Cleveland Sports Forum

So, the two new hires, Albernaz and Correa, have no specific jobs.

Welcome aboard.

lots of younger coaches coming on board; on some teams they'd be younger than the players, but not Cleveland

Rouglas Odor, Brad Goldberg, Kai Correa added to Guardians' staff

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have finalized their 2024 coaching staff.

On Monday, Cleveland announced the promotions of Rouglas Odor from Double-A Akron manager to Major League infield coach/third-base coach and Brad Goldberg from Akron pitching coach to Major League bullpen coach. The organization also brought back a familiar face in Kai Correa to become the Major League field coordinator, and Craig Albernaz was named bench coach.

“I feel really good,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s a well-rounded staff. People from all different experience levels, but also just [a] wealth of knowledge, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this group heading into the next year.”


Those were the only vacancies the Guardians had to fill. The team is still working through who will be the replay coordinator, but the rest of the staff is set. Sandy Alomar Jr. will return as first-base and catching coach, Carl Willis will serve as pitching coach, Chris Valaika is the hitting coach, Victor Rodríguez is the assistant hitting coach, JT Maguire will remain the outfield coach and Jason Esposito is the run-production coordinator.

“I think it was paramount to have them come back,” Vogt said. “Especially the experience levels of Carl and Sandy and their wealth of knowledge and just their love for Cleveland and the players here. They’re going to be a huge, huge help for me.”

Odor, 55, is heading into his 34th season in the Guardians' organization, beginning his tenure in 1988 as a player before transitioning to a coach with Cleveland’s player development staff in '98. Over his four seasons as the manager of the RubberDucks, he owned a 278-257 record, including the 2021 Double-A Northeast Division regular-season title.

“He’s worked with a lot of these guys as they’ve come up through the ranks together,” Vogt said. “There’s familiarity, there’s a relationship and trust there already, and what he’s going to be able to provide for our middle infield especially, and overall the infield, I think is super important. … He’s earned this.”

Goldberg, 33, was with the Guardians over the past two years. In 2022, he was a pitching coach based out of their player development complex in Arizona. In 2023, he joined Odor as his pitching coach in Akron, and his hurlers posted the second-lowest ERA in the Eastern League (3.87).


Correa, 35, was with Cleveland in 2018 and ’19 as an infield coordinator and lower-level defensive coordinator in Arizona. In ‘20, he joined San Francisco’s coaching staff as its Major League bench coach. He also served as interim manager of the Giants over the final three games of the ’23 season.


Albernaz, who was originally hired as the Major League field coordinator for the Guardians before Vogt was hired, will now move to bench coach, as former bench coach DeMarlo Hale took an associate manager role with the Blue Jays. Albernaz was the Giants' bullpen coach for the past four seasons.

“To have Craig step up and take that spot, I think it’s the most important relationship because he’s going to push me,” Vogt said. “He’s going to challenge me in a lot of ways. He’s going to support me, but it’s not always going to be easy.”

Odor use to be the manager of the Burlington Indians rookie league team when Manny was on the pay phone all night in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn.
Crowds were so small Dominos pizza delivery would call out your name when they arrived at the ball park with your order. Benches were not in a dugout so you could sit right behind the players.

From garage sale to Cooperstown: The saga of Cleveland’s John Adams and his Hall of Fame drum
Zack Meisel
Nov 28, 2023
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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — It was July 22, 2020, two days before the start of a strange, shortened baseball season, and John Adams sat beside his trusty sidekick in his home office in Parma, Ohio. He wasn’t going to be at the ballpark — no one would be, aside from the players, coaches, reporters, certain team staffers and a collection of cardboard cutouts — so John was eager to talk to anyone about baseball.

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He grabbed a mallet, wound up …

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The drumbeat didn’t pack quite the same punch in his 93-year-old home that it did during a ninth-inning rally before a capacity crowd on a crisp autumn evening.

Baseball, and especially the ballpark experience, was missing from his life in a way few other fans could grasp. Yet even if the league were to make an exception for him to attend games in the midst of the pandemic, he said he’d turn it down. He wasn’t passing through the turnstiles until the gates were reopened for everyone.

He didn’t know it at that time but he had already attended his last game.

John and his drum were inseparable until the very end, when his health deteriorated but he still tuned in for every Guardians first pitch. The drum only left his side once, when a team employee handed it off to Patrick Carney, drummer for the Black Keys, at John’s perch atop the left-field bleachers.

That moment came on Opening Day 2021, and it was perfectly imperfect. There was no duplicating the magic John and his drum created for nearly a half-century, whether it was a substitute drummer (even a Grammy-winning rocker) or an audio recording, which the team used for the 2020 campaign.

The drum now rests at the bottom of a display locker on the third floor of a brick building in a quaint town in central New York, surrounded by bats and gloves and uniform tops. Since its arrival earlier in November, baseball fans from across the globe have filtered through the Your Team Today corridor at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and spotted John’s companion, the 26-inch bass drum that barely fits within the walls of the exhibit.

It’s fitting, considering John would regale strangers with stories about how he had shaken hands, posed for pictures and chatted with people at the ballpark from every continent — except for Antarctica, he’d say, because penguins didn’t buy bleacher seats.


John Adams’ drum, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. (Zack Meisel / The Athletic)
John never would have imagined a residency at the Hall. He was too humble. He embodied what it’s like to be a fan, to find one’s passion and treasure every breath spent doing it. And there were a lot of breaths over the course of nearly 4,000 Cleveland baseball games spanning nearly a half-century.

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John could have dumped his drum for a better model along the way, but he refused. Jordan Gauthier, a drum architect and expert, suggests it was crafted in the 1930s, a Ludwig-model single-tension bass drum. Perhaps it was used in a marching band, or used as an outlet for someone frustrated during the Great Depression.

