Cleveland Sports Forum

I suppose Laureano could be CF until DeLauter is ready. There's nothing particularly exciting about him; hits better than Straw, which isn't saying much, and doesn't field as well as Straw which is also true of nearly everyone. Perhaps he has a older player clubhouse presence?

In the spirit of awards season, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has a couple to hand out.
[I'm impressed with the comments about Bibee; nice to encounter such a mature young man. A bit of a change from some of our recently departed young starters: Plesac, Clevinger and of course Bauer]

On Sunday, the Cleveland BBWAA announced that first baseman Josh Naylor was selected as this year’s Bob Feller Man of the Year, while the Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award was given to rookie starter Tanner Bibee.

Those two awards are given out every season. In the past, the writers have also honored individuals with the John Krepop Special Achievement Award, which was created to honor career achievement or dedication and service to the organization, when a candidate arises. But this didn’t feel like a big enough honor for Cleveland’s former skipper.

Instead, the local media decided to recognize Terry Francona, who stepped down from his managerial position at the end of the season, with a special award to honor his unique and meritorious service as the winningest and longest-serving manager in Cleveland franchise history.

The votes this season were decided by a landslide, beginning with Naylor. The first-time Man of the Year winner owned a .308 average with an .843 OPS, 17 homers and 97 RBIs in 121 games. His importance to this offense became glaringly obvious in August, when he was out with an oblique injury. The Guardians went 11-16 during that month.

Josh Naylor
Other nominees for the Man of the Year Award included Bibee, second baseman Andrés Giménez and third baseman José Ramírez, who won the award the past two seasons.

And while Bibee was up for the Man of the Year Award for his impressive rookie season, owning a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts, it was the way he handled himself off the field that stood out even more. The Good Guy Award focuses mostly on a person’s relationship with the media and those who are the most considerate and reliable are often honored. In his first experience dealing with reporters on a nightly basis, Bibee acted like a seasoned veteran.

The 24-year-old righty consistently made himself available to the media, even after difficult losses when he was struggling to find the words to express his disappointment in himself. If a reporter needed to talk to him, Bibee would go out of his way to make sure an interview was scheduled and completed.

Joining Bibee in the Good Guy Award nominations were righty Xzavion Curry, center fielder Myles Straw and former third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh.

To honor Francona with a special award was the easiest decision of them all. Aside from accruing the most wins (921) as the longest-tenured manager in the club’s 123 years of existence, Francona brought life to this organization that it hadn’t seen in more than a decade. In his first season in 2013, he led Cleveland to 92 victories, 24 more than it had the year prior. That marked the largest year-to-year improvement Cleveland had ever seen, and led to his first AL Manager of the Year Award.

Terry Francona
His second came in 2016, when he guided his team to Game 7 of the World Series before falling just short of Cleveland’s first title since 1948. In ’22, Francona earned his third Manager of the Year honor when baseball’s youngest roster unexpectedly clinched a playoff berth.

Francona will have to wait a few years before he inevitably is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but the Cleveland chapter of the BBWAA wanted to get a jump start on honoring him for his managerial efforts.

The Milwaukee Brewers acquired outfielder Jake Bauers from the New York Yankees for minor league outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sanchez,

Brewers are quoted as actually wanting Bauers

ILWAUKEE -- General manager Matt Arnold has been with the Brewers so long, it's not often that the team acquires a player from his former job with the Rays. But such a transaction crossed the wire on Friday.

The Brewers acquired first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers from the Yankees in exchange for outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez, adding a candidate to Milwaukee's wide-open situation at first base and conjuring some memories for Arnold. He was Tampa Bay's director of player personnel when the Rays acquired Bauers in December 2014 as part of a huge, three-team trade built around Wil Myers.

Now, Arnold has acquired Bauers again.

"That was a guy we targeted as a left-handed bat with power," Arnold said at the end of a busy day that saw the Brewers tender contracts to nine players, including Bauers, but non-tender a trio led by longtime Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff and first baseman Rowdy Tellez. "[Bauers] really developed over the last 12-18 months and he's changed some things in his swing that we're excited about."

Bauers, 28, has played four Major League seasons with the Rays (2018), Guardians (2019, 2021), Mariners (2021) and Yankees (2023), appearing in 84 games in the big leagues last year and matching his career high with 12 home runs. Between the Yankees and their Triple-A club, Bauers set a career high with 23 home runs last season.

He is out of Minor League options but does come with three years of club control.

Avina, 20, was the Brewers' 29th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He played at Low-A Carolina in 2023. Sánchez, 19, signed with Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent last Feb. 7 and made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League.

I will assume that the happy Brewers GM noted that Bauers' post-All Star game stats were kind of familiar Jake Bauers territory: 176/237/343 for a spiffy OPS of 580
117 plate appearances, 9 walks, 48 strikeouts

Guardians free-agency primer: Is anyone available/affordable to help the outfield?




By Zack Meisel




CLEVELAND — You know those tasks you do in which, while you’re completing them, you make a mental note of how there’s minimal benefit to actually doing them? Folding laundry that you’re just going to stuff into a drawer. Getting a car wash on a rare sunny day during a slush-filled Cleveland winter. Taking a few practice putts ahead of the inevitable 96 you’re about to card on the golf course.




Anyway, welcome to the Cleveland Guardians free-agency preview.

The Guardians have cut ties with Cal Quantrill, sacrificing some starting rotation depth for about $6.5 million in self-imposed payroll flexibility. They swapped Enyel De Los Santos for Scott Barlow, which they hope solves the eighth-inning riddle that haunted them throughout the 2023 season. Barlow is set to earn a projected $7 million in arbitration.

They haven’t yet addressed their lineup. They need to address their lineup.

If they’re visiting the free-agent market, they’ve come to the wrong place.

The group breaks down like this:

Tier 1: Shohei Ohtani

Tier 2: Cody Bellinger, maybe Matt Chapman

Tier 3: uhh … Jeimer Candelario?

There are massive craters between each tier, and for a team in the Guardians that typically pursues players in Tier 6 or 7, this doesn’t shape up favorably. Without much of an upper class, players in the lower tiers will appeal more to the big spenders than they might in a normal winter. Those mid-range free agents who might have fallen into Cleveland’s lap — think Josh Bell last winter on a two-year, $33 million deal — won’t hamstring a club with a larger payroll if they don’t pan out. Meanwhile, Cleveland was so desperate to offload Bell’s deal, fearing he’d exercise his 2024 option (which he did), they flipped him to the Marlins and agreed to eat Jean Segura’s slightly less cumbersome salary.

The Guardians seem more likely to bolster their roster via trade, but for the sake of thoroughness, let’s assess if any free agents might make sense.

Their needs
Cleveland’s outfielders totaled 18 home runs in 1,997 plate appearances in 2023. That ranked 30th among the 30 teams. The Nationals’ outfielders ranked second-last, with 46.

There’s more to life than power — for someone who never watched “Succession,” maybe — but the Guardians need better production from their outfield however they can achieve it. Steven Kwan will occupy one spot. That leaves two spots for Myles Straw, Ramón Laureano, Oscar Gonzalez, Will Brennan, Johnathan Rodriguez, George Valera, Jhonkensy Noel and eventually Chase DeLauter or any external additions.


The Guardians need to bolster the offensive production of their outfield, which got five homers from Steven Kwan in 2023. (Mark Cunningham / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Elsewhere on the roster, they scooped up Christian Bethancourt to back up Bo Naylor behind the plate. There’s not much available in the catching market — Mitch Garver and Gary Sánchez are the top choices — unless you have an ex-Cleveland fetish. Austin Hedges, Roberto Pérez, Francisco Mejía, Mike Zunino and Sandy León are all free agents, and Luke Maile already re-signed with the Reds.




Cleveland’s infield seems set with Josh Naylor, José Ramírez, Andrés Giménez and one of a dozen shortstop candidates. With the trade of Quantrill, they could use some starting pitching depth behind a first five that’s mighty talented but full of injury- and youth-related question marks. They tendered contracts to James Karinchak, Sam Hentges and Nick Sandlin, so they have plenty of options in the bullpen, though it never hurts to upgrade there.

So, in order of priority, the Guardians’ needs are outfield, more outfield and pitching depth.

The outfielders
(Included are contract projections for anyone who ranks among The Athletic’s top 40 free agents)

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: He’s been an above-average hitter every year of his career, and last season, he became a standout defender in left field. He makes a lot of contact, boasts a strikeout rate the Guardians would covet and hit 24 home runs. (He hit only five in 2022, though his .466 career slugging percentage suggests that was an anomaly.) He’s been a solid, reliable contributor, which also makes him quite the hotshot in this weak class.

The Athletic’s contract projection: four years, $56 million

Teoscar Hernández: His strikeout rate is terrifying, but if a team wants power and thinks he can revert more to his 2020-22 form, then he’s worth a look. He was a Silver Slugger Award winner in both 2020 and ’21 when he recorded a combined .882 OPS.

The Athletic’s contract projection: four years, $80 million

Jorge Soler: He was an All-Star in 2023, and his metrics jump off the page. He tatters the ball, he walks a lot and he bettered his strikeout rate. He’d be a no-brainer right-handed stick to slot between Josh Naylor and Kyle Manzardo. The downside? He’s a nightmare defensively in the outfield, and while he’s enjoyed a couple of standout seasons, he’s also logged some rough ones, so there’s some risk involved.




The Athletic’s contract projection: three years, $45 million

Adam Duvall: The Guardians have made it no secret they’re desperate for more slugging, but just how desperate? Duvall has slugged .494 over the last five seasons, but he also tends to run a low average and on-base percentage. His presence would be a shock to the system of a lineup that features hitters with the opposite profile.

Joc Pederson: Probably best cast as the strong side of a platoon (partnering with Laureano, perhaps?), Pederson routinely ranks among the league leaders in exit velocity and hard-hit rate. He boosted his walk rate to 13.4 percent last season and trimmed his strikeout rate. The 31-year-old owns a career OPS of .800.

Tommy Pham: He’s played for four teams the last two years, five the last three years, seven the last six years. The league is familiar with what Pham offers. He hits the ball hard, swiped 22 bases, doesn’t carry alarming walk or strikeout rates (and annually has one of the league’s top chase rates) and his metrics actually paint an encouraging picture for a soon-to-be 36-year-old. And, well, he’ll be 36 in March.

The Athletic’s contract projection: one year, $10.5 million

Jason Heyward: A glove-first outfielder doesn’t really jibe with what the Guardians need, even if Heyward emerged from a years-long funk to post an .813 OPS last season.

The Athletic’s contract projection: two years, $21 million


Other candidates for the Guardians’ annual Eddie Rosario/Domingo Santana/Carlos Gonzalez Memorial Outfield Honor: Andrew McCutchen, Joey Gallo, Hunter Renfroe, Robbie Grossman, David Peralta, Jesse Winker, Wil Myers, Trey Mancini, A.J. Pollock

Gallo would count as an extreme contrast to the hitters the Guardians have employed over the last couple of years. Cleveland once coveted Winker when he thrived for the Reds, but he has since endured a couple of rough seasons at the plate. Renfroe has bounced to six teams over the last five seasons, essentially a hired gun tasked with crushing homers, though his metrics went in the wrong direction last season.




Hey, I know you: Michael Brantley, Tyler Naquin, Ben Gamel, Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller, Franmil Reyes

Injuries have limited Brantley to 79 games the last two years; he’s 36, but also seems capable of hitting .285 as an octogenarian. Since Cleveland cut ties with Reyes in August 2022, he has compiled a .646 OPS, with seven homers in 258 plate appearances. He spent much of last summer at Triple A.

The pitchers
Cleveland doesn’t typically devote free-agent dollars to relievers, so you can safely cross off Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Hicks and Craig Kimbrel.

If the Guardians want a second lefty reliever to pair with Hentges, Brent Suter is a junk-thrower who’s elite at limiting hard contact. Though his walk and strikeout rates are unimpressive, he owns a 3.49 ERA across eight seasons. Will Smith has won the World Series each of the last three years, and each with a different team, so if Cleveland wants to end its 75-year title drought, he seems like a necessary addition. Matt Moore was with the Guardians for 10 minutes before they sent him to the Marlins for five minutes. He has logged a 2.20 ERA in the last two years. Andrew Chafin is a Kent State product with a mean mustache and strikeout rate.

As for right-handed depth, Emilio Pagan has always had the Guardians in his best interests. Chris Stratton, Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly, Phil Maton, Keynan Middleton and Ryne Stanek are also available.

It’s even more difficult to envision the club forking over guaranteed money to a starting pitcher. In the last decade, they’ve committed major-league money to one pitcher during the winter. And, really, the identity of the pitcher should be a $2,000 word clue on Jeopardy. (Gavin Floyd, nine years ago, on a one-year, $4 million deal. He totaled 13 1/3 innings for Cleveland.)

It seems more likely that they’ll toss a non-roster body or two onto the pile of backup plans that includes Joey Cantillo, Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis and Cody Morris.




There’s a solid crop of starters on the market, in Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Wacha. Jack Flaherty, Seth Lugo, Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger, Lucas Giolito and Sean Manaea, all projected by FanGraphs to land multi-year deals, don’t seem like fits either.

The Guardians would be looking more in the take-a-flyer territory: James Paxton, Martín Pérez, Alex Wood, Dakota Hudson, Carlos Carrasco, Chris Flexen, Luis Severino and Corey Kluber.

Thanks rusty!

Emilio Pagan has always had the Guardians in his best interests

His stats against the rest of the planet are pretty decent but I always loved to see him a enter a game against us for the Twins

Want Mike Clevinger back? He's stlll a good pitcher when he's able to pitch.

Nope. Always felt they dumped him for non-pitching reasons.

could well be; and they sure got a great haul in return!

Former Guardian Wants To Make MLB Return

Franmil Reyes made an Instagram post making it clear he wants to return to the Cleveland Guardians.

TOMMY WILD23 HOURS AGO

The last time Franmil Reyes suited up for an MLB team was in 2023 with the Kansas City Royals. Before that, he spent three and half seasons with the Cleveland Guardians as one of their go-to power hitters.

However, Franmil had an abysmal start to the 2022 season which ended with him before designated for assignment by the Cleveland organization.

Reyes is now campaigning for a comeback to Major League Baseball, and specifically a return to Cleveland. He made this Instagram post on Thursday showing his eagerness to return.

Reyes was the key piece that Cleveland got in return for SP Trevor Bauer in the three-team trade with the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds during the 2019 deadline. He immediately made a large impact on a roster looking for a boost on offense.

At Franmil's best he hit 30 home runs and 85 RBI during the 2021 season while being the insurance hitter behind Jose Ramirez whom the team had been searching for the past few years. A majority of this production came as their designated hitter.

However, in the 2022 season, his OPS+ dropped to 80 while his K% jumped up to a staggering 32%.

Franmi's short stint with the Royals in 2023 was more of the same as he hit .186 and struck 24 times in 59 at-bats.

All of this also comes as Franmil plays with J-Ram down in the LIDOM (Dominican Professional Baseball League). They're hitting back-to-back just like old times. Perhaps this has Reyes reminding him about the organization he used to be a part of.

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Guardians Should Take A Chance On This Outfield Free Agent

Outfield free agent Jesse Winner would be an intriguing fit with the Cleveland Guardians.

TOMMY WILD NOV 22, 2023 6:08 PM EST

Outfield help should be the top priority for the Cleveland Guardians this offseason. There aren't a ton of intriguing outfield free agents and those such as Cody Bellinger or Jorge Soler are likely to go to the highest bidder, which won't be the Guardians.

This means Cleveland may need to take a chance on a player whose stock is low and hope they can return to form. Someone who may take less money with a chance to reignite their career.

Someone such as Jesse Winker.

The Guardians at one time were very high on Winker and even pursued a trade for him before the 2022 season. Instead, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners and moved to the Milwaukee Brewers after just one season.

The outfielder had a slash line of .305/.394/.556 which included 24 home runs and 71 RBI during his 2021 season with the Cincinnati Reds. However, that production hasn't been sustainable over the last two seasons.

Winker's fall from his 2021 All-Star season has been extraordinary. His OPS fell from .949 with the Reds to .688 with the Mariners, and bottomed out at .567 in 61 games with the Brewers last season.

Yes, this is concerning. However, the Guardians need to try something else out in their outfield. What they've tried over the last two seasons just hasn't been working. Their offensive production was one of the worst in baseball for a second straight season and (everyone outside of Steven Kwan) could have offered more.

Winker was once one of the best hitters in baseball and if there's a chance that that hitter is still in there then Cleveland should take a shot on him.

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There's a reason guys like Winker and Reyes are FAs. Best case, Minor league deals with an invitation to ST. No spots on the 40.

certainly!

Guardians Hire Kai Correa For Coaching Role
By Mark Polishuk | November 25, 2023 at 2:22pm CDT

Former Giants bench coach and interim manager Kai Correa is joining the Guardians’ coaching staff, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray and Jeff Young (X link). Correa’s specific role on staff isn’t yet known, but he has past ties to the organization, working as an infield coach and defensive coordinator for Cleveland’s complex league and short-season minor league teams in 2018-19.

From there, Correa joined the Giants as the bench coach and infield coordinator under new manager Gabe Kapler prior to the start of the 2020 campaign. When Kapler was fired late in the 2023 season, Correa stepped into managerial duties for San Francisco’s last three games. He interviewed for the full-time manager’s job after the season, but the Giants instead opted for an experienced skipper in Bob Melvin.

This led to an inevitable shakeup of the Giants’ staff, with a number of coaches (i.e. Bryan Price, Matt Williams, Pat Burrell, Ryan Christenson) with long histories with Melvin or with the San Francisco organization all coming aboard. In Christenson’s case, he took over the bench coach job, leaving Correa without a role.

The 35-year-old Correa joins former San Francisco staffmate Craig Albernaz on the Guardians’ staff, as Albernaz is moving from bullpen coach in San Francisco to a field coordinator role. New Guards manager Stephen Vogt also has some past Giants links, as he was reportedly a candidate for the Giants’ managerial role before the Padres officially let Melvin enter the picture. Vogt also played for the Giants during the 2019 season, just slightly predating both Correa and Albernaz’s time on staff.

Both the bench coach and third base coach roles are open in Cleveland, after the departures of DeMarlo Hale and Mike Sarbaugh. Those seem like obvious fits for Correa, though it is also possible he might take a less-traditional title of infield coordinator or defensive coordinator, as it seems probable that his infield coaching experience will again be part of his duties.