Cleveland Sports Forum

Shane Bieber latest example why Guardians should never offer long-term extensions to starters OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum on March 28, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
By Jason Lloyd
7h ago

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Five years ago, Trevor Bauer spent one sleepy morning in Cleveland’s spring training clubhouse discussing the perils of a long-term contract and why it didn’t make sense for him. Bauer was fresh off an arbitration hearing and insisted he’d never sign for multiple years because he believed one-year deals would be more lucrative in free agency.

“If players are willing to take more risk and shorter term,” Bauer told USA Today in February 2019, “they can really drive the value up.”

Two of Cleveland’s younger starting pitchers in those days were Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber. Neither had the luxury of Bauer’s $7.5 million he made upfront for being a top-10 pick in the draft.

Bieber’s signing bonus was $420,000 and Clevinger’s was $250,000.

It’s impossible to say what impact, if any, Bauer’s career and financial views had on the rest of the staff back then. He certainly seemed to have influence over them in the clubhouse.

Nevertheless, grown men are responsible for making their own choices. Both Clevinger and Bieber rejected lucrative, long-term offers from the franchise. Both probably regret that now.

News of Bieber’s pending Tommy John surgery is devastating both for him and the club. The Guardians had decided by November they probably weren’t going to deal Bieber before this season.

The market for starting pitching wasn’t nearly as robust as it was back at last summer’s trade deadline (when Bieber was injured) and they weren’t interested in dealing Bieber at the bottom of the market in the winter, only to turn around and have to try and trade for someone of his caliber when prices are much higher at July’s trade deadline should they remain in the division race.

So they risked it and brought him back knowing every day he was on the roster meant less they could command in a trade should they pivot and move him in July anyway. They don’t have to worry about that anymore.

For Bieber, the last year has been particularly devastating to his future earnings.

Bieber rejected a contract Cleveland presented him early in his career. I never got the exact figures, but was told it was more than the five-year, $50 million deal Blake Snell signed with Tampa Bay after he won the Cy Young Award in 2018. Bieber has since earned a Cy Young and about $30 million in his career. Whether he’ll ever get another $50 million offer, even in this escalating market, seems highly unlikely.

With free agency looming, Bieber knew how important this season was for his future. It’s why he spent the offseason at Driveline rediscovering a little bit of the velocity he’s lost over the past few years. He looked like a Cy Young candidate again in his first two starts, which looks even more remarkable now considering the pain Bieber endured through both.

He’s had significant arm/shoulder injuries in three of the past four years and likely won’t throw a pitch in a major-league game again until next July at the earliest, and August or September of next season might be more realistic.

It has become harder for small-market teams to sign players to long-term contracts that buy out their arbitration years because players feel like they are giving away too many millions up front and signing for less than what they are worth. Bieber and Clevinger, however, should be the only necessary negotiation tactic for teams trying to encourage guys to take the money — particularly pitchers.

Clevinger, like Bieber, has endured a career of arm problems. He has never made more than $8 million since leaving Cleveland. He was a free agent until re-signing with the Chicago White Sox only a few days ago.

All of this is why I’m convinced the Guardians will never sign another starting pitcher to a long-term extension, at least under this current risk-averse ownership group. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I would argue it’s how they should operate in the current climate of pitching injuries.
Triston McKenzie averaged 90.5 mph on his fastball in his first start, down from 92.4 mph in 2023. (Alika Jenner / Getty Images)

In hindsight, lucrative extensions to Bieber and Clevinger would’ve been devastating to this team’s financial planning, just like Justin Masterson once dismissed a three-year, $45 million offer in 2014 and was out of baseball less than two years later. More recently, Triston McKenzie was close to signing an extension last spring before a late March MRI revealed a shoulder strain. The extension vanished. Now McKenzie is pitching with a tear in his UCL, the same ligament Bieber is about to have surgically repaired. His velocity was down in his first start from last year and it feels like any day now, McKenzie could succumb to the same fate.

Gavin Williams is a Scott Boras client. The Guardians already know he won’t be taking their offer. Tanner Bibee earned an extra year of service time by finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. If he doesn’t sign an extension now, like right now, it’s probably already too late.

It’s not a terrible way for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to approach business: You will have terrific, young starters for the first five years of their career, then trade them away with one or two years of control remaining for a batch of prospects that replenish the pool for the next wave of Bibee and Williams types arms. Nobody develops pitching like Cleveland, Seattle and Tampa Bay. So lean into it. Know going in these guys aren’t going to be here for more than a few years. It at least mitigates the risk of a sunk cost in an arm that will be out of the game for 12-15 months.