John stumbled upon the drum in the early ‘70s, a marriage formed at a garage sale. No one would have envisioned such a prosperous union. It came as part of a set, but John, a member of the Parma High School pep band and supporter of The Music Settlement and its music therapy program, really just wanted the drum. He paid $25.

The drumming from the bleachers dated back to Aug. 24, 1973. John received advance approval from the Indians’ PR staff, but when he entered the ballpark, a police officer stopped him and asked what he planned to do with a big, old drum in a big, old, empty ballpark.

John was 21, an avid Indians fan who spent his childhood riding the Union Avenue No. 15 bus with his dad to the corner of E. 4th Street and Prospect Avenue. They’d walk past Otto Moser’s restaurant with the pickle jars in the front window and continue toward the cavern on the lakeshore. When Municipal Stadium came into view, John would say, everything morphed from black and white to vivid color, like when Dorothy opened the door in the Wizard of Oz.

By 1973, John was an expert in Cleveland baseball fandom. He had spent hundreds of hours smacking the metal bleachers with his hands. There had to be a better way, he thought, to generate noise, to make the crowd of a few thousand sound as if the deserted venue was filled.

Enter the drum.

John had better, more expensive drums — including a Slingerland Radio King signed by the 1975 team — but none he trusted more for his Municipal Stadium mission. He said if it rained, his mallets would carve right through the cat-skin canvas, so the team constructed the Adams Awning above his seat to shield him from the elements.

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On that first Friday night 50 years ago, as 16 East Tech students filed into the row in front of him, John suffered stage fright. One of the kids turned around and asked in a snooty tone, “You’re not going to hit that, are you?”

John didn’t want to disturb anyone. A man making a beer run urged him to relocate to the back of Section 55, the ideal setting for him to bang away in peace. A group of six people walking past offered encouragement.

It caught the attention of Bob Sudyk, a reporter who wrote in the Cleveland Press: “Adams is one of the chosen few who can thump a drum and receive a standing ovation.” That night, John said: “I’ve found the perfect place and I love it.” Sudyk suggested John and his drum would become ballpark staples, and John didn’t want to make him a liar, so he came back, again and again and again, for the rest of his life.

“People who love to bam away on a drum have a following,” Sudyk wrote. “But the following is usually in pursuit. People who play drums often are evicted by landlords who cancel apartment leases, wives who leave home for mother, dogs who bark and neighbors who call the cops.”

John started beating the drum when the opposing team’s reliever warmed up. That night, Cleveland scored three runs off Texas hurler Charlie Hudson.

“The bleacher fans thought I had psyched him out with the drum,” John said.

He quickly developed a routine; he’d buy a 50-cent bleacher ticket and trek to his spot in front of the brick wall at the top of the section, where he composed the soundtrack to Cleveland baseball. John became a fixture, the unofficial team musician everyone wanted to meet.

“All it takes at a ballgame is to lean over and start talking to people and you’ve got a new friend,” he said all those years ago.

That was his favorite part of the gig. He’d gush about how he could sit at a game and solve the world’s problems with a fellow fan he met two innings earlier. He didn’t care about the publicity that followed him. He simply cherished the camaraderie. He’d say the ballpark was his “escape from reality” and “a magical land.”

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It afforded him some unforgettable opportunities.


Adams before his 3,000th game in 2011. (AP Photo / Amy Sancetta)
The team handed out a bobblehead of John in his patented white button-down and jeans, holding a baseball and a pair of mallets while leaning on the drum. Great Lakes Brewing Company crafted a beer, Rally Drum Red Ale, in his honor.

He made TV appearances, showing up at the ballpark for the 5 a.m. news on Opening Day. John would shout “Happy New Year” and thwack away. He joined the team’s local radio affiliate for its live broadcasts on the Gateway Plaza and the team’s fan club for its regular meetings.

He attended Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981, three All-Star Games, three World Series spectacles. He marched with the Ohio State band during a pregame performance at Jacobs Field.

He sat through teeth-chattering frigid, flurry-filled spring nights when you could see chunks of ice bobbing in Lake Erie. He sat through sweltering summer afternoons, sporting a tank top and clutching the mallets with sweaty paws. He sat through 100-loss seasons in a mostly abandoned venue and through hallmark October evenings with 40,000 people hanging on every note he hit.

He was the last one out of the stands at the old place in October 1993. He journeyed to Milwaukee in 2007, when the Indians “hosted” the Angels 400-some miles northwest of Cleveland after Mother Nature mercilessly dumped piles of snow on the lakefront in early April. In 2011, for his 3,000th game, John stood at home plate and swung his drum like a bat to hit a ceremonial first pitch from Joe Charboneau.

All of it with the same drum, because John refused to break their bond.

He’d carry the drum to his neighbor’s house every year or two, where Kurt Nicolay, a welder, would fuse its tension rods back together. Kurt would tell him he needed a new drum, but John was unwavering.

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“Nope, I want this one.”

“OK,” Kurt would reply, “we’ll make it work.”

Much of its black paint has worn off. There’s a chunk of its wooden rim missing. The tension rods have seen better days. There are a couple of yellow smiley face stickers on its base, and some eroded signatures that have become illegible.

John often said the drum wasn’t worth much but was invaluable to him, even if he once estimated spending $200 a year on maintenance.

He was climbing toward milestones he never imagined. Four thousand games. Fifty years.

John didn’t need the urging from Sudyk or the team’s PR staff to make this a habit. It’s all he ever wanted to do, the only place he ever wanted to be. Sudyk once wrote, after a sleepy, one-hit loss in May 1978, Cleveland’s eighth defeat in 12 games, that “even the drummer is staying home.” But he was mistaken. He had ditched a picnic and driven 50 miles to attend the game, even though, as John said, “There wasn’t much to beat about.” John joked that Sudyk “probably was asleep like most of the other 19,000 there.”

He’d pack the drum in his car — he used to have a van on which a close friend named Harold painted “Follow me to Indians Baseball” — and he would head downtown. He’d park in a lot behind the bleachers at the old stadium. When the team moved into Jacobs Field in 1994, he’d park on E. 18th next to the Wolstein Center, across from the Salvation Army. He’d lug the drum down Carnegie Avenue to the ballpark, stopping to talk to vendors and fans along the way. In more recent years, as it became more demanding to lug a 26-inch drum a long distance, he had a spot in the Gateway East Garage beside the ballpark.

On the 49th anniversary of that first game, the team inducted John into its Distinguished Hall of Fame, an exclusive group of 12 members, most of whom were broadcasters or executives. They placed a bronze replica of the drum atop his green bleacher seat in Heritage Park, a permanent reminder of the music they made together.

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That drumbeat lurked in the background of every sacred moment, every clutch hit, every walk-off, every key pitch in a postseason game when every pause in the action was accompanied by a spike in blood pressure and that familiar sound.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The players were missing that presence during the 2020 season. In an empty ballpark, the audio recording the team occasionally blared on the speakers didn’t strike the same note. When a team staffer relayed that message to John, he supplied mallets that the club stored in the dugout as good-luck charms.

John passed away in January. He willed the drum to the Guardians.


A few weeks back, team historian Jeremy Feador shoved the drum — and the bat (belonging to Bob Feller) that Babe Ruth leaned on in his final appearance at Yankee Stadium — into the back of a red Hyundai Santa Fe at 3 a.m. He picked up a pair of copilots and headed east.

Since John’s death, the drum had been stored in the team’s offices, but those are being renovated. It needed a new home, even if only for a couple years, until the Guardians design its future display space.

After six and a half hours, Feador pulled up beside a grassy courtyard with sculptures of a pitcher and catcher. He pulled the drum out of the trunk and stuck it on a slab of gray concrete in front of the building entrance before snapping a series of photos and transporting it inside.

Cleveland was a charter member of the American League in 1901. The franchise has a rich catalog of history and an endless supply of memorabilia and artifacts, some of which reside at the Cooperstown museum.

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Tom Shieber, the Hall’s curator, showcased the maroon-collared wool uniform Nap Lajoie wore in 1910, when he battled Ty Cobb for the batting crown and a Chalmers model 30 automobile; a pair of black Feller cleats with metal spikes from his final start of 1938, when the 19-year-old set a team record with 18 strikeouts (a feat Corey Kluber would match 77 years later with Feller’s widow in attendance); a base used during the 1948 World Series at Municipal Stadium; the baseball Jim Thome slugged during the 1999 ALDS, when he became the first player in postseason history with multiple grand slams; a photo of the participants in a 1911 All-Star benefit held for the family of the late Addie Joss, with Jack Graney featured on both ends of the panoramic shot because the Cleveland outfielder raced from one side to the other during the 15 seconds it took the tripod to rotate.


Adams in what would be his final year regularly banging the drum, 2019. (David Richard / USA TODAY)
Elsewhere in the museum, there’s a baseball from Early Wynn’s 300th victory, a ball from Feller’s Opening Day no-hitter, a ’48 championship ring, the bat Sandy Alomar Jr. used to swat the decisive home run in the 1997 All-Star Game, the jersey Frank Robinson wore for his first game as the league’s first Black manager, a rare Lajoie card and a medal honoring Neal Ball for converting the league’s first unassisted triple play.

There’s a trophy Cy Young’s teammates handed him on his 41st birthday, a “Go Joe Charboneau” record — the Section 36 track reached No. 3 on the local charts — from his award-winning rookie season, a $20 auxiliary field box ticket to the 1981 All-Star Game and an arm-warming sleeve Feller’s mother fashioned for him in 1934.

In that display locker resides Rajai Davis’ navy uniform top from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, Shane Bieber’s cap from when he claimed All-Star Game MVP honors in Cleveland in 2019 and the dirt-stained base Jay Bruce tagged for his walk-off double that pushed the Indians’ record-setting win streak to 22 games in 2017.

So much Cleveland history — and now the drum is a small (well, rather large) part of it.

At the entrance of the third level sits the Sacred Ground exhibit, where visitors are greeted by seven fabric maché figures that honor some of the most renowned fans in the sport’s history. There’s Hilda Chester and her trademark cowbell at Dodgers games, Harry Thobe, known for dancing in the aisles in a suit at Reds games and Lolly Hopkins, who shouted into a megaphone in Boston. Several Hall officials agreed John would fit in with this group, a fundamental component of the fan experience in his city.

Before the Guardians’ home opener this year, the club’s first game at Progressive Field since John’s passing, fans streamed to his empty seat atop the bleachers, where the team had nailed a plaque to the wall and left a wreath of bright blue, red and white flowers that surrounded a logo of his initials and a couple of mallets. It wasn’t just the Cleveland diehards who marched to Section 182 to pay tribute.

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One fan who hailed from Houston remembered Adams and his drum from a tour of the league’s 30 ballparks a quarter-century earlier. He returned for a game in 2017, sat in the bleachers and was reacquainted with John’s work. He attended the 2023 home opener and made John’s shrine his first stop. John’s passion and loyalty resonated beyond Cleveland.


The patch the Guardians wore on their uniforms in 2023 to honor Adams. (Ken Blaze / USA TODAY)
In 2013, as his retirement tour rolled through Progressive Field, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera asked to meet John and tap the drum. A decade later, both are honored in the Hall of Fame.

In a museum full of reminders of icons such as Ruth, Young, Mays, Cobb, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig and Rickey Henderson, there’s now an item that represents a devoted fan who only had a bird’s-eye view of the field, but was so prominent to the franchise.

The Guardians will unveil the John Adams Bleachers at Progressive Field in April. His legacy lives on — in Cleveland and in Cooperstown.

Jim Bowden

Cleveland Guardians

Needs: Bats, most likely in the outfield and at DH

What they’ve done so far: Hired Stephen Vogt as manager; traded RHP Cal Quantrill to Rockies for C Kody Huff; traded RHP Enyel De Los Santos to Padres for RHP Scott Barlow

Free-agent targets: Teoscar Hernández, Rhys Hoskins, Justin Turner, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Michael Brantley, Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez

Trade targets: Nick Castellanos, Anthony Santander, Alex Verdugo, Josh Lowe, MJ Melendez, Max Kepler, Lars Nootbaar, Chas McCormick, Alec Burleson

The Guardians have one of the best young rotations in the game, a strong bullpen, and an elite defensive team. However, their offense is just not good enough, top to bottom, which has been the case for several years; they need a middle-of-the-order bat to put between José Ramírez and Josh Naylor. Shane Bieber will be a free agent after next season and could be a trade candidate but is coming off an injury-shortened year.

That's a pretty succinct pretty accurate description of the team. At times I can think that they are "almost there". Pitching and defense and half a good lineup. I think it's reasonably likely Giminez will get back to his 2022 norm; that Kwan will stay at least at his 2023 level; that the 2 Naylors' 2023 seasons are repeatable; that Manzardo in 23 and DeLauter in 24 should be solid additions. If all that's true, they should have a good offense too

article on new pitcher, must have really been downhill from here

Barría, Silseth switch roles to tremendous effect
May 23rd, 2023
Rhett Bollinger
Rhett Bollinger

@RhettBollinger
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Jaime Barría's six strikeouts
May 22, 2023 · 0:45
Jaime Barría's six strikeouts
ANAHEIM -- Jaime Barría, who has been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball dating back to last season, fully took advantage of getting a shot at the rotation against the Red Sox on Monday.

Barría made his first start of the season while rookie right-hander Chase Silseth moved to a high-leverage spot in the bullpen, and both pitched well in their new role to help the Angels to a 2-1 win at Angel Stadium.

Barría, who isn’t fully stretched out and had a pitch-count restriction, threw five scoreless innings, while Chase Silseth threw two perfect frames to close it out. Silseth picked up the win, with Mickey Moniak continuing his hot start with a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth.

Moniak's go-ahead home run (3)
May 22, 2023 · 0:28
Moniak's go-ahead home run (3)
“I feel great that the manager gave me the confidence to go out there, and we got the win, which is the most important thing,” Barría said through an interpreter. “It’s important to me. That’s what I was waiting for, this opportunity. So I just have to keep doing my thing and throwing strikes.”

Barría scattered two hits and struck out six while lowering his ERA to 1.61 in 28 innings this year. Dating back to April 8, Barría leads the Majors with a 0.37 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. And going back to last season, Barría has a 2.35 ERA in 107 1/3 innings, which ranks fifth among pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings since the start of last season, trailing only Justin Verlander, Tony Gonsolin, Jeffrey Springs and Brock Burke.

Manager Phil Nevin liked what he saw from Barría and said it’s enough to keep him in the rotation, with his next start expected to come on May 30 in Chicago against the White Sox. Barría would also likely be available in relief this weekend, if needed.

“The changeup was a game-changer and really kept them off-balance and [he] threw a lot of strikes, just like we’ve seen him do in the bullpen,” Nevin said. “It was really nice to see. I’m really happy for him.”

Barría has been incredible at inducing weak contact this season, and that was again the case against the Red Sox. Boston only managed two singles against him and he didn’t walk a batter, so he didn’t pitch with much traffic and never faced a batter with runners in scoring position.

But after a 1-2-3 fifth inning, Barría was removed, his pitch count up to 64 -- slightly above his season high of 58 over four innings against the Rangers on May 5. Barría was in line for the win, but lefty Aaron Loup allowed a run in the sixth. Still, Barría kept his scoreless-innings streak intact, as he’s thrown 14 1/3 scoreless frames dating back to April 29 against the Brewers.

“I’ve been doing a great job since Milwaukee, attacking hitters and trusting all my stuff,” Barría said. “I think that’s why they gave me this opportunity to start.”

Here is an article from Barria's rough outing reveals Angels' need for starting pitching help
June 29th, 2023
Rhett Bollinger
Rhett Bollinger

@RhettBollinger
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Phil Nevin talks 11-5 loss
Jun 29, 2023 · 0:49
Phil Nevin talks 11-5 loss
ANAHEIM -- After acquiring veteran infielders Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas via trades over the weekend, it’s become clear the Angels are going to be aggressive in trying to improve their club before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline.

The Angels are aiming for their first postseason berth since 2014 and they’re trying to get there in the last year of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s contract. But one of their issues was apparent in an 11-5 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday at Angel Stadium, as sixth starter Jaime Barria struggled.

It was Barria’s first start since June 13, which could’ve led to some rust, but it again showed the Angels could use another veteran starter before the Trade Deadline.

“It’s a tough role to be in and sit that long,” manager Phil Nevin said. “It’s tough when you don’t pitch that much. You can throw bullpens all you want, but it’s not the same.”

Mike Trout's RBI triple
Jun 28, 2023 · 0:29
Mike Trout's RBI triple
Angels pitching has been middle of the pack this year, with a 4.13 ERA that ranks 15th in the Majors. The bullpen’s 3.68 ERA ranks eighth, while the starting pitchers have combined for a 4.42 ERA that ranks 19th. It’s a reason why they’re likely to pursue a starting pitcher via trade, which would also allow for the underrated Barria to move back to his long relief role where he has excelled over the last two seasons.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian indicated on Monday that he plans to add to the roster, as the club has put itself in postseason contention with a 44-38 record.

“The players and coaching staff have put themselves in a position to where we're in contention for a playoff spot and I don't take that lightly,” Minasian said. “They've worked really hard to be at this point, especially with some of the challenges we've gone through over the course of the season. So now I look at it as my turn to help, to continue adding talent to the roster.”

Brandon Drury's solo homer (14)
Jun 28, 2023 · 0:27
Brandon Drury's solo homer (14)
To be fair, the rotation has been better recently, as Angels starters came into Wednesday on a stretch of 13 straight games of allowing three runs or fewer. But that ended against Chicago, as Barria gave up five runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- in three innings, falling to 2-3 with a 2.92 ERA.

“I was just leaving my slider up,” Barria said through an interpreter. “They made an adjustment. And then they were hitting my fastball. That’s what happened tonight.”

From baseball savant -- Barria fastball gets horrible results but his offspeed stuff is pretty good.

Very hard to post, so here is the link https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-p ... tching-mlb

Very impressive exit velocity and hardhit percentage.

Always need depth for the Columbus roster. And emergency promotions for injury replacements.
Not bad numbers in 2022 when he was a reliever, except for home run totals.

What a stupid headline

Guardians land former Shohei Ohtani teammate in MLB free agency

Trade suggested by Jim Bowden


5. Braves make a move for Shane Bieber from the Guardians
The Braves tried to land Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray last month before the right-handers signed with the Phillies and Cardinals, respectively. Now, their best play might be to try to trade for a righty starter and Bieber could be a good fit — if his medical reports are to the Braves’ liking. Bieber logged a 3.80 ERA and 1.234 WHIP in 21 starts this year but missed time because of right elbow inflammation. He will be a free agent after next season.


The Braves could offer a package of pitching prospect Spencer Schwellenbach and middle infielder Vaughn Grissom. Schwellenbach, incidentally, was drafted by Cleveland in the 34th round in 2018 but did not sign and then was selected by Atlanta in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Nebraska. He went 5-2 with a 2.49 ERA this year in 16 games between Low A and High A. The 23-year-old is slated to start next year at Double A and could come fast to the majors. Grissom can play second base, shortstop and left field and when fully developed profiles as a 15-home run, 25-stolen base type player. He was rushed to the big leagues in 2022 and over the past two seasons has slashed .287/.339/.407 in the majors with five home runs in 236 plate appearances and five steals. If that package doesn’t work, Atlanta could offer right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver straight up for Bieber or get a third team involved that has what the Guardians really need — a corner outfielder with power, something the Braves don’t have in their system.

MLB winter meetings preview: Trade rumors, Ohtani news, more



Jeff Passan, ESPN
Dec 1, 2023, 07:00 AM ET

Finally, after a month of relative inaction, Major League Baseball's offseason is primed to pop off. Over the next few weeks, executives and agents expect a deluge of free agent signings and big-name trades. No one is certain whether the winter meetings, which begin at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, will brim with action or simply serve as a prelude for the madness ahead, but regardless: Buckle up. It's coming.

Three transactions will set the tone for the winter. The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes could soon reach its conclusion with an astronomical and record-breaking guarantee. The San Diego Padres are expected to trade star outfielder Juan Soto in a deal some believe will come together by the end of the meetings. And Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who executives believe will sign in mid-December, will trigger a bidding frenzy among the game's most-moneyed teams.



As these moves happen, the rest of the market will sort itself out. Until then, here is the latest on the names you'll be hearing next week -- and those likely to move in their wake -- as the baseball world gathers in Music City.


Shohei Ohtani
The Ohtani extravaganza is barreling toward the finish line, and when he finally agrees to a deal, the number, sources said, will surge well beyond $500 million. One source said he believes Ohtani will receive a contract for at least $550 million. Another said the bidding could reach $600 million. Regardless of where it lands, it will shatter the record for the largest guarantee in North American sports history: the $426.5 million the Los Angeles Angels gave to Ohtani's teammate, Mike Trout.




Fears that the reconstructive elbow surgery that will prevent Ohtani from pitching in 2024 -- and has led to understandable questions about his future on the mound -- would put a damper on his free agent value have clearly proved unfounded. A player of Ohtani's caliber -- a two-time American League MVP whose unique brilliance at the plate and on the mound and international stardom makes him an all-time free agent -- transcends the sort of uncertainty that would waylay anyone else's free agency.

Given that, it would be foolish to count out any high revenue team, though by now the field for Ohtani's services has winnowed, sources said. The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who were among the initial group of suitors, have turned their attention to other players, sources said. Among those confirmed by sources to be still in the bidding: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and Angels. The San Francisco Giants have long had a fondness for Ohtani, though where they stand in these sweepstakes is unknown.

When Ohtani does make his choice, the signing is expected to jump-start a stagnant position-player market in which the largest free agent contract has been outfielder Jason Heyward's one-year, $9 million deal with the Dodgers. While the hitting class is weak, the markets for center fielder Cody Bellinger, third baseman Matt Chapman, outfielders Jung-Hoo Lee, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and slugger Jorge Soler figure to pick up following Ohtani's signing -- as will the trade of the best bat available.

Juan Soto
What looked inevitable across the industry a month ago -- the payroll-cutting Padres would be forced to trade Soto, who will make more than $30 million in arbitration before hitting free agency after the 2024 season -- is edging closer to becoming a reality for the franchise. San Diego, sources said, is engaging teams in trade talks for the 25-year-old, whom they acquired at the 2022 trade deadline.

The potential complications are manifold. Soto's salary, even for one year, is a nonstarter for a number of teams. Others are loath to deal significant talent for a player who could leave after the season. And it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Padres could extend Soto, though sources said it's a long shot.

If they make a deal, San Diego won't recoup anything close to the haul of players it gave the Washington Nationals for Soto -- the sort of psychological barrier that has derailed plenty of potential deals in the past. If any general manager is known for the kind of creative dealmaking that could make it possible, though, it's A.J. Preller. The most obvious destination is the New York Yankees, who are seeking bats to spark an offense that ranked 25th in runs scored in MLB this season. The Yankees have the major league-ready pitching the Padres desire and a farm system deep enough to whet San Diego's appetite for a deal. The Giants, who have sought a foundational star for more than a year, have roadblocks as an in-division team but enough motivation to overcome them. The Cubs check three important boxes: need, talent and money. Other possibilities include the Philadelphia Phillies, who don't necessarily have the need but certainly the talent and money. The Red Sox and Mets both are in enough of a prospect-hoarding phase to hesitate pushing in for a player not signed beyond 2024. They're also two pitching weak major league teams and farm systems. But if the will is there, the inclusion of a third team in a potential deal could remedy the pitching issue. While it would be unlike the Baltimore Orioles to consider such a deal, the best farm system in baseball, though hitting-heavy, has the talent to do it.



One team with a need for Soto and the talent to make it happen that might abstain from the bidding: the Seattle Mariners, who also were expected to be an Ohtani suitor but blanched at the money. If the Mariners were to move one of their young starters, it almost certainly would be for a cost-controlled bat with multiple years of team control.

Should the Padres deal Soto and get significant pitching help back, it could free them, sources said, to pursue Jung-Hoo Lee -- a Korean outfielder ranked No. 14 on Kiley McDaniel's free agent rankings who is best friends with Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego's Gold Glove-winning infielder -- and Yuki Matsui, a left-handed closer from Japan, who could replace free agent Josh Hader at the back end of the Padres' bullpen.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
It's difficult to remember a player with a market as robust as Yamamoto's. The 25-year-old right-hander will decide among a who's who of teams interested in him: The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs are among the favorites, with the Giants, Blue Jays and Phillies also expected to be in the mix.

The price for Yamamoto, officials who plan on pursuing the pitcher told ESPN, seems to be growing by the day. Multiple executives said the floor will be $200 million. Others said the cost of his contract could be in excess of $250 million -- which would mean another $39.38 million as a posting fee paid to the Orix Buffaloes, with whom Yamamoto has won three consecutive league MVP and Sawamura Awards.

Yamamoto's allure is undeniable, and with so many big revenue teams interested in adding him to their rotation, it's more than conceivable that he receives the second-largest contract handed to a pitcher, behind Gerrit Cole's $324 million deal with the Yankees. Yamamoto plans to meet with teams after the winter meeting before making his decision.

Dylan Cease
Cease's popularity on the trade market is due as much to his contract status as his pitch quality. In a sea of trade-block pitchers who will hit free agency after 2024, Cease comes with two years before he hits the market.



The controllability -- and cost control, with an estimated $9 million arbitration salary for the upcoming season and somewhere in the $14 to 16 million range the next year -- gives the White Sox, under new general manager Chris Getz, the ability to ask for a package built around a top prospect. Teams looking for frontline starting pitching include the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds -- and each can put together a package strong enough to entice the White Sox, whose last rebuild included the deal that landed them Cease, at the time in Low A.

He blossomed into a top starter and looked downright unhittable in 2022, when he finished second in AL Cy Young voting on the strength of a 2.20 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings. While Cease's ERA more than doubled to 4.58 last season, he remained one of the game's best strikeout artists. Only Cole, Corbin Burnes and Kevin Gausman have more punchouts over the past three seasons than Cease's 667.

Chicago's glaring lack of depth in the major leagues and minor leagues makes a deal for Cease a near certainty. Wherever he lands, expect a hefty package to go back to the White Sox.

Tyler Glasnow
The market for Glasnow has heated up in recent days, and rival executives expect Tampa Bay to move him sooner than later. The Rays' calculus is clear: Though they have the ability to push their payroll into the $130 million range, it seems imprudent to do so in a year where ace Shane McClanahan and starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen all are recovering from reconstructive elbow surgeries -- plus with the uncertainty surrounding shortstop Wander Franco, whom MLB is investigating after allegations of inappropriate relationships with underage girls in his native Dominican Republic.

Dealing Glasnow is the easiest way to shed a significant salary. He's set to make $25 million this season before reaching free agency in the winter. While that number will scare off some teams, new suitors continue to reach out to the Rays as the pitching market takes shape.

Further, the Rays will be busy beyond Glasnow. Their standard operating procedure is to listen to offers on everyone, and a farm system that churns out major league players on the regular affords them the flexibility to do so. Tampa Bay isn't necessarily looking to trade outfielder Randy Arozarena; a small number of teams have inquired, though that could grow in the coming weeks. With Arozarena set to make around $9 million this year, plus two arbitration raises beyond that, the Rays could move the 28-year-old for a significant windfall. Others potentially on the block include, but are not limited to, third baseman Isaac Paredes, second baseman Brandon Lowe, first baseman Harold Ramirez and outfielder Manuel Margot.

Emmanuel Clase
The Cleveland Guardians are open to dealing Clase, their All-Star closer who has led the AL in saves for two consecutive years, sources told ESPN. With Hader seeking a deal in the neighborhood of Edwin Diaz's (five years, $102 million) and the next-best closing option Jordan Hicks (with 32 career saves), Clase has broad appeal to any team looking for a bullpen upgrade.

Clase's contract makes him even more attractive. He's owed $2.5 million in 2024, $4.5 million in 2025, $6 million in 2026 and has $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028. Every team in baseball can afford Clase at those prices.



How much talent they're willing to pony up will determine whether he's moved. Clase blew a major league-high 12 saves last season en route to posting a career-worst 3.22 ERA. His strikeout rate dipped from 28.4% of batters to 21.2% -- below the league average of 22.7% -- and his groundball rate dropped, too.

Still, Clase's 99-mph cutter is regarded as one of the best pitches in baseball, and his 91-mph slider isn't far behind. He walks fewer than two batters per nine innings, and his 0.42 homers per nine allowed since his 2019 debut is the best in baseball. Cleveland acquired Scott Barlow, Kansas City's closer for the past four seasons, in a trade with San Diego, so if the Guardians do what they do so well -- move controllable pitching for a multiplayer return -- they've got a ready-made replacement.

Plenty more pitching
Left-hander Jordan Montgomery might not have to wait for Yamamoto to choose a team or the trade market to get moving. Coming off a bravura performance for the World Series-winning Texas Rangers, he finds himself in a sweet spot: His performance certainly warrants a nine-figure deal, but not one so rich that he needs to draft off Yamamoto (which teams believe National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell will do). The Rangers want to re-sign him. He could be a strike-first option for Boston if it's feeling squishy about Yamamoto. Same to the Cubs, particularly if the top end of the market doesn't pan out. Something in the Patrick Corbin range, at six years and $140 million, feels like a reasonable landing spot, executives said.

There's enough pitching still available that teams whiffing on Yamamoto and Montgomery won't be left entirely barren. In addition to Clase, the Guardians are entertaining the possibility of trading right-hander Shane Bieber, who won the 2020 AL Cy Young but leaves some teams slightly wary after spending 2½ months between July and September on the injured list with elbow inflammation. (In his final start Sept. 27, Bieber held the Reds to one run in six innings while striking out seven and walking none.)

The Milwaukee Brewers have engaged teams in recent days on right-hander Corbin Burnes, according to sources. The 2021 NL Cy Young winner finished eighth in the voting this season on the strength of 200 strikeouts and 66 walks in 193⅔ innings with a 3.39 ERA. Like Bieber, Burnes is set to hit free agency after the 2024 season.

Two other left-handers worth monitoring: Eduardo Rodriguez and Shota Imanaga. Rodriguez, 30, signed a mid-November free agent deal two years ago but opted out of the final three years and $49 million of that contract with the Detroit Tigers. Now he could join Aaron Nola (seven years, $172 million with Philadelphia) and Sonny Gray (three years, $75 million with St. Louis Cardinals) as big-money pitchers to go early. Imanaga, also 30, left Nippon Professional Baseball's Yokohama Bay Stars this winter after posting a 2.96 ERA over 1,129⅔ innings during his eight-year stint. While teams hoped they could get Imanaga on a Kodai Senga-like deal -- five years, $75 million -- his market has grown strong enough, sources said, that his deal could be closer to $100 million.

The market for the other two top starters -- right-handers Lucas Giolito and Marcus Stroman -- should pick up soon, both as a function of the higher-priced signings and the run on mid-tier starters (Nick Martinez, Kenta Maeda, Reynaldo Lopez, Luis Severino, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn) shrinking the supply of pitching. Also still available: right-handers Yariel Rodriguez, Jack Flaherty, Seth Lugo, Mike Clevinger, Michael Lorenzen, Frankie Montas, Michael Wacha, Tyler Mahle and Erick Fedde and left-handers Hyun-Jin Ryu, James Paxton and Wade Miley.

The wild card? Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who underwent shoulder surgery in early November but said in an Instagram post: "I am hopeful to return to play at some point next summer." The market for Kershaw is expected to be small: the Dodgers, with whom he has spent the entirety of his 16-year career, or the Rangers, whose stadium is less than half an hour from where Kershaw grew up.

MLB Winter Meetings: 3 questions for the Guardians CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 03: Pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Guardians watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Progressive Field on July 03, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel
5h ago

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CLEVELAND — The Guardians’ front office has been, perhaps surprisingly, pretty active at the Winter Meetings in recent years.

As they boarded a Southwest flight from Las Vegas back to Cleveland in December 2018, they swapped Edwin Encarnación and Yandy Díaz for Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers. A few days after they returned from the 2019 convention in San Diego, they traded Corey Kluber for Emmanuel Clase and Delino DeShields Jr. The annual event was canceled in 2020 and 2021, but during the festivities last year, the Guardians agreed to terms with free-agent slugger Josh Bell.

OK, so not all of their Winter Meetings work has paid dividends.

What, if anything, will they complete in Nashville next week?
What’s next on the to-do list?

The Guardians have finalized their coaching staff, dumped Cal Quantrill and swung a trade for setup man Scott Barlow. Now, it might be prudent for the Guardians to improve their outfield, by far the most inept unit, offensively (by both definitions of the word), in the league.

We can sort their internal options into three categories.

Steven Kwan has goals for the 2024 season. (Joe Nicholson / USA Today)

1. Outfielders who deserve daily playing time: Steven Kwan

Kwan said he wants to hit the ball with more authority next season, a trait that could benefit a guy who makes as much contact as any hitter in the sport. He has won a Gold Glove Award in both of his big-league seasons. The only question is whether he stays in left field or shifts to center.
2. Outfielders for whom they need answers: Will Brennan, Oscar Gonzalez, Myles Straw, Ramón Laureano

Cleveland committed $5.15 million to Laureano, who seems best suited for a platoon/defensive replacement role. They owe Straw at least $20.5 million the next three years, but after a couple of dismal seasons at the plate, it’s hard to argue he’s more than a part-time player. With Brennan and Gonzalez, how much time can the club afford to grant them to prove their struggles last season were an aberration?
3. Outfielders on the way: George Valera, Johnathan Rodriguez, Chase DeLauter, Jhonkensy Noel

This group wields the power the Guardians desperately need. DeLauter figures to soar up top prospect lists ahead of next season after a stellar showing at Double-A Akron and in the Arizona Fall League, but he’s only played six games above A-ball. The other three all have questions about their swing-and-miss ability. Valera was widely considered a top-100 prospect the past couple of years before he endured an injury-marred 2023 season. The Guardians added Rodriguez to the 40-man roster earlier this month to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

That’s eight outfielders on the 40-man roster (plus DeLauter), but only one (Kwan) whom Stephen Vogt can pencil into his daily lineup without a second thought. The outfield is the club’s most glaring need.

The free-agent market isn’t designed to benefit teams that are hesitant to spend money, and that’s especially true this winter, with a weak position-player class after Shohei Ohtani. Cody Bellinger, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernández and Jorge Soler are the top outfielders available.

That leaves the trade route. The Cardinals, Orioles and Reds are among the teams with a surplus in the outfield. The Guardians could partner with a rebuilding team that might be interested in their stockpile of middle infield prospects or lower-level starting pitching.

Cleveland poked around briefly when the Nationals made Juan Soto available in 2022, but a megastar who is projected to earn $33 million in 2024 and who is bound for free agency in a year (and who would cost the club a bunch of talent in a trade) wouldn’t seem to make the Guardians and Padres a match.

Boston’s Alex Verdugo only has one year of team control remaining and doesn’t offer much pop. Max Kepler has crushed more home runs at Progressive Field than any other road ballpark, but it’s difficult to envision the Twins shipping him to their AL Central rival.

Randy Arozarena sure checks a lot of boxes, especially with three years of team control. Someone from St. Louis — Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman or Alec Burleson — could fit. The Nationals have Lane Thomas. The Orioles have Anthony Santander. The A’s have Brent Rooker.

Cleveland’s outfielders posted a .654 OPS last season. There are some intriguing prospects on the way, but there’s no more glaring need on the roster.
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Guardians free-agency primer: Is anyone available/affordable to help the outfield?
Will they trade Shane Bieber?

How the Guardians tend to operate is no secret. They take a starting pitcher with one year of team control remaining, hook him to the end of their rod and cast their line into the open trade waters. Bieber, in a vacuum, is an obvious trade candidate. He was bound to be a hot commodity at the deadline four months ago had he not suffered an elbow injury. If ownership is unwilling to grant the front office some payroll flexibility this winter in light of an uncertain TV deal, well, Bieber is in line to earn almost twice what Quantrill — whom they didn’t deem worth $6.5 million — is expected to earn in 2024.

There are some complicating factors, though, chief among them being Bieber’s trade value. This isn’t 2020 Bieber. He’s had shoulder and elbow issues since his Cy Young Award-winning season. His velocity has plunged. He doesn’t trust his curveball the way he did when it was a devastating strikeout pitch a few years ago. His metrics don’t paint the most encouraging picture. And for teams seeking starting pitching help, there are plenty of serviceable arms available in free agency (Blake Snell, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery, Marcus Stroman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto) or on the trade front (Dylan Cease, Tyler Glasnow, maybe Corbin Burnes).

If the Guardians are intent on trading him, they’d be selling low, and barring a swap of Bieber to a pitching-starved team for a hitter with similarly limited control, it’s hard to see how Cleveland would be better off without him in 2024. If they deal him for prospects, it won’t be for the haul of young talent they could have landed, say, a year or two ago, not when he missed 10 weeks with an injured elbow, his ERA jumped to 3.80 and his xERA (expected ERA, based on the quality of contact allowed) soared to 4.83.

So, is there much of a point to moving Bieber for, say, a couple of midlevel, non-top-100 prospects? What does that accomplish, other than reducing an already-microscopic payroll? And would that return outweigh the draft-pick compensation the team would net if Bieber walks after the 2024 season?

A rotation of Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen has the potential to be one of the league’s best and, if healthy, could serve as the driving force for Cleveland standing a couple of position player tweaks from being a true contender. There are, of course, injury concerns, with Bieber and McKenzie missing significant time in 2023. The other three starters were rookies last season, and it’d be naive to assume there won’t be any growing pains at some point. After those five, there’s not much depth. Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis, Joey Cantillo and Cody Morris are next in line.

The Guardians used 14 different starting pitchers last season. Whether they trade Bieber or decide to keep him, they could stand to benefit from shoring up their depth.
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Guardians in no rush to trade Shane Bieber; weak free-agent class muddles offensive plans
How intent are the Guardians on winning in 2024?

The Guardians won earlier than expected in 2022. They fell short of expectations in 2023.

Where does that leave the club’s contention timeline ahead of the 2024 campaign? Should we trust that they have an accurate forecast this time?

The rotation could be contender-quality. If Barlow delivers as they hope he will, the bullpen could rebound from a bizarre year full of meltdowns at the worst possible moments. As much as the lineup needs some added punch, a group built around Kwan, José Ramírez, Andrés Giménez, the Naylor brothers and, perhaps, rookies Kyle Manzardo and Juan Brito, offers hope. But just how aggressive will the front office be in supplementing the pieces in place with established talent, whether via free agency or trade?

They dealt for Barlow, who has only one year of team control and projects to earn about $7 million next season. That’d be a strange commitment for a team with only lukewarm interest in winning its division in 2024. Will Barlow earn about 1/12th of the team’s payroll, or are there more moves to be made? It would seemingly behoove the club to capitalize on the fact that so many of its core talents are earning the league minimum, and Ramírez and Giménez, signed to long-term deals, will only see their salaries rise in the coming years.

The AL Central is no powerhouse. Someone has to win it, even if no one really wants to. The Twins are shedding payroll. They already lost Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda. The Tigers signed Maeda, but could lose Rodriguez, their top starter. The White Sox and Royals are far from sea level.

We should learn more in Nashville about the team’s sense of urgency to upgrade its outfield and bolster its pitching depth. If history is any lesson, the Guardians are at least active this time of year, for better or worse.