Cleveland Sports Forum

Guardians bringing in Corey Kluber, Michael Brantley to throw first pitches at April 8 home opener

Published: Mar. 28, 2024, 4:28 p.m.

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Some familiar faces will be on the mound prior to the Guardians home opener on April 8 against the White Sox.

Former Cleveland teammates Corey Kluber and Micahel Brantley are set to throw out ceremonial first pitches as the club announced its opening day festivities ahead of the 5:10 p.m. opener against the White Sox.

Pregame ceremonies will begin a 4:35 p.m. and will include Kluber and Brantley — both key pieces to Cleveland’s 2016 American League Championship team and World Series run — tossing first pitches.

Kluber and Brantley both announced their retirements from Major League Baseball this offseason with careers that included more than 10 seasons each in the Cleveland organization.

Cleveland’s 31st home opener at Progressive Field takes place the same day as a total solar eclipse over the downtown area. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the ballpark will open at 2 p.m.

Also on the April 8 agenda according to the Guardians:

Ra-Deon Sledge, Chief of Staff at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, will perform the National Anthem and God Bless America.

Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Marines color guard with a flyover from the 910th Airlift Wing out of Youngstown Air Reserve Station

American Flag presented on the field by Cleveland Guardians employees and their family members.

More from the Guardians regarding downtown traffic and eclipse viewing:

“Fans are encouraged to allow extra time for travel due to expected traffic congestion due to the Home Opener and solar eclipse, and are encouraged to take public transportation whenever possible.”

“At solar eclipse totality, the eclipse will not be visible from a significant portion of Progressive Field due to the sun’s location and ballpark architecture.”
Fans should also think ahead and download their tickets to their mobile wallets prior to arriving at the ballpark in case phone connectivity hits a snag. The club will pause ballpark entry from 3:05-3:25 p.m. during the solar eclipse totality.

Per the club, fans WILL be able to exit and re-enter the ballpark via both the left field and right field gates.

Among the fan festivities set for April 8,

DJ Kyro will perform in the right field district.

Face painters, glitter tattoo and an airbrush artist will greet fans on the family deck.

Fans looking for team merchendise should be aware that the Guardians team store will be temporarily located on Gateway Plaza for the 2024 season due to renovations at the ballpark. The team store tent will open to the public at 10 a.m. on April 8.

The Home Run Porch Bridge connecting the garage to Progressive Field will be closed during the 2024 season due to renovations.

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Guardians at Oakland A's, Opening day 2024
Cleveland Guardians' Tyler Freeman watches his RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) AP


GUARDIANS

Change of pace is just what Shane Bieber needed: Guardians breakfast

Updated: Mar. 29, 2024, 10:36 a.m.|Published: Mar. 29, 2024, 9:50 a.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND -- The changeup has been a pitch that has bedeviled Shane Bieber.

Over the last few years with Bieber’s velocity declining, he sometimes stayed away from it. The difference in speeds wasn’t that great between the two pitches, and that can get a pitcher in trouble.

After last season Bieber, with his walk year with the Guardians approaching, went to Driveland Baseball in Scottsdale, Arizona. He smoothed out his delivery and found a couple of extra mph on his fastball, which in turn has helped his changeup.

Thursday night Bieber threw six scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in Cleveland’s 8-0 season-opening win against the A’s. Bieber threw 83 pitches, with changeups accounting for 16% of them. Those changeups induced seven swings, and four swings and misses, according to Statcast.

Just two of the changeups were put in play.

“It’s a lot of fun to be able to throw the changeup,” said Bieber after the game. “I’m still learning how to establish it, but I’m having a lot of fun with it. It opens up opportunities. It’s nice to establish a pitch that fades in the opposite direction.”

In the past Bieber has tried to slow the changeup down to widen the gap with his fastball.

“After a decade I’ve given up trying to take velocity off of it,” said Bieber. “I’ve just embraced trying to get it to fade and power down. It’s been fun to figure out. It’s been a process.”

The opener

Lots of good things happened Thursday night besides Bieber dominating.

Manager Stephen Vogt won his managerial debut with the Guards. Cleveland, which began its 124th season in the American League on Thursday, is now 62-62 in season openers.

Cleveland managers are now 31-14 in their first games in the dugout.

DH David Fry went 3 for 4, the three hits being a career high. The Guardians championship belt was in his locker after the game.

The Guardians put together a five-run inning against lefty Alex Wood in the fourth inning. Six straight Guardians reached base, five on hits, to tip the game in their favor.

Scoreless innings by Eli Morgan, Tim Herrin and Nick Sandlin completed the four-hit shutout.

Tonight’s game

Lefty Logan Allen (7-8, 3.81) will make his 2024 debut tonight when he faces the A’s at the Coliseum at 9:40 p.m. ET. Bally Sports Great Lakes and WTAM will carry the game.

The A’s will start RHP Ross Stripling (0-5, 5.36). Allen’s and Stripling’s records are from 2023.

Allen had a busy spring training. He went 1-1 with a 5.50 ERA. He tied for the team lead in starts (five) and innings pitched (18).

Last season Allen made 24 starts as a rookie. The Guardians went 14-10 in those starts. He faced the A’s once, throwing four scoreless innings in a no-decision. The Guards won the game, 6-1.

Allen throws five pitches: a fastball, changeup, cutter and two kinds of sliders. Statcast calls one of the sliders a sweeper, but Allen calls them both sliders. His velocity last year ranged from 78.7 mph to 91.4 mph.

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Ace becomes 6th pitcher in AL/NL history with 3rd Opening Day start of double-digit K's



Bieber in elite form to help Vogt win debut

By Mandy Bell @MandyBell02

2:49 AM EDT

OAKLAND -- This is the Shane Bieber everyone has been waiting for.

The signs have been there all spring. Bieber has given every indication that he’s getting back into his Cy Young form, but he was finally able to put it to the test on Thursday night, as he led his team to an 8-0 Opening Day victory over the A’s at the Coliseum with six scoreless innings and 11 strikeouts to hand Stephen Vogt his first career managerial win.

Bieber became the sixth pitcher in AL/NL history to record at least 10 strikeouts in three or more Opening Day performances, joining Randy Johnson (four times), Bob Gibson (three), Pedro Martinez (three), Félix Hernández (three) and Max Scherzer (three).

“We didn’t have an answer for Bieber tonight,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We were swinging at the right pitches. But outside of JJ [Bleday], he pretty much dominated us tonight, up and down the lineup. He has that ability. There’s a reason he won the Cy Young in ’20.”

This looked like a different Bieber from the past few years. His velocity, his strikeout total and his changeup were the biggest things to prove that.

“The whole world knows who Shane Bieber is,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “He just made that adjustment that now the league is going to have to readjust to him.”

Let’s start with the velocity. Bieber threw six pitches faster than 93.0 mph. In all of ’23 (granted, it was shortened due to elbow trouble), he only threw 11 pitches faster than 93. It had been since Aug. 14, 2022, that he last had at least six heaters clock in at that velocity. And keeping in mind that it’s early in the year and starters are still building up to their midseason forms, it’s an optimistic sign that there’s more to come.

“Felt great,” Bieber said of his outing. “A lot of hard work on display, and continue to keep my head down and do what I always do, and we’ll see where we end up.”

That brings us to his strikeouts. The punchout king from years past had started to become more hittable over the past few years. This was his first double-digit strikeout performance since Sept. 1, 2022. In ’23, he ranked in the bottom 2 percent of the Majors in average exit velocity against him (91.6 mph). The contact against him on Thursday averaged 88.4 mph, which matches the league’s average (and clocks in lower than each of his other six seasons).

“It’s just funny because we’re not overdoing the curveball anymore,” Hedges said. “We’re not overdoing the slider. He has some velo and some ride to the fastball now. We’re just pitching. We’re just waiting for the hitter to tell us what to throw.”

The biggest takeaway, though, was Bieber’s changeup. He used the pitch steadily in 2019 and ’20, but hardly threw it the past three seasons. Bieber said that in the past, he had been fixated on making his changeup slower. This offseason, he decided to accept whatever the radar gun says and trust the movement instead. In doing that, he said the changeup is now the best it’s ever been.

“Still kind of learning it, establishing it, but having a lot of fun with it,” Bieber said. “It opens up opportunities with what my bread and butter is, which is breaking balls.”

Bieber threw 13 changeups, five of which were to right-handed batters. In ’23, he didn’t throw a single changeup to a righty. In ’22, he threw four, and he threw just one in ’21. If Bieber is feeling confident enough to add this into his pitch mix consistently, this adds another dimension to an already effective starter.

“All those [other] pitches are either going straight or they’re breaking away from a righty or into a lefty,” Hedges said. “So it’s just another pitch to add something moving the other way, down where he can use the whole strike zone.”

Every year, Bieber has proven that he can reinvent himself to still be an ace, no matter what hurdles he’s facing. Now with those hurdles seemingly out of sight, Bieber has a chance to take his game to the next level.

“The league adjusted to him and now we’re adjusting back,” Hedges said. “And now the league’s gonna have to make another adjustment. … I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun to see what he can do this year.”

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Guardians outfielder Ramon Laureano showed off his throwing arm in Thursday's season opener against the A's at Oakland Coliseum.John Kuntz, cleveland.com


GUARDIANS

The Laser, aka Ramon Laureano, strikes again in Guardians’ season-opening win over A’s

Published: Mar. 29, 2024, 4:01 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND -- The Laser has struck again.

Departed outfielder Myles Straw started calling Ramon Laureano “The Laser’ last year after watching him make the kind of throws that average outfielders only dream about making.

Laureano reinforced Straw’s nickname Thursday night in the fifth inning at Oakland Coliseum. IIn the Guardians season-opening 8-0 victory over the A’s, Laureano threw out a stunned Lawrence Butler as he tried to go from first to third base on a single to right field in the fifth inning.

Laureano fielded Nick Allen’s single near the foul line and made a long one-hop throw to Jose Ramirez at third. Butler appeared to momentarily beat the throw, but he over slid the bag as Ramirez kept the tag on him.

“That’s just what he does,” said manager Stephen Vogt, who played with Laureano in Oakland. “His chest is facing me in the dugout and he throws it across his body, 80 yards down field like they tell a quarterback not to do.

“With him, you can’t run. You know he’s going to throw it and what a great play by Josie to stick the tag on Butler sliding to the base.”

The Guardians signed Laureano on waivers in August from Oakland. It seemed like a stopgap move. The front office had just traded veterans Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale and Josh Belle before the deadline. They needed a veteran presence so they claimed Laureano and traded for Kole Calhoun.

Calhoun recently retired, but Laureano signed a one-year $5.15 million contract with the Guardians in December to avoid arbitration.

Laureano, who hit .250 (13 for 52) with one homer and eight RBI in spring training, will platoon in right field with Will Brennan, DH and perhaps spend some time in center field.

He started in right field Thursday and batted third behind Jose Ramirez. Vogt is trying to find a lineup to combat left-handed starters and Laureano figures to be a part of it.

“I felt confident coming into camp,” said Laureano. “I always feel confident when I’m healthy. I feel like I have that (health) right now. It’s really the first time in three years I’ve felt this way.”

Laureano, from 2021 until the A’s waived him, served an 80-game suspension for a positive steroid test, while spending time on the injured list with a strained right hip, strained left oblique and a strained left groin.

“I had a sports hernia and that turns off every muscle in your core and your hips,” he said. “Thank God, when I came here, the trainers and strength coaches detected it and found ways to get it stronger.

“I feel stronger than I have for a long time. I’m happy about that and now I can do my thing. They have a lot of confidence in me and I have a lot of confidence too.”

In spring training Vogt said Laureano was in a good place mentally. He said a lot of it had to do with him finally being healthy.“I play this game to go hard, to run through the wall, to play like you’re 12 or 15 years old,” said Laureano. “Just screw it and go. We had that a little bit in Oakland.

“Now I want to run through a wall for the guys I’m playing with here. I feel we’re super connected and I want to keep it going. I love it here.”

Vogt and Laureano played together in Oakland in 2022. It was Vogt’s final year before he retired.

Laureano said his relationship with Vogt hasn’t changed that much now that Vogt is his manager.

“It’s the same,” said Laureano. “I respect him. He has a job to do. He’s always thinking of things to make the team better. That’s his job. Other than that, I’m here to win so whatever is best for the team.”

The fact that Vogt became a manager so quickly after retiring as a player did not surprise Laureano.

“That was probably the most obvious thing I’ve experiended. . .knowing that he was going to be a manager,” said Laureano.

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Video Shows A Special Moment For Stephen Vogt

By Andres Chavez March 29, 2024

Opening Day is officially in the books.

The Cleveland Guardians did very well on Thursday, scoring an impressive road win in Oakland against the Athletics.

The final score, 8-0, reflects exactly what happened on the field.

The night showed exactly why the Guardians can’t be ruled out as contenders.

Their ace, Shane Bieber, worked on his stuff during the offseason and looked fantastic.

The offense was able to get after a respected veteran like Alex Wood for six runs, and it wasn’t even their best lineup.

And the bullpen was flawless.

It was, in addition to all that, Stephen Vogt’s first win as an MLB skipper.

The happiness on his face was evident.

The Guardians posted a video of him in the victory formation, celebrating with his players and hugging and greeting everyone in sight.

It was a beautiful moment.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1773704161202511925

Vogt then waved at the crowd, probably to his family at the stadium.

He seems like a genuinely good guy, and he is already loved and respected by his players.

Even some of the best on the squad like Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, and Josh Naylor gave him a hug.

Fans hope this was the first of many wins for Vogt and the Guardians.

He might be a first-time manager, but there is no question he knows the game and is very good at establishing a connection with his players.

That, in the end, is just as important as experience.

Cleveland appears to be in good hands with Vogt at the helm.

Left-hander Joey Cantillo will miss eight to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury.AP

Another pitching prospect placed on the shelf following an injury: Guardians takeaways

Updated: Mar. 30, 2024, 12:51 a.m.|Published: Mar. 29, 2024, 8:48 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND -- The Guardians’ organizational pitching staff keeps getting thinner and thinner.

Trevor Stephan was lost for the season following Tommy John surgery, and James Karinchak opened the season on the 60-day injured list. Gavin Williams, Sam Hentges, Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively opened on the 15-day IL.

Not to mention Daniel Espino, who underwent right shoulder and rotator cuff surgery earlier this month and won’t pitch in 2024.

Well, the Guardians have lost another pitcher for a significant amount of time.

Manager Stephen Vogt told reporters on Friday that prospect Joey Cantillo, who had an impressive spring, will miss eight to 10 weeks with a strained hamstring.

“Joey, toward the end of spring training, strained his hamstring,” said Vogt. “He’s going to be out eight to 10 weeks.”

Cantillo, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, was considered big-league depth for the Guardians.

“It’s a tough blow for Joey and a tough blow for us,” said Vogt.

Cantillo struck out 146 batters in 119 1/3 innings last season at Class AA Akron and Class AAA Columbus

Critique by Austin Hedges

Shane Bieber has been throwing his changeup more ever since he arrived in spring training. In Thursday’s season opener against the A’s, he kept using it, much to the delight of his catcher, Austin Hedges.

“It’s not a slider. It’s not a curveball. It’s not a fastball. It’s not a cutter,” said Hedges. “All those pitches either go straight or they’re breaking away from a righty or in on a lefty.

“It’s just another pitch that adds something moving the other way. We can use the strike zone. We’re not just pitching to one side.”

Hedges says the changeup has helped Bieber two ways.

“I feel he’s pitching better,” said Hedges, “but at the same time he can out-stuff you as well. I think we’re in for a treat this year.”

Finally

If you were waiting for this bit of news, the wait is over: The Guardians have the youngest roster in the big leagues. They’ve held the title for the last three seasons. The Guards have only five players who are 30 or older. . .

David Fry is the first Cleveland player to open the season with three or more hits since Asdrubal Cabrera, Jack Hanahan and Carlos Santana each had three hits on April 1, 2011 against the White Sox.

Only two Cleveland DHs have had three or more hits in the first game of the season since the DH was introduced in 1973. Fry shares that honor with Travis Hafner, who three hits, including two homers, on April 4, 2004 at the Metrodome.

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Giménez perfect at the plate to fuel Guardians' offense

By Mandy Beli

@MandyBell02

12:27 AM EDT

OAKLAND --

Impact the baseball.

From the outside, it’s a painfully obvious concept.

But for an offense that was wired to put the bat on the ball and refuse to strike out, it’s an idea that was unintentionally shifted to the back burner.

The Guardians said those three words countless times this spring to retrain their hitters to remember that swinging and missing was OK instead of putting a ball in play weakly. Trade that for hard contact and maybe Cleveland can push more runs across the plate in 2024.

The Guardians need players to set this tone early and that’s exactly what Andrés Giménez did on Friday night, logging a 3-for-3 performance with two doubles, two RBIs and two walks in the Guardians’ 6-4 victory over the A’s at the Coliseum.

Giménez is key to this offense’s success. In ‘22, he was unstoppable in the first half of the season, easily earning him his first All-Star Game appearance. With a hot Giménez, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor in the heart of this lineup, the Guardians got to see just how far they could go. But as Naylor got hotter in ‘23 and Ramírez delivered his typical performance, Giménez faded and the team’s results followed suit.

This is the smallest of all sample sizes so far, but seeing both of his doubles explode off the bat faster than 101 mph after having a season in which he ranked in the bottom 1 percent of the league in average exit velocity is certainly a strong foundation to build off of in ‘24.

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Giménez perfect at plate as Guardians set tone early

Ramírez battles wind to hit 217th career HR, fifth-most for Cleveland all-time

Mandy Bell covers the Guardians for MLB.com.

1:15 AM CDT

OAKLAND -- There’s been one mantra the Guardians’ offense has heard since the start of Spring Training:

Impact the baseball.

From the outside, it’s a painfully obvious concept. But for an offense that was wired to put the bat on the ball and refuse to strike out, it’s an idea that was unintentionally shifted to the back burner. Instead of focusing so much on not whiffing -- and as a result, putting a ball in play weakly -- take a healthy hack at a pitch. Maybe that can push more runs across the plate in 2024.

For this to be the new standard, the Guardians need players to set this tone early and that’s exactly what Andrés Giménez did on Friday night by logging a 3-for-3 performance with two doubles, two RBIs and two walks in the Guardians’ 6-4 victory over the A’s at the Coliseum. It marks the first time Cleveland has started a season 2-0 since 2017.

“Gimé just continues to put together good at-bats,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I know it’s been two games, but he had a great spring, as well. Gimé was the catalyst tonight.”

Five hours and one minute of baseball over the past two nights against one of the 29 other MLB teams is not enough to make any declarations about the offense. But still, the Guardians’ bats were impressive in the first two contests. The offense was the biggest question mark coming into the season. Now, there are a few reasons to be optimistic.

Giménez

He is key to this offense’s success. In 2022, he was unstoppable in the first half of the season, easily earning his first All-Star Game appearance. With a hot Giménez, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor in the heart of this lineup, the Guardians got to see just how far they could go. But as Naylor got hotter in 2023 and Ramírez delivered his typical performance, Giménez faded -- and the team’s results followed suit.

This is the smallest of all sample sizes so far, but seeing both of his doubles explode off the bat faster than 101 mph after having a season in which he ranked in the bottom 1 percent of the league in average exit velocity is certainly a strong foundation to build off of in 2024.

“He just looks balanced to me,” Vogt said. “He doesn’t look like he’s over-swinging at all. … He’s swinging at the right pitches right now and I think that’s the biggest thing.”

The big bats

There aren’t many power bats in this lineup, so when the Guardians have Ramírez and Naylor in the heart of the order, the pair are going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They’ve proven over the past two years that it’s attainable, and in the first glance at 2024, nothing has changed.

After a double and a walk on Opening Day, Naylor went 2-for-5 with another two-base hit on Friday night. Ramírez started his season off with a triple on Thursday before setting the tone early in Game 2

The wind was blowing in aggressively from right field. It seemed nearly impossible for anyone to muscle a ball through the gusts enough to creep over the fence. That was, until Ramírez did so in the first inning to move into sole possession of fifth place on Cleveland’s all-time home run list (217).

“Obviously, in that weather, it’s tough. It’s tough to see the ball. It’s tough to pick up spin,” Vogt said. “Josey is Josey, and I’m just thankful he’s hitting it.”

It’s not just the top of the order

The Guardians needed to see other hitters than just Naylor or Ramírez delivering out of the gate. So far, it’s been a collective effort. On Opening Day, eight of the nine starters logged at least one hit and the offense was carried by David Fry and Tyler Freeman, who is now getting everyday at-bats in center field.

“They hit left-handed pitching, and I think for us, that’s gonna be a big part of our game this year,” Vogt said. “To see us continue to put a rally together, scraping it together however we needed to and then getting some big hits at big times is what we’re going to need to do.”

The Guardians have given Cleveland reasons to be optimistic. They’ve shown they can impact the baseball. Now, they have to prove it’s sustainable.

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Cade Smith sets Guardians record in Major League debut

By Mandy Bell @MandyBell02

7:25 PM EDT

OAKLAND -- When a player dreams about making their Major League debut, they fantasize of a performance like No. 25 prospect Cade Smith had against the A’s.

Smith sat in the bullpen down the right-field line at the Coliseum for two nights, waiting for his turn on a big league mound for the first time. Finally, on Saturday, the phone rang asking for him to get loose. He didn’t waste the opportunity.

In two hitless innings, Smith struck out five batters and issued one walk in Cleveland’s 12-3 victory over Oakland. He set a club record for the most strikeouts in a debut of two innings or fewer. The 24-year-old righty’s heater averaged 96 mph and topped out at 97.9 mph. Of the 15 swings taken against him, seven resulted in whiffs. Smith’s debut couldn’t have gone much better.

Just four days ago, Smith wasn’t even sure if he was on the big league roster. He traveled with the team to Oakland, but was told that he’d be optioned to Triple-A Columbus if the organization found an external reliever to add to the roster. When that didn’t happen, the moment was Smith’s and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

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CONDENSED GAME

https://www.mlb.com/video/condensed-gam ... 0Games&p=0

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Cade Smith reunites with family, sets club record in MLB debut

By Mandy Bell @MandyBell02

March 30, 2024

OAKLAND -- The moment was almost too much for a father to process.

Tim Smith sat in an aisle seat of section 113 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, waiting for his son, Cade, to get called out of Cleveland’s bullpen to make his debut. The Smith family would be flying back home to Vancouver the next day and couldn’t miss this special moment. They had endured too much for destiny to be that cruel to them, considering the Smiths went a year without seeing their oldest child.

Everything had fallen into place up to this point. Tim had gotten clearance on Tuesday from his cardiologist to travel after having open heart surgery in December. He needed to leave on Wednesday to be in Oakland in time for Opening Day. It was nearly a miracle that this all came together. So, for the ending to be even more than any of them could imagine, it was just icing on the cake.

Cade Smith, the Guardians' No. 25 prospect, was the highlight of the Guardians’ 12-3 victory over the A’s on Saturday, as he recorded five strikeouts in two hitless innings with one walk. He set a club record for the most strikeouts in a debut of two innings or fewer. The 24-year-old righty’s heater averaged 96 mph and topped out at 97.9 mph. Cade’s debut couldn’t have gone much better.

“To see somebody make their Major League debut just like that and dominate, it was great,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for him and his family today.”

There was so much standing in the way of this emotional and incredible moment for the Smiths. Let’s go back to last August.

Cade hasn’t been able to travel home to Vancouver to see his parents, sister or brother because of restrictions of the application process for a U.S. residency, which he first applied for in December 2022.

His parents were hoping to come to him since they hadn’t seen him since Spring Training, but Tim had an appointment with a cardiologist scheduled and before they traveled, it was determined that Tim needed open heart surgery, which he underwent on December 19. Cade was stuck in the United States, limited to checking in on his family via FaceTime.

“For him, he couldn’t be around to help his mom or comfort anyone,” Tim said.

After a successful procedure, the countdown began. Tim knew that his insurance prevented him from traveling to the United States for at least 90 days after his surgery. That meant no Spring Training and an even longer wait to see his firstborn. Meanwhile, Cade put together a strong camp, and as regular relievers on the big league roster were coming down with illnesses or injuries, the possibility of Cade making the Opening Day roster became more and more likely.

That was, until last weekend. The Guardians’ front office and Vogt worked together to create the final 26-man roster. Cade was told that he did everything he could to earn his spot, but the club was going to still look for external relievers to possibly add to the roster. If they found a match, Cade would begin the year at Triple-A Columbus. If they didn’t, the Opening Day roster spot was his.

In the case that he would make the team, the Smiths would need to see if it’d be possible to be in attendance. That sent Tim back to his doctor to try to get approval.

On Tuesday, it had been 97 days since Tim’s surgery -- just seven days past the minimum required to travel to the United States. Tim asked his doctor for permission to make it to Oakland just in case his son would make his big league debut. Less than 24 hours from the time he’d need to be on a plane to make it in time, Tim was given the green light.

“God has worked things out for us,” Tim said. “The timing has been crazy.”

The family was reunited on Wednesday. It was the first time Cade saw his parents in a year and the first time being with his siblings in a year and a half.

Cade got word that he was likely to make the roster on Wednesday, but he didn’t celebrate until Thursday morning, when the Guardians officially posted their roster. He was sitting in a hotel room with his family, playing cards just like old times when the news broke. They paused their game and hugged.

In the fifth inning on Saturday, Cade started to warm up in the bullpen. As he made his way to the mound in the sixth, the Smiths held their phones high to record the moment, beaming with pride.

With a four-run lead, the Guardians were ready to let Cade get his feet wet in the Majors, but he proved he didn’t need the extra cushion. Tim sat back in his chair, unable to process the ending of the unbelievable story this family has written over the last 12 months. When he was asked what it was like to watch his son run onto the Major League field, he couldn’t hold back tears.

Tim smiled and said, “That’s more than we could ask, right?”

Mandy Bell covers the Guardians for MLB.com.

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Guardians' Steven Kwan heads to first base after he singled home Brayan Rocchio during the fourth inning Saturday in a 12-3 win over the A's at Oakland Coliseum.AP

GUARDIANS

Guardians, hitting on all cylinders, sprint to 3-0 under Stephen Vogt with 12-3 win over A’s

Updated: Mar. 31, 2024, 9:43 a.m.|Published: Mar. 30, 2024, 7:10 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
OAKLAND - Tanner Bibee didn’t have it Saturday afternoon, but everyone else wearing a Guardians uniform did.

The Guardians thumped Oakland, 12-3, at the Coliseum to give manager Stephen Vogt his third straight win as manager. The only other manager to start his career in Cleveland by winning his first three games was Hall of Famer Al Lopez in 1951.

The Guardians proved to be handful for the A’s. They reached double figures in runs for the first time this season behind 15 hits and six steals. Four of the stolen bases came on double steals.

Offensively, the only disappointment came when José Ramírez was robbed of his second first-inning homer in as many days on a great catch by center fielder J.J. Bleday. That was the highlight of the game for the A’s.

Oakland actually held a 3-2 lead after three innings, but couldn’t hold it. The Guardians took the lead for good with three runs in the fourth.

“Our guys punch back when they get behind,” said Vogt. “It showed the grit and the way they battled. We had good at-bats up and down the lineup.”

Steven Kwan, David Fry, Gabriel Arias and Austin Hedges had two RBI each. Kwan led the offense with three hits, including his first homer of the season.

Ramon Laureano, Fry, Andrés Giménez, Arias, Will Brennan and Tyler Freeman stole bases. After going 2 for 4 in steals Friday, the Guardians went 6 for 6 on Saturday. Two of the steals turned into runs.

The double steals were pulled off by Laureano and Fry in the third and Brennan and Freeman in the sixth.

The last time the Guardians had six steals in one game within three games of the season opener was April 4, 1984 against the Royals.

“It’s been a lot of fun the last three games,” said Kwan, awarded the team’s championship belt after the game. “We want everyone to do well. Everything is clicking. We’re playing Guardians baseball, taking extra bases and stealing bags.”

Giménez, who tripled home the Guardians’ first run in the second inning, started the fourth by getting hit with a pitch. He stole second and scored on Arias’ single off lefty J.P. Sears (0-1, 12.27). Arias, who had two hits and two RBI off Sears, batted .083 against lefties last year.

Arias stole second and took third on a throwing error by catcher Kyle McCann. Austin Hedges’ sacrifice fly gave Cleveland a 4-3 lead.

Brayan Rocchio kept the inning going with a double. Kwan delivered him with a single for a 5-3 lead. It was the first of three straight hits by Kwan.

Kwan, playing in front of family and friends, didn’t remember much about the home run.

“It’s the same thing, I black out every time,” said Kwan. “I’m just floating. That’s why I sprint around the bags. I don’t even feel myself running.”

The Guardians made it 7-3 with two more runs in the fifth. Fry started the inning and came around to score on an error by shortstop Nick Allen. Hedges doubled home Arias, who reached on the error.

The A’s committed three errors in the game. They’ve been charged with six in the first three games of the season.

Bibee allowed three runs on six hits in four innings. He struck out four and walked five on 88 pitches.

“I need to throw more strikes,” said Bibee. “Walking five guys isn’t going to get the job done.”

It was even a good day for Cleveland’s new replay team. When Oakland’s Zack Gelof reached on an apparent triple in the first inning, the Guardians challenged the play. They said when a ball gets lodged in the outfield padding, it’s a ground-rule double.

The umpires agreed, and Gelof retreated to second. He stayed there as the next two A’s went down on strikeouts.

“I didn’t even think about it,” said Vogt. “Kai (Correa, major league field coordinator) was saying, ‘Hey, we can challenge that if it’s lodged in the padding. Check it, check it.’ To me that was huge.”

For new replay coordinator Gunnar Wilhelmy, it was his first successful challenge.

Relievers Nick Sandlin, Cade Smith and Tyler Beede closed the game. Smith, making his big league debut, threw two scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The 6-foot-5 Canadian hit 98 mph.

The five strikeouts set a club record for a debut of fewer than two innings.

Last weekend the Guardians told Smith that he had made the 26-man roster, but they couldn’t make it official until the roster was set on Thursday morning because they might add another reliever.

Smith’s family, including his wife and parents, were in the stands watching. They had come from British Columbia.

“It was super awesome to be out there on a ballfield,” said Smith.

Cleveland’s offense was relentless.

They added two more runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the ninth. In the first three games of this series, they’ve scored 26 runs on 34 hits.

When spring training started, Rocchio and Arias were competing for the shortstop job. The job went to Rocchio, but Arias made the club as well. On Saturday they went 4 for 10 with four runs, two doubles and two RBI.

“Both those guys can play, and they’re going to play,” said Vogt.

The Guardians are 14-2 against the A’s in the last three years. They extended their winning streak against the A’s to seven games.

Next: RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-8, 6.80) vs. RHP Paul Blackburn (4-7, 4.43) Sunday at 4:07 p.m. ET. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM and the Guardians radio network will carry the game. Pitchers records are from 2023.

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Cleveland Guardians Perspective

I have been posting on Indians' forums and blogging about the Indians for most of the last 30 years. Stop by here to read interesting articles and opinions not allowed on most Tribe forums. This site is not affiliated with the Cleveland Guardians - Dennis



Saturday, March 30, 2024

Saturday Thoughts:

First 2 Games, New Bullpen Additions, Minor League Rosters, Race for 1-1 ***Updated***

Hi from a rainy San Diego on a Saturday morning. Lots to unpack so let's go:

GUARDIANS ARE 2-0

Oakland is struggling. 13,000+ on opening night, 3,000+ the second game. It's almost like playing in 2020. I feel for the diehard A's fans. I saw the angst in Cleveland when the Browns left. I saw it in St. Louis when the Rams left. At least in those cases it was not so drawn out. Their roster is built to lose and even trades they have made to infuse prospects (e.g., Muller, Ruiz) that looked light at the time have gone way past 'light', approaching 'close to zero return' levels. That being said, here are my thoughts from the first two games relative to how the Guardians looked.

Bieber looked good. More than anything else, he was classic Bieber, with the help of Hedges getting almost every single close pitch.

This team appears much less susceptible to LH pitching, at least in the first game (more today).

Good starts for Fry and Freeman give a lot of promise. Plus Laureano, Hedges and even Arias (LOL) are righties who at least will at least mentally psyche out LHSP, even if they can't hit them very well.

Logan Allen is a good 5th starter on a good team. He showed that again in game 2. If we score a lot for him he should have a very good record this year. If we score very little for him he will look pretty bad. However, if he keeps his head together, his ERA and the peripherals should look the same regardless: 4.10 ERA, H/IP = 1, BB/9 = 3, BB/K = 2.2 , HR/9 = 1.1, innings per start = 5.8. He will have his good games and his bad games and the hope is that we win 2/3 of his good starts and split on his bad starts. But this is a HUGE hope and rests squarely on the offense and defense.

Speaking of defense, the construction of the Guardians this year makes it imperative that we play good defense. So far our Gold/Platinum Glovers, Kwan and Gimenez look great. Naylor, Ramirez, Hedges/other Naylor, Brennan/Laureano look like they should, Freeman looks comfortable but hasn't been challenged yet. The one guy who looks really shaky so far is Rocchio. His arm looks short for SS and it is possible, if Rocchio hits, next year could see a flip flop of him and Gimenez, I don't see it this year because they need and want Gimenez at 2B.

Not sold yet that Ramirez and Gimenez will improve from their 2023 issues of trying to do too much offensively. Although I think Kwan and Brennan WILL improve this year over last, I am not convinced that will move the needle enough to cause a change in trajectory of this year for the Guardians.

Laureano, with the fat contract and the guarantee of playing time, has not exactly hit the ground running, looking more like what his stats would have predicted he would be for a guy who really hasn't been a plus contributor since 1999.

Florial looks lost but he will get enough opportunities to give him a chance that he never really got in the Yankees system. We may have to watch him be overmatched for 2 months here so be ready for the pain of watching him flail at fastballs in the zone and at breaking balls low and away and, of course, an inordinate number of 3-pitch strikeouts, sprinkled in with the occasional stolen base. Of course, the issue is that you can't steal first!

Fry had a confidence-building start in the opener as did Freeman and, to some extent, Rocchio. Good for them as I think all three will be offensive contributors this year beyond what a lot of nay-sayers were saying when they wanted to throw all three in the trash bin over the winter.

A key to the season and the future will be how McKenzie holds up this year. It is almost unfathomable to me that he will have a 2022-like season but, if he does, this team's near-term and long-term fortunes go up dramatically as he always had ace stuff, IMO.

NEW BULLPEN ADDITIONS

On Thursday, right before the opener, the Guardians announced they had acquired two relievers, Zac Kent (26) and Peter Strzelecki (29), both of who took 40-man roster spots and both of whom, thankfully, are not on the major league roster. These aere typical, ridiculous trades by our FO, doing things that are non-sensical. Let's examine these trades:

First, these trades were designed to provide 'much needed bullpen depth at AAA'. A perusal of the opening day roster for Columbus shows that they have the following WITHOUT Kent and Strzelecki:

Starters:

Will Dion, Connor Gillispie, Hunter Stanley, Jaime Barria, Adam Oller

Relievers:

Aleman, Banda, Burns, Doxakis, Enright, Gose, Hickman, Labout, Sabrowski

IL:

Cantillo (SP), Brown (SP), Arias (RP)

Looking at this list I see NINE relief pitchers without Kent and Strzelecki, almost all of them prospects.

Now let's look at Kent and Strzelecki:

Zac Kent had a decent year in AAA last year as an opener at AAA but had a 8.10 ERA in the AFL, followed by an ERA of over 10 this spring. 26 year olds who have never played in the majors, who have had an injury history like Kent's and put up stats like this are minor league free agent signings.

Strzelecki, on the other hand, seems like a decent addition, albeit being 29 years old. I wouldn't be appalled if he played for us in the majors at some point this year.
Likely, each of these guys were going to be DFA'd and would have been available at the waiver price of $50,000 or, if released, for nothing other than their minor league salary. Strzelecki was acquired for cash, which was likely to be around $60,000 (slightly more than the waiver price). Kent was acquired for international bonus pool money. As I indicated in a previous post, my calculations have the Guardians having over $450,000 left in their international bonus pool for 2024 so this makes sense. So it doesn't really cost the Guardians anything for Kent but it does, like Strzelecki he does occupy a roster spot.

I don't see the logic in either of these acquisitions as I don't see either of these guys moving the needle on this season while both of them block prospects like Trey Benton and Davis Sharpe who will be at AA. As I said, another head-scratching acquisition for the Guardians. If the stated goal is to play the kids why would we add 29- and 26-year old middle relief candidates who are not needed and will, likely, take away reps from prospects we are trying to groom to be major leagues. Add to that question the timing of the move when we were all hoping for news on extensions for guys like Josh Naylor and it was all just frustrating and even infuriating, given how little was done this off-season under the guise of playing the kids.

RACE FOR 1-1

More on this at the end of the weekend but the presumptive #1, Travis Bazzana, had a rough two nights on Thursday and Friday. He went 1-2 with a couple of walks on Thursday but got picked off twice, once in the 9th of a 1-1 game with a couple of guys on and the batter having a 3-0 count. His hit was an infield hit he legged out.

On Friday he had a good line on paper with his 5th leadoff HR in the last 6 games and 3 walks in going 1-2. However, he committed 3 errors as his team got crushed 17-4.

Charlie Condon's Georgia team crushed it's opponent on Friday but Condon went a harmless 1-4 with a walk and a K.

As I said, more on this on Monday after the dust settles on weekend conference matchups.

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Cade Smith dazzles in Guardians debut after week of limbo and year away from family

By Zack Meisel

8h ago

OAKLAND — Tim Smith wants it known that he didn’t cry. There is no crying in baseball, he stresses, as he wipes away tears.

Tim hadn’t seen his son in a year, not since the serious heart surgery and not since Cade Smith planted himself on the Cleveland Guardians’ radar. Until Tim stood beside Cade on Wednesday, between the Opening Day logo and the first-base line at the Oakland Coliseum, a reunion felt elusive.

Cade couldn’t travel home to British Columbia. Tim couldn’t travel at all. Neither was certain he’d be in Oakland for the Guardians’ season opener.

Cade needed approval from the Guardians’ front office. Tim needed approval from his cardiologist.

On Wednesday, they reconvened on a major-league field. On Saturday, with his parents and siblings sitting 13 rows behind the visitors dugout during the Guardians’ 12-3 triumph over the Athletics, Cade delivered a debut to remember.

“The things that fell into place are crazy,” Tim says.

The Guardians shared their plan for Cade five days before the season opener. He would occupy the last spot in the bullpen as long as they didn’t scoop up a reliever cut by another team at the end of camp. It wasn’t an indictment on Cade, who submitted an impressive spring and, no matter his Opening Day assignment, figured to contribute to the big-league pen throughout the year.

[ The rest of the article at the "Athletic" website - If you have a subscription ]




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Rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio started the first three games of the season for the Guardians. But on Sunday Gabriel Arias started at short as manager Stephen Vogt works to his his roster fresh..AP


GUARDIANS

Cleveland Guardians, Oakland A’s lineups for March 31, 2024: Game 4

Updated: Mar. 31, 2024, 3:11 p.m.|Published: Mar. 31, 2024, 3:05 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND -- Stephen Vogt has been mixing and matching his lineups since the season opened Thursday. Here’s a few reasons why.

The Guardians open the regular season with eight straight games before their first off day. He doesn’t want to overload any player this early in the season. Josh Naylor on Friday went 2 for 5 in a 6-4 win over the A’s, but he wasn’t in the lineup in Saturday’s 12-3 win.

Rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio started the first three games, going 2 for 5 with two doubles on Saturday. But Gabriel Arias is starting at short on Sunday after starting at third Saturday and going 2 for 5.

Austin Hedges has caught two games and Bo Naylor will catch his second on Sunday with the season only four games old.

When a team comes out of spring training, players are used to playing regularly. That changes when the season starts, but managers try to make sure that everyone gets in a game during the first few games of the regular season.

That can lead to a lot of different lineups in the first several games of the season.

And of course there are different lineups used to face left and right-handed pitching. The Guardians have already faced two lefty starters in this series, going 2-0 against Alex Wood and JP Sears.

Naylor is back in the lineup on Sunday.

Game No. 4.

Where: Oakland Coliseum.
When: Sunday, 4:07 p.m. ET.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM and Guardians radio network.
Team: Guardians (3-0) vs. A’s (0-3).
Starting pitchers (last year’s records listed): RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-8, 6.80) vs. RHP Paul Blackburn (4-7, 4.43).

LINEUPS

Guardians

LF Steven Kwan.
2B Andres Gimenez.
3B Jose Ramirez.
1B Josh Naylor.
RF Will Brennan.
CF Ramon Laureano.
C Bo Naylor.
DH Estevan Florial.
SS Gabriel Arias.

Athletics

1B Esteury Ruiz.
CF JJ Bleday.
2B Zack Gelof,.
DH Seth Brown.
3B J.D. Davis.
1B Ryan Noda.
C Shea Langeliers.
RF Lawrence Butler.
SS Nick Allen.

Umpires

H Nick Mahrley.
1B Marvin Hudson.
2B Hunter Wendlestedt.
3B John Tumpane.

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