I want to learn from,” Kwan said. “Just working on bat angles, bat speed. Bat speed’s been a big one. I’m just trying to get a little uptick anywhere I can. I don’t think it’ll sacrifice any of the contact, but I think if I can swing the bat a little harder, have a little more intent, anticipate a little more. …”

What’s less certain is right field. We can leave Brennan in that slot for now, but he’ll have a lot to prove in Spring Training, considering his offensive production dipped quite a bit in ’23. And with a ton of other names now in the mix, it’ll be a more competitive battle for Brennan to earn the starting job.

Backup options: Ramón Laureano, George Valera, Johnathan Rodriguez, Estevan Florial, Jhonkensy Noel, Petey Halpin

Suddenly, the Guardians have a very crowded outfield pool. Laureano could be an option at any outfield spot. Florial, who was just acquired in December from the Yankees, is a natural center fielder who can play all over the grass. He hasn’t seen the same success in the big leagues (in a tremendously small sample size) that he had in the Minors, but the Yankees former top prospect may benefit from a change of scenery. Rodriguez is coming off a stellar year, hitting .286 with an .897 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A. And with a little more time, Valera, Noel and Halpin — all of whom will get looks in Guardians camp — could all be knocking on the big league door.

Question to answer: Can Straw hit?

If not, it’s going to be hard for the Guardians to continue justifying his role in the everyday lineup. Straw was confident that his ’22 struggles were behind him when he reported to Spring Training last year, yet his numbers were nearly the same in ’23, hitting .238 with a .597 OPS (a mere 69 OPS+). He’s an excellent defender, but the Guardians need offense. The team can sacrifice some leather for some wood. Whether it be having Laureano or Florial take over center field or moving Kwan to center and having any of the other outfield options man left, the Guardians now have a plethora of choices if Straw shows any indication that improvement is not in the immediate future.

Who else is in the Pipeline?

No. 4 OF Chase DeLauter (age: 22, Double-A Akron)No. 8 OF Jaison Chourio (age: 18, Single-A Lynchburg)No. 13 OF/2B Jake Fox (age: 20, High-A Lake County)

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Cleveland Guardians’ 14 prospects who could debut in 2024

By Zack Meisel
7h ago
13


A much-ballyhooed class of 17 rookies spurred the Cleveland Guardians to a division title in 2022. Last year, only eight players made their big-league debuts for Cleveland.

Three of them proved pivotal: Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen rescued the Guardians’ rotation. They’ll again be featured prominently in 2024. David Fry, José Tena, Brayan Rocchio, Peyton Battenfield and Tim Herrin also broke into the majors last season.




How many rookies will debut for Cleveland in 2024? Here are 14 candidates.

14. Angel Martínez, SS
Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman and Rocchio will battle for the starting shortstop and utility infielder roles. One of them will presumably head to Columbus. Tena will probably be there, too. Then there’s Martínez, who had a pedestrian 2023 but is talented enough to have convinced the Guardians to add him to the 40-man roster and protect him from the Rule 5 draft before last season. Quite a crowd.

Martínez turns 22 on Saturday, so there’s time for him to develop and time for extraterrestrials to abduct all the shortstops ahead of him. Tena surprisingly debuted last year, though, so it’s not an impossible leap. And just in case there’s an opportunity, Martínez has gotten some outfield reps this winter.


13. Tanner Burns, RHP
The 36th pick in 2020, Burns shifted to the bullpen midway through last season. He earned an invite to big-league camp, so he’s on the organization’s radar after two years at Double-A Akron. His walk rate has been a little high the last two seasons, but he has produced solid numbers in his three years in the system.

12. Chase DeLauter, OF
The Guardians typically bring along their position player prospects at a deliberate pace, but DeLauter could test their will. His professional debut was a rousing success (.945 OPS in 57 games), as he reached Akron at the end of the summer. He’s the consensus choice for the organization’s top prospect, and whether he debuts in 2024, he figures to factor heavily into the outfield equation in 2025 and beyond.

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11. Daniel Espino, RHP
If Espino never injured his shoulder, it’s a safe bet Shane Bieber would have been traded and the Guardians would be unleashing a Triston McKenzie/Espino/Bibee/Williams/Allen rotation ready to generate enough swing-and-miss to power a thousand windmills. Instead, the best-case scenario for Espino is probably just a season devoid of any extended absences, his first game action in two years and maybe a late summer cameo in the bullpen, though even that seems like asking a lot for a guy with 110 innings over the last four years and minimal experience above A-ball.

10. Tyler Thornton, RHP
9. Franco Aleman, RHP
8. Cade Smith, RHP
Emmanuel Clase, Scott Barlow, Trevor Stephan, Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin, James Karinchak and Eli Morgan all seem to have spots secured in Cleveland’s bullpen. The lone vacancy could go to Herrin if the Guardians want a second lefty or to Ben Lively, Hunter Gaddis or Xzavion Curry if they want someone capable of covering multiple innings.

With Thornton, when you have 3 1/2 times as many strikeouts as hits allowed, people take notice. One evaluator cited the angle and movement on his fastball as a reason he recorded a 2.66 ERA with 79 strikeouts and only 23 hits allowed in 2023. The Arizona State product is 23 and finished last season at Double-A Akron.

With Aleman, when you log a 0.00 ERA in 24 outings, people take notice. He’s always had an appealing strikeout rate, but he stopped allowing base runners once he got to Akron last summer, which is usually a sound strategy.


With Smith, when you get added to the 40-man roster, people take notice. He pitched for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and then piled up 95 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings, spending most of the year with Triple-A Columbus. If he doesn’t break camp with the team, he’ll likely be one of the first relievers on call.

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7. Jhonkensy Noel, OF
6. George Valera, OF
5. Johnathan Rodriguez, OF
A team needing power and outfield help conveniently has three power-hitting outfielders on the cusp of the big leagues. But will any of these candidates emerge as a reliable hitter this year? Valera was the hot-shot prospect stalled by injuries. Evaluators are still waiting to learn whether he can hit lefties and make enough contact. Rodriguez is the guy who was on no one’s radar but hit his way onto the 40-man roster. He made some bat path adjustments in the middle of the 2022 season that have paid dividends. Noel has elite power potential, but even with 27 homers last year at Columbus, he logged just a .723 OPS.

The mission is simple for these three: If they make strides at the plate, they can earn a look because the Guardians haven’t otherwise addressed their glaring deficiencies in the outfield.

4. Juan Brito, 2B
Where will he wind up on the diamond? It’s easier to derive the motivation to answer that question when the guy is producing at the plate, and thus far, he hasn’t disappointed. He registers really strong walk and strikeout rates, and he showcased some burgeoning power last year, with 31 doubles and 14 homers in 127 games. He reached Columbus at the end of the season and figures to be an infield option at some point in 2024. Second base is his home, but that would require Andrés Giménez to slide to shortstop.

3. Deyvison De Los Santos, IF
He won’t turn 21 until June 21. He posted a .729 OPS at Double-A Amarillo. The Guardians have Josh Naylor, Kyle Manzardo and others who can cover first base and designated hitter. So how and why, exactly, is the club going to find a spot for De Los Santos on the roster? This conundrum existed before the Guardians selected De Los Santos in the Rule 5 draft, so they’re clearly intrigued enough by his bat to want a closer inspection of him this spring. He lands on this list because he’s in a unique situation; he either joins the Opening Day roster or he heads back to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He recorded a .927 OPS from June 29 until the end of the season, perhaps in part because of some swing tweaks. He did still post a 62:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that stretch. Here’s what The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote ahead of last season, when Law ranked De Los Santos the 11th-best Diamondbacks prospect: “A hulking 19-year-old who’s very strong already and mashed at both levels of A-ball, but with a lot of swing and miss. … I think it’s more power than hit, and he’s going to have to work hard to stay at third base given how big he is already. He’s young enough to dream on his upside, although I think the approach is remedial enough … that he’s more likely to end up a bench guy than a regular.”


2. Joey Cantillo, LHP
There were encouraging developments for Cantillo in 2023, namely that he logged a career-high 119 1/3 innings and added a couple of ticks to his fastball. The result was a dominant 24 1/3 innings at Akron and a somewhat shaky showing in Columbus, thanks to 55 walks in 95 innings. He’s always possessed a lethal changeup, and he’s been able to rack up strikeouts, but the walks were an issue and his home run rate spiked. Before last year, he allowed seven homers in 242 1/3 innings in the minors. At Triple A, he surrendered 16 in 95 innings. If he can correct that, he could help Cleveland’s staff.

1. Kyle Manzardo, 1B
The only question with Manzardo is whether he’ll head to Oakland with the big-league team at the end of spring training or if the Guardians will find a more, um, convenient time to use his service. He hushed concerns about his development when he returned from a shoulder injury last summer and posted a .938 OPS with Columbus and a .905 OPS in the Arizona Fall League. He seems to have a pretty high floor, with healthy walk and strikeout rates and a knack for racking up doubles and homers. The Guardians are banking on him being a lineup fixture. It’s just a matter of how soon.

Report: Guardians bring back Carrasco on minor-league deal

Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb

1/27/24 44m ago

The Cleveland Guardians are bringing an old friend to camp next month.

The team signed veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to big-league spring training, sources told Zack Meisel of The Athletic.

Carrasco, 36, spent his first 12 big-league seasons with Cleveland. A staple of the team's rotation during the 2010s, he helped Cleveland to four playoff appearances but missed the team's 2016 run to the World Series after a late-season injury. His best season came in 2017 when he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting after collecting an MLB-high 18 wins.

Before the 2021 season, Cleveland sent Carrasco to the New York Mets alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor in a blockbuster trade. Though he helped the Mets reach the postseason in 2022, Carrasco's tenure in New York was rocky. This past season, he made just 20 starts due to injuries and posted a career-worst 6.80 ERA along with 6.6 K/9, while walking nearly four batters per nine innings.

He'll now attempt to crack the Guardians' Opening Day roster as either a fifth starter or swingman. Carrasco could also serve as a veteran mentor for some of the team's bright young starters, including Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams.

Carrasco owns a lifetime 107-93 record with a 4.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 1,573 strikeouts across 303 big-league appearances (256 starts) since 2009.

While Carrasco's deal isn't official, the Guardians did announce on Saturday that they invited pitcher Tyler Beede to camp on a minor-league deal. The 30-year-old right-hander, a former first-round pick and top prospect of the San Francisco Giants, pitched parts of four seasons in the majors before spending last year in Japan.

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Guardians Sign Anthony Banda, Dom Nuñez To Minor League Deals

By Darragh McDonald | January 30, 2024 at 7:50pm CDT

The Guardians announced today that left-hander Anthony Banda and catcher Dom Nuñez have been signed to minor league deals with non-roster invites to Spring Training. Both players are repped by the ALIGND Sports Agency.

Banda, 30, is coming off a rough season. He signed a minor league deal with the Nationals and made their Opening Day squad but was designated for assignment and outrighted off the roster a month later. He tossed just seven innings over 10 appearances, allowing five earned runs. He went on to throw 65 1/3 innings at Triple-A with a 7.58 ERA.

That was obviously not an ideal season, but he’s looked better in the past. From 2017 to 2022, he suited up for the Diamondbacks, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays and Yankees, making 80 major league appearances over those six years. His 5.64 ERA in that time isn’t terribly impressive but a .358 batting average on balls in play and 67.9% strand rate may have pushed some extra runs across the board. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate were both close to average in that stretch, leading to a 4.25 FIP and 4.35 SIERA that are each more than a full run better than the ERA.

The Guards currently project to have Sam Hentges as the only southpaw in their big league bullpen, with Tim Herrin on the 40-man roster as optionable depth. If Banda could put the last year behind him, he could perhaps earn his way into that mix, though he’s out of options and wouldn’t be able to be sent back down without first being exposed to waivers.

Nuñez, 29, didn’t make it to the majors last year. He spent 2023 in Triple-A, signing minor league pacts with the Cubs and then Pirates. Between the two organizations, he struck out in 27.1% of his plate appearances but also drew walks at a 15.3% clip, leading to a .187/.326/.311 batting line.

Prior to last year, he was able to appear in 111 major league games for the Rockies from 2019 to 2022. The work at the plate was similar to his 2023 results, as he slashed .180/.280/.373 while striking out at a 34% rate but also walking 12.4% of the time. Behind the plate, he’s generally considered a strong pitch framer, getting positive marks in that department from FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast.

The Guardians are set to open the year with Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges as their catching tandem. David Fry is on the roster but he can play other positions and also has options. Nuñez will give the club a bit of veteran depth in a non-roster capacity and could be called upon if someone above him on the depth chart suffers an injury.

Josh Naylor On Why Guardians Will Bounce Back In 2024

Josh Naylor is confident the Cleveland Guardians will have a resurgent 2024 season.

TOMMY WILD 1/30/24 3 HOURS AGO

The Cleveland Guardians came into last season fresh off an ALDS appearance with the youngest roster in baseball. Fans were ready for another big summer and anticipating this young group to make another jump in 2023.

However, that wasn't the case. Cleveland finished last season with a 76-86 record, third in the AL Central, and missed out on the playoffs. It was undoubtedly a disappointing season, but there's plenty of reason to have hope that the Guardians will be a contender again in 2024.

Josh Naylor appeared on the Cleveland Guardians Podcast at Guards Fest and explained why he's confident the team will bounce back in 2024. He knows that last year didn't pan out how the group wanted it to, but they're ready to come back get back where they want to be.

"It's just the drive each player has. We kind of got punched in the face a few times last year and things happen. Certain years don't go as planned as they can, but it’s up to you to kind of find that fire in you and take that punch and throw a counter punch," said Naylor.

"We work hard together and then we encourage each other. We love this game as a team and we love competing as a team and winning as a team so I think this year is going to be awesome."

Something that especially has Naylor excited about the new season is the staff that rookie manager Stephen Vogt has assembled.

"We have a new staff, kind of a whole rebuild on the staff which is great. We’re looking forward to all the new experiences and opportunities we all go through together as a group and the relationships that are built with each other. and getting to know people here and there and then getting to know us as a team so I’m excited for this year."

Of course, the 2023 season was full of injuries to key players such as Triston McKenzie, Shane Bieber, and Naylor himself. Hopefully, with a healthy squad and a group hungry for success, Cleveland will finish 2024 top of the AL Central once again.

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The dumpster diving continues with Banda and Nunez who offer nothing except they were willing to sign a minor league deal.

ST needs a bunch of catchers to handle all the pitchers in camp.

Any left hander is worth a look.

It’s been unclear if Diamond would carry three MLB teams in 2024 that it carried in the past: the Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. What’s going to happen with those three teams if this plan goes forward?

All three teams are expected to remain with Diamond for 2024 on one-year deals, according to the person briefed on the league’s thinking. The deals are highly unlikely to include any streaming rights for those teams, which Diamond didn’t carry before either. Perhaps as early as this week, those deals will move closer to official — Diamond said in court it wants to know whether the teams will accept the terms that have been offered by Feb. 1.




As a technical matter, the Guardians and Rangers were in the same boat: both teams were under contract with Diamond for 2024, but Diamond was threatening to drop them unless they re-negotiated their rights fees. The Twins’ deal with Diamond expired after 2023, so they’ve been working on a new deal.

With those three teams expected to be in the fold, Diamond would be carrying 12 MLB clubs in 2024. That trio joins the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.

It’s unclear just how much the Guardians and Rangers will have their 2024 rights fees reduced, but the person briefed on the league’s thinking said it would be 15 percent or less.

What is the likelihood that this plan (or some version of it, with Amazon leading the way) is confirmed?
Experts think it has a pretty good shot.

A Ken Rosenthal quote on specifically the Mariners but then again directed at all teams and the cable fiasco.

Here’s a radical thought ownership apparently never considered: Spend on Snell, trade for Soto or sign Cody Bellinger, retain subscribers by putting a better, more entertaining product on the field. Again, that’s not the world the Mariners are living in. Their offseason reflects their current world order. Ownership’s excuse du jour.