Cleveland Sports Forum

Cleveland Guardians
@CleGuardians
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11m
We have signed RHP Ben Lively to a Major League contract. Welcome to The Land, Ben!

Dumpster diving.

$750K Major League minimum is $740 K Nice bonus.

Brian Shaw in disguise.

Looks like we're ready to trade some pitchers.

Andre Knott speaking at the Hall of Fame yesterday.

Knott touched on the Guardians regressing from 92-70 in 2022 to 76-86 in 2023.

"They missed having some of the player leadership," he said.

Someone asked Knott about the sense of bringing back catcher Austin Hedges on a $4 million contract.

Hedges hit .163 in 88 games with the 2022 Guardians and .184 with the Pirates and Rangers in 2023.

It's about chemistry, not stats.

"Four guys texted me to say, 'Thank God 'Hedgie' is back," Knott said.

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

Cleveland Niceguys

They hired a manager who never managed but he's a nice guy.

They brought back a catcher that can't hit but he's a nice guy.

Happy, Happy, Happy

Manzardo is an unknown quantity with good prospects, the same thing Naylor was at that age. As was LaPorta. I'd be very upset if they trade Josh.

Guardians Sign Ben Lively To Major League Deal
By Steve Adams | December 12, 2023 at 9:22am CDT

The Guardians announced Tuesday that they’ve signed right-hander Ben Lively to a one-year, Major League contract. Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports that Lively will be guaranteed just north of the league minimum on the deal, earning a $750K salary in 2024. Lively is represented by Meister Sports Management.


Lively, 31, spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Reds after a three-year run with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. The entirety of that 2022 campaign was spent in Triple-A, but Lively was selected to the Majors early last season and pitched 88 2/3 innings for the Reds, starting a dozen games and making another seven relief appearances. He posted an unsightly 5.38 ERA in that time, although a disproportionate amount of the damage against him came in one start on Aug. 1, when the Reds left him out there to take an eye-popping 13-run shellacking at the hands of the Cubs.

Lively’s 20.6% strikeout rate was a bit south of the league average this past season and he averaged just 90.9 mph on his fastball. However, he also issued walks at a tidy 6.5% clip, and the Guards are probably less concerned with his 2.03 HR/9 mark than other teams might’ve been, given the spacious nature of their home park. Lively still seems likely to struggle with the long ball at times, but pitching half his games at Progressive Field should help mitigate some of those struggles.

The signing of a Lively is in some ways out of character for the Guardians, who haven’t inked a free-agent starting pitcher to a Major League contract since signing Gavin Floyd to a one-year deal nearly a decade ago. Lively could well be viewed as a swingman and may not even be a lock to make the Opening Day roster, however, as he also has a minor league option remaining. Cleveland has been able to eschew free agent starting pitching entirely for the better part of a decade, thanks largely to the organization’s nearly unrivaled pitching development prowess.

Lively’s role with the Guards likely depends on how the remainder of their offseason shakes out. As it stands, he’d likely serve as a swingman or sixth starter behind Shane Bieber, Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams. However, it’s also quite possible that Cleveland trades Bieber between now and Opening Day, as is the organization’s tendency with notable starting pitchers who are approaching the open market.

For instance, Bieber will reach free agency next winter, and the team has previously traded top starters like Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger before any qualified to become free agents. Trades of Bieber, closer Emmanuel Clase (on whom the Guardians are reportedly willing to listen) and/or other members of the roster could net further competition for the back of the rotation, as could future free-agent signings. For now, however, Lively joins that mix. No team makes it through a full season with only five starters anyhow, and both Bieber and McKenzie missed substantial time in 2023 due to elbow injuries. Even if he opens the year as a long reliever, Lively has a good chance to start games at some point, as injuries arise.

While it’s commonplace for players returning from the KBO or from NPB to have clauses in their contracts allowing them to become free agents despite lacking six years of MLB service time, MLBTR has confirmed that that’s not the case with Lively, because of the fact that he’d already spent a year back in the big leagues. As such, he’s now under Guardians control via arbitration for another five seasons. If he spends the entire year in the Majors, he’d likely be arbitration-eligible next offseason as a Super Two player. Lively is currently at 1.133 days of MLB service time, and this year’s Super Two cutoff was 2.118. It’s feasible he could spend a week or two in the minors and still reach Super Two status, but he’d be right on the bubble with even a brief stay in the minors.

That was a lot of paragraphs about a really insignificant signing.
The good thing is that unlike the quickly departed Tobias Myers he did not cost us a prospect.

Best thing about this guy is he has an option left.

that does help a lot for 27th man role or emergency fill in duties

From Mandy Bell at MLB.com



My fifth season on the beat has officially come to a close, but these newsletters will continue to be delivered to your inbox each week throughout the offseason. Let’s get into the good stuff:

The Winter Meetings are in the rearview mirror, but there’s still little clarity on what the Guardians’ roster will look like as we get closer to Spring Training. Let’s see if we can answer a handful of your questions in this edition of the Guardians Inbox.

Does Kyle Manzardo have a realistic shot at making the Opening Day roster at first base? -- @TheFritz330

The short answer is yes, the Guardians' No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has a realistic shot at making the Opening Day roster. It doesn’t mean he will, but the opportunity is there.

Things are a little more complicated now than they were a week ago since Cleveland acquired 20-year-old corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos (No. 12) in the Rule 5 Draft, who must be on the 26-man roster. With Josh Naylor and Manzardo at first and José Ramírez at third, it becomes quite crowded with De Los Santos also in the mix.

Maybe Manzardo starts the year in Triple-A Columbus, considering the team seems to avoid having prospects in Cleveland during the cold weeks of April when it can. Maybe it doesn’t change the Guardians' plans at all. They’ll need to get a better idea of where these players stand at Spring Training before making those decisions.

Starting first baseman? -- @thebuckeye47

To start the year? I’m guessing Naylor will handle that at least until guys like Manzardo and/or De Los Santos get their feet under them at the big league level. But he might not stay there (see next question).
Josh Naylor

Is it possible that at some point in 2024 we see Naylor move to right field again and platoon De Los Santos and Manzardo at first?

If Naylor can move to right field, that solves some of Cleveland’s problems. Will Brennan and Ramón Laureano are free to handle center field, spelling Myles Straw if he gets off to another slow offensive start. If Naylor hits like he did last year (.308/.354/.489), the Guardians will have a reliable bat with some pop coming out of the outfield. Depending on what Manzardo or De Los Santos can then provide at first/DH, the offense may suddenly be in better shape than 2023. But the Guardians are going to have to lean heavily on rookies to deliver. There’s no way to predict if that will be successful.

What are the real odds of [the Guardians] trading Shane, Josh and Clase? -- @Clevelandbsbl

Shane Bieber is the highest. Let’s put it at 70 percent. Yes, this team needs starting pitching depth, but it also needs to acquire a Major League-ready bat. Bieber is the Guardians' best chance of doing that. With only one year of team control remaining, and he’s coming off of two injuries to his throwing arm over the last three years that has caused his velocity to dip, his trade value isn’t what it once was. As long as the Guardians can find a trade partner willing to hit their asking price, there’s no reason Bieber wouldn’t be moved.

Emmanuel Clase and Naylor have much lower chances. I’d put Clase at a 15 percent chance and Naylor at 5 percent. That’s not to say it’s impossible for a deal to happen, but the Guardians would need to receive an enormous haul in order to commit to trading either of these players. Just because Cleveland listens to offers on these players doesn’t mean the club is actively shopping them.
Shane Bieber

Is the plan to have Manzardo on the Opening Day roster? Does Alfonso Rivas have a realistic chance to make the Opening Day roster and, if so, in what capacity? What is the plan for Tyler Freeman this year? Who, in order, right now, are your 6th, 7th and 8th SP? -- @DennisNosco

Let me break this down, question by question.

I hope I answered your Manzardo question at the top of this story.

As far as Rivas, it’s probably going to be easier to speculate once Spring Training rolls around. The Guardians have too many infielders to balance right now, and if De Los Santos, Manzardo and Naylor are all on the roster (and possibly David Fry), there’s no need to have yet another corner infielder in the mix on Opening Day. How all of the guys perform in camp will give much more clarity on where everyone stands in the roster race.

The shortstop job is open. So, the Guardians will look at Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio (No. 1), José Tena and Freeman at that position. It seems more likely that Arias wins the role than Freeman at this point, but Spring Training could create other results. If it’s not Freeman, he’ll have to fight with Fry and possibly the young corner infielders to earn a utility role.

For the extra starters -- assuming Bieber stays in Cleveland -- I’ll go with Xzavion Curry (sixth), Cody Morris (seventh) and No. 11 prospect Joey Cantillo (eighth). Maybe Spring Training will change that order, too.

Take the rest of the year off, Mandy. Don't you love reading articles where you learn absolutely nothing?

Sorting through Guardians roster: Infield surplus, outfield needs and the Bieber question

By Zack Meisel
Dec 14, 2023
47

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CLEVELAND — With two months until spring training, the Guardians’ roster is … confusing. They have a surplus of first basemen and shortstops, still have glaring holes in the outfield and their top players’ names keep popping up in trade rumors.

There will be more maneuvering between now and mid-February, but to sort all of this out, let’s examine the current composition of the roster (with a couple projected transactions included).

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Catchers (3): Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges, David Fry

Others on the 40-man roster: None

Others to remember: Bryan Lavastida

How much are vibes worth? Hedges will earn $4 million next season — his signing should be official in the coming days — and he’ll be tasked with supplying proficient defense when Naylor needs a breather, guidance for the young pitching staff and leadership and energy in the clubhouse and dugout. The Guardians had acquired Christian Bethancourt, who was manager Stephen Vogt’s teammate in Oakland, but apparently that didn’t hold a ton of weight. Cleveland preferred Hedges, despite his .171/.238/.240 slash line the last two years.


Could the Guardians try out another catching trio now that Austin Hedges is aboard? (George Kubas / Diamond Images via Getty Images)
Hedges’ offensive shortcomings are certainly more tolerable if he’s only receiving, say, 125 plate appearances instead of the 312 and 338 he received with Cleveland in 2021 and 2022. With Naylor poised for a breakout season and Fry available to vulture some of Hedges’ trips to the plate, there’s a way all three can co-exist (and in a more productive way than the Mike Zunino/Cam Gallagher/Meibrys Viloria triumvirate that crashed and burned in 2023).

Lavastida is still hanging around in Triple-A Columbus, too, if the Guardians need another catcher at some point. He flushed a brutal 2022 season to register a .718 OPS with 16 stolen bases in 2023.

The key is Naylor, who posted an .809 OPS in 67 games last season, including a 1.101 OPS over his last 100 plate appearances.

Infielders (6): José Ramírez, Andrés Giménez, Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, Deyvison De Los Santos

Others on the 40-man roster: Brayan Rocchio, Juan Brito, Angel Martínez, Jose Tena

Others to remember: Kyle Manzardo

The Guardians will need to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Hedges, and with De Los Santos on board, Alfonso Rivas seems like an odd man out, so he’s not listed here. How will Cleveland manage De Los Santos this season, given he’ll need to be on the big-league roster as a Rule 5 draft choice, won’t turn 21 until June and hasn’t played above Double A? If he hits missiles, it’ll take care of itself.



Manzardo seems ready for the big leagues, too, service time manipulation be damned, but Josh Naylor, De Los Santos and Manzardo presents Vogt with a crowd at the first base/designated hitter spots. Naylor’s name has surfaced in trade dialogue with other teams, but he provides the thump the Guardians desperately need, and one would think it’d make more sense to extend him and let him play with his brother for as long as possible than to deal him and pray the two rookies look the part. Perhaps one solution would be to move Naylor on occasion to right field, a position he’s barely played since suffering a severe leg injury in 2021.


Shortstop will be a competition among Arias, Rocchio and Freeman. The wild card is Brito, who should be ready to debut in 2024, but is limited to second base, which would require Giménez to shift to shortstop.

Outfielders (4): Steven Kwan, Myles Straw, Will Brennan, Ramón Laureano

Others on the 40-man roster: Jhonkensy Noel, Johnathan Rodriguez, George Valera

Others to remember: Chase DeLauter

Running back this outfield is like brazenly retreating to your cart and neglecting to at least sprinkle some dirt on the foot-long divot you left in the fairway after duffing an iron shot.

Kwan is a lock in left field. Chris Antonetti said with the roster as currently constructed, Laureano is in line to receive regular at-bats. He’s probably best suited for a platoon role, though.

Whether it’s the summer of 2024 or sometime in 2025, DeLauter is bound to snag one of these spots. The Guardians would love if Valera did the same, but he’ll need a healthy rebound from a rough 2023.




It’s difficult to chart a path to consistent playing time for Noel and Rodriguez — certainly one of them could turn heads in spring training or make the most of an opportunity early in the season — though their power potential is more intriguing than what Straw and Co. offered last season.

The pieces here don’t fit, and there should be urgency to change that. No team’s outfield has hit fewer than 18 home runs (Cleveland’s total in 2023) in a non-pandemic or strike-shortened season since the 1976 White Sox.

Starting pitchers (5): Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Ben Lively

Others on the 40-man roster: Xzavion Curry, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Daniel Espino, Cody Morris

Others to remember: Jaime Barria (signed a minor-league deal with spring training invite)

The guess here is Shane Bieber gets moved this winter. Should he be moved? That depends, in part, on how motivated the Guardians are to win in 2024 (and how motivated they are to shed his salary, though $12 million for Bieber wouldn’t seem so cumbersome to ownership if the club didn’t commit $16 million to Hedges, Barlow and Laureano).

Without Bieber, the fifth spot in Cleveland’s rotation could be a spring competition among Lively, Curry, Morris and Gaddis, plus any other reliable arm the team acquires in a trade involving Bieber or someone else. With Bieber, the rotation (if healthy, a big if) would have elite potential. They could still dangle him at the trade deadline or, assuming he declines a qualifying offer after next season, net the team a draft pick as he enters free agency.


If Shane Bieber is dealt, Ben Lively should factor into the fifth starter competition. (Aaron Doster / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Espino has hardly pitched since 2021, and while he has initiated a throwing program, just getting him back on the mound and surviving the 2024 season with his shoulder intact would be a plus. Cantillo has some command issues to harness, but could be an intriguing option at some point.

Relievers (8): Emmanuel Clase, Scott Barlow, Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan, Eli Morgan, Nick Sandlin, James Karinchak, Tim Herrin

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Others on the 40-man roster: Cade Smith

Cleveland’s relievers ranked 27th in the league last season in what FanGraphs terms its “Clutch” metric, which measures how pitchers perform in high-leverage situations relative to spots in which the game isn’t hanging in the balance. Only the Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals ranked lower.

Cleveland’s relievers ranked 23rd in win probability added, a similar statistic, ahead of only those same three teams, plus the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and Oakland A’s.

Here are the ERAs for those teams that ranked in the bottom eight in WPA:

Guardians: 3.79 (ninth)
Mets: 4.45 (22nd)
Rangers: 4.77 (24th)
Angels: 4.88 (T-25th)
White Sox: 4.88 (T-25th)
Athletics: 5.20 (28th)
Royals: 5.23 (29th)
Rockies: 5.41 (30th)

The Guardians picked the worst possible moments for their meltdowns. Regression can help with that. Barlow could help with that. Improvement from Stephan and/or Karinchak would go a long way, too.

Not one of Meisel's better articles but I do like the analogy.

Running back this outfield is like brazenly retreating to your cart and neglecting to at least sprinkle some dirt on the foot-long divot you left in the fairway after duffing an iron shot.

Cleveland Guardians
@CleGuardians
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34m
We have signed C Austin Hedges to a one-year Major League contract.

To make room on the 40-man, we have designated 1B Alfonso Rivas for assignment.

Welcome back, Hedgey!

Guardians Designate Alfonso Rivas For Assignment
By Steve Adams | December 15, 2023 at 1:35pm CDT

The Guardians announced Friday that they’ve designated first baseman Alfonso Rivas for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to catcher Austin Hedges, whose one-year deal to return to Cleveland is now official. The Guardians will have a week to trade Rivas, pass him through outright waivers or release him.

Rivas came to the Guardians in an offseason waiver claim from the Pirates. He’s never appeared in a game for the organization. The 27-year-old has logged big league time in each of the past three seasons, suiting up for the Cubs, Padres and Bucs. While Rivas had a productive rookie showing with Chicago in ’21, slashing .318/.388/.409 in a tiny sample of 49 plate appearances, he’s followed that up with a .233/.316/.342 showing in 410 plate appearances from 2022-23.

Although his production hasn’t carried over to the big leagues, Rivas is an accomplished Triple-A hitter with a .313/.424/.492 slash in parts of four seasons at that level. He’s walked at a gaudy 15.1% clip in Triple-A and fanned at a slightly lower-than-average 21% as well. While Rivas doesn’t have immense power, he’s smacked 40 doubles and 15 round-trippers in 637 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. It’s an impressive track record of production in the upper minors — one that has clearly piqued the interest of multiple teams.

Rivas still has one minor league option remaining, so for a team looking to add a potential high-OBP left-handed bat to its depth chart or perhaps even its bench competition, Rivas makes some sense — either via waiver claim or low-cost trade.