Whether it’s the increased focus on velocity, the training methods, the pitch clock, the way guys are throwing sweepers/sliders or a combination of all of it, we’ve never seen pitchers getting wheeled into the operating room at this rate. Until we figure out why, there is more risk for teams like the Guardians signing pitchers to long-term deals than there is in letting them walk.

It’s an epidemic baseball has to figure out. In the short term, however, Bieber’s injury may have opened the door to something previously unthinkable: an extension. This is a club that was ready to move on from him at the deadline last year before he was injured. Now it may be able to keep him for a couple more years.

A one-plus-one deal would give Bieber the security of a few million dollars next year while he completes his rehab. In exchange, he’d give Cleveland his age 31 season in 2026 at a moderate figure. If he makes it through unscathed, he can try entering free agency fully healthy at age 32.

It’s hardly ideal, but it might be the best solution for all parties. The lucrative extension is long gone. His future in Cleveland, against all odds, doesn’t have to be.

Baseball opening day in Cleveland: Always something new under the sun – Terry Pluto

Updated: Apr. 07, 2024, 4:46 a.m.|Published: Apr. 07, 2024, 4:45 a.m.

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio –No sport celebrates opening day quite like baseball. It’s not as if the first baseball game is more important than the opener in football, hockey, basketball, soccer … or whatever.

“It’s one of 162,” I remember hearing often during my rookie year covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1979. I heard it later when I covered the Tribe for The Plain Dealer in the early 1980s.

One of 162 games …

But it’s often the one I remember … opening day, a holiday in my home.

With opening day looming, I closed my eyes and thought back to more than a half-century ago.

Walking down the West Third Street Bridge comes to mind. You can pick your era. Mine was the 1960s when I discovered baseball thanks to my father.



West Third Street Bridge



Radio announcer Herb Score at the Indians opener at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on April 5, 1993.



WHAT ABOUT THE MEMORIES?

I remember a guy out front of the old stadium who had a dancing monkey as he asked for a few coins to feed it.

I remember another guy with a polaroid camera, taking random photos. The device spat out a picture and he tried to sell it to you – even though you didn’t ask him to take your picture.

I remember scorecards for a quarter, and you got a free golf pencil. I remember the smell of hot dogs on the grill and the unofficial parade of fans, most of them wearing some form of red, white and blue.

I remember the field. This was a black & white, three-channel TV world. We snaked our way up those old ramps and suddenly saw it ... that huge field with the greenest grass in the world and blue Lake Erie beyond the bleachers.

I remember the chairs, most of them painted faded yellow. I remember banging an empty chair up and down when Cleveland actually had a few men on base. I also remember my father buying tickets where we ended up behind a pole. We waited a few innings, and even on opening day we’d later find empty seats with a better view.

I remember baseball being back. One of 162, but the first one. The special one. The ones that still live in my heart because I was blessed to have a father who took me by the hand to these games.



Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle takes a swing during a game against the Indians in 1961.


WHAT ABOUT NOW?



Cleveland Indians 1994 home opener: A new ballpark, a new era

My father would be shocked to take his young son to a park as beautiful as Progressive Field. He would be guardedly excited about the current team, even though he wouldn’t like the name change.

My father subscribed to the comment made by former manager Terry Francona when the Tribe became the Guardians: “The most important thing is the uniform still says Cleveland on the front.” My father often worried the team would move, a real possibility in those days.

My father would love Jose Ramirez. He’d call him, “A real baseball player.”

He’d watch the first week of the 2024 season on TV and say, “The kid at short (Brayan Rocchio), I like him. Same with that (Steven) Kwan kid, now that’s a leadoff hitter. They got some good young arms. That Naylor (Josh) has a belly, but he can hit.”

My father would be overjoyed to have followed the team since it moved from the old stadium to what is now Progressive Field. Since 2013, they have had nine winning seasons, six trips to the playoffs.

He grew up in the 1930s, the Depression. His Tribe played at old League Park.

They never finished higher than third place or closer to first than 12 games. That also was when there were no divisions, just the American League and the National League with eight teams each. The Yankees won the World Series five times in that decade.

He’d like baseball so much more right now with more teams competing for playoff spots. As for the complaints about the Yankees and other big market teams spending more than Cleveland, he’d say, “There’s not much new under the sun.”

WHAT ABOUT THE ECLIPSE?




Those of us of a certain age think we are the only ones with memories – and it’s tempting to believe our memories are the best.

But there will be some kids making memories Monday. For some, their first baseball game will also be the same day as the solar eclipse – now that is something new under the sun.

Cellphones are like the heartbeat of most fans. My father would like all the information and stats available, but would be dismayed by the obsession with the phone.

“Somebody is going to be looking at their phone and get conked in the noggin with a foul ball,” he’d say.

My father was a meticulous scorekeeper. I bet he’d have a way to do it even with scorecards having gone the way of pitchers batting. He’d want to walk around the park, stopping by the bleachers now named after the late drummer – John Adams. We’d head to left field to check out the latest upgrades.

He’d buy us hot dogs. We’d share a box of popcorn.

Remembering my father, he’d say something like, “Let’s forget all that eclipse stuff and play ball.”


That’s right, play ball! It’s opening day.


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MINNEAPOLIS -- We’ve said the same thing countless times over the past few years: As long as the rotation stays healthy, the Guardians can contend.

Well, we're only 10 days into the regular season, and the club is down two of its main starters due to right elbow injuries. While Gavin Williams is working his way back, Shane Bieber is done for a year as he prepares to undergo Tommy John surgery in the coming days.

The offense has been better than projected so far, which takes some pressure off of this pitching staff. But this is Cleveland we’re talking about -- an organization that constantly leans on its stellar starters. The Guardians will have to figure out how to replace the hurler who came out of the gate looking as elite as he’s looked.

So, who can take Bieber's spot in the rotation? Let’s work through the options.


Gavin Williams




Eventually, yes, Williams will be the answer. He’s just not ready yet. He ramped back up in the middle of March after experiencing right elbow discomfort early on in spring, then was sent back to Arizona to start throwing off of a mound again. When he’s ready, he’ll begin a rehab assignment. Williams will still need a few weeks before he can rejoin the Major League team. He was originally supposed to replace Carlos Carrasco in the rotation. Now, with Bieber out, the Guardians will have to determine if they’ll leave the starter they turn to now and remove Carrasco or keep Carrasco and replace whoever bridges the gap to Williams.



Joey Cantillo




In a perfect world, this would be Cantillo’s time to shine. But as Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has quickly learned in his first time managing a team, this is far from a perfect world. Cantillo strained his left hamstring at the end of Spring Training and was given a timetable of eight to 10 weeks to return to game activity. Cantillo is Cleveland’s No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and he forced himself high on the Guardians’ watch list after striking out a system-best 146 batters in 119 1/3 innings between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last season. This would’ve been the time to see what Cantillo can do at the big league level. Instead, he has to wait for the next opportunity.



Xzavion Curry




This is the most likely scenario. Curry was the unsung hero of this team last season. Whether he was needed in spot starts like this, in long relief when games got out of hand or in a high-leverage one-inning role, he consistently delivered. After missing a chunk of Spring Training due to a respiratory virus, Curry stayed in Arizona to make up for lost time. He’s made one rehab start with Columbus so far and has built up his pitch count to 53 pitches (while striking out seven in 2 2/3 innings). It’ll be a matter of how much more Cleveland wants him to build up before joining the big league team.



Ben Lively




Lively is in the same boat as Curry. A virus sidelined him for two weeks and now he’s playing catch-up. Lively, too, has made one rehab start for Columbus and allowed just one hit in three innings on 45 pitches. Vogt raved about Lively all spring, highlighting his ability to be versatile as a starter, a long reliever or a random spot starter. All signs seem to point to Lively joining the roster in the near future, the question is just whether he’ll be the one to step into the rotation.


Tyler Beede




The Guardians have Logan Allen penciled in to take Bieber’s spot in the rotation on Monday. An off-day heading into the weekend allowed Allen to stay on regular rest, but Tuesday’s starter is still undecided. It seems telling that the Guardians limited Beede’s usage to just one inning on Saturday when Carrasco was pulled after just three innings. Typically, it’d be Beede’s job as the long reliever to eat multiple frames and save the ‘pen. Instead, he only worked the eighth.

Maybe that means the Guardians are keeping Beede in their back pocket in case they need to use him for multiple innings on Tuesday. He could serve as a two- or three-inning opener for this one turn through the rotation to give Curry or Lively more prep time. Beede might also build up to eventually lock his spot in the rotation.

Cleveland has a lot to sort out in the next few days.



IN THE NEWS




Another day, another highlight-reel-worthy play by Andrés Giménez. And this one was a doozy.



https://www.mlb.com/video/cade-smith-in ... _FIRST&p=0



QUOTEABLE

“It’s tough. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, and to see that news, it’s really hard. But someone is just going to step up and do it. The energy we have [in the clubhouse] here is great. It’s unbelievable. We have really good pitching here. But someone has to step up. It happens everywhere. I feel really sorry and bad for Bieber, because every time he pitches, he just goes out there and competes. Everyone is going to be behind him.” -- Carrasco’s reaction to Bieber’s season-ending injury

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Apr 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) turns a double play against Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) during the second inning at T-Mobile Park.



Chemistry Clicking For Guardians Middle Infield

Cleveland Guardians: Andres Gimenez and Brayan Rocchio's rapport is helping them on the field.

TOMMY WILD 14 HOURS AGO

The Cleveland Guardians have a new tandem in the middle of their infield. Brayan Rocchio won the shortstop job out of spring training joining Platinum Glove winner Andres Gimenez up the center of the diamond. We already know how good of a defender Gimenez is, but Rocchio also has Gold Glove potential too.

The duo pulled off a couple of incredible plays in Saturday’s win over the Minnesota Twins. One play that may have saved Cleveland the game. The Guardians found themselves in a no-outs with runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Gimenez laid out for a ball hit by Carlos Santana right past second base. He dove, collected it, and flipped the ball out of his mitt to Rocchio, whose foot was on the bag, resulting in a force out. Describing it doesn’t do it justice, you just have to watch for yourself.

One of the reasons this pair has been able to quickly turn out such impressive results is the rapport they’ve built between one another.

Rocchio said after the game the chemistry he and Gimenez are building is helping “a lot” on the field.

“A lot because we know each other. I know how he likes to play, when he likes to go in front of the ball, behind the ball. This is so every time we are in contact [with one another].”

This chemistry is evident in the way that the two interact between plays and the way they feed off one another on the field.

This may be the Guardians' middle infield duo for years to come. If that is the case, it’s awesome to see these two are already playing so well off of each other.


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Emotional Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber works to come to grips with a lost 2024 season


By Zack Meisel
7h ago


CLEVELAND — From his first warmup pitch in the visitors bullpen last Tuesday at T-Mobile Park, Cleveland Guardians starter Shane Bieber had his suspicions. After he delivered his 83rd pitch — his last of the night and, as was confirmed a few days later, his last of the season — he became overwhelmed by the physical and emotional toll of it all.

His slider zagged out of the zone. Mitch Garver waved at it for a third strike. Bieber spun around and retreated to the dugout, fully aware of what his right elbow was brewing.

“It was an emotional time,” he admitted Monday.

A week after what might have been his final start in a Cleveland uniform, Bieber’s emotions around having to undergo Tommy John surgery haven’t dissipated. He regularly paused and bit his lower lip to fight back tears as he explained how such a promising season disintegrated so rapidly. When a sellout crowd showered him with cheers during pregame introductions, he seemed overcome with emotions once again as he jogged to the beginning of the fist-bump line in left field.

As he grapples with a lost season and contemplates his future, Bieber said he keeps telling himself, “What’s for me can’t be taken from me.” He noted how so much of an athlete’s orbit is out of the athlete’s control. Pitching injuries are sprouting up throughout the league, and he’s not sure the root of it, especially since he felt he had buried the elbow ailment that bothered him last summer.

“My performance was getting back to the place I knew I was capable of,” Bieber said. “I was falling back in love with pitching.”

This was supposed to be his year. His injuries in 2021 and 2023 were frustrating, inconvenient setbacks that interfered with his quest to rank among the league’s elite and with his bid to eventually snag a lucrative free-agent contract.

This, though, was a hurdle he never saw coming until his elbow started barking in Oakland a week and a half ago.

The Guardians never saw it coming, either. This was the best they had witnessed from their ace, outside of the quirky 2020 season, when he captured the American League Cy Young Award for a breathtaking, 12-start exhibit of dominance. Though trepidation about pitcher injuries keeps any coach or executive awake at night, they were convinced he had moved past last season’s elbow woes. One team official said “it seems inconceivable” for a pitcher to log 20 strikeouts in 12 innings, with no earned runs allowed and only one walk — and then need Tommy John surgery in an instant. The official said it was “totally outside the realm of possibility in my head.” Bieber underwent imaging on his elbow Thursday. He and the team conferenced Friday night for a decision that delivered a harsh reality check.

All spring, Bieber raved throughout camp about how he cherished his new training regimen, with routine stops at the Driveline Baseball complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., a 15-minute commute from his home, a 10-minute trek from his workout facility. He completed his daily loop with a stop for a physical training session to cap his day.

This was all intended to fuel a healthy, productive season, one that would vault him back into conversations about the game’s top pitchers, one that would land him in the Cy Young Award conversation, one that would provide stability for a talented-but-youthful Guardians rotation. And one that would set him up to earn the contract he’s chased for years. Bieber even referred to it as “a very real elephant in the room.” And now?

“It’s a reality that we have to deal with,” he said. “I have no answers right now.”

He blanked the A’s on Opening Day, and though he felt some discomfort in the middle innings, he chalked it up to early-season soreness. He admits now it was wishful thinking.

He wanted another sample of evidence, since he couldn’t replicate game-level intensity in his between-start sessions. Would his elbow beg for mercy if he took the mound and tossed his new-look changeup when every pitch has consequences? He took the mound in Seattle searching for answers and hoping the pain wouldn’t surface. He grew more confused as he continued to pile up strikeouts and zeros — all as his elbow screamed.

“It’s also inspiring to know that if I’m doing that while not feeling good,” Bieber said, “I’m excited for what’s to come when I am.”

Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley visited Progressive Field on Monday for a tandem ceremonial first pitch. Kluber logged one inning in 2020 and missed the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Brantley was no stranger to lengthy absences, including the 2016 season, when he appeared in only 11 games and had to watch Cleveland’s march to the World Series from a distance.

“There’s no way around it,” Kluber said. “It sucks. It’s not fun. I feel terrible for him.”

“You feel sorry for yourself for a little bit,” Brantley said, “but you have to shift the mindset as quickly as you can.”

“That allowed me to have something to work toward,” Kluber said, “instead of just feeling like you’re an outcast from the rest of the team.”

Bieber is getting there. He said he has no regrets with how he’s navigated the last year, and he choked up as he noted how strong he felt entering the regular season.

He dubbed it an “all-or-nothing situation,” an impending free agent trying to squeeze as much out of this season as he could. He gave it his all. And now he’s left with nothing but surgery and a host of questions about what comes next.

“It’s easy to keep things in perspective,” he said. “Things could be a lot worse, I’ll put it that way. … I’m coming to terms with everything.”

Guardians Acquire Wes Parsons From Blue Jays
By Darragh McDonald | April 10, 2024 at 12:59pm CDT

The Blue Jays have traded right-hander Wes Parsons to the Guardians for $250K of international bonus pool space, per announcements from both clubs. Parsons was designated for assignment by the Jays last week and has now been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Righty Shane Bieber was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Parsons. It was reported over the weekend that Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery, thus missing the remainder of the 2024 season.

Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez flips the ball out of his glove to shortstop Brayan Rocchio to force Max Kepler at second base in the sixth inning of Cleveland's 3-1 win at Target Field on April 6, 2024.AP


To Gold Glover Andrés Giménez, every second counts: Guardians breakfast

Updated: Apr. 12, 2024, 4:31 p.m.|Published: Apr. 12, 2024, 7:55 a.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- New third-base coach Rouglas Odor has spent extensive time with just about every home-grown player on the Guardians’ 40-man roster.

It’s not a surprise since this is his 36th year as a player, coach or manager in the Cleveland organization. Odor managed at six different levels in Cleveland’s farm system, the last four at Class AA Akron.

The one player he didn’t get to spend a lot of time with was Andrés Giménez, acquired from the Mets in January 2021 for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.

He worked briefly with Giménez in the spring of 2023 for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He also managed against Giménez when he played Double-A ball for Binghamton with the Mets.

All that changed this spring after manager Stephen Vogt hired Odor as his third-base and infield coach.

“This spring is the first time I got to work with him every day,” said Odor.

It did not take him long to see why Giménez has won two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove for his defensive play at second base.

“For me the key to his success is the preparation,” said Odor. “He does it day in and day out since day one of spring training.”

The Guardians do an infield drill in spring training. A coach hits ground balls to infielders around the diamond. The infielder has 4.3 seconds from the time the ball leaves the bat to field it and throw it to first base.

“That’s the average time for a right-handed hitter to go from home to first,” said Odor.

If the throw is late, a beeper goes off.

“Andrés came over to me after we started doing the drill and said, ‘Can we get it lower to 4.1 seconds?’” said Odor. “So he was forcing himself to make quicker plays to get himself going.

“For me that was impressive that a Gold Glover is asking for more. That was my first impression of him. He could have said, ‘Rougie, we don’t need that.’ He’s constantly working on positioning to find the right spot to make all kinds of plays. It’s impressive.”

Giménez and left fielder Steven Kwan are scheduled to receive their Gold Gloves before Saturday’s game against the Yankees. Giménez will also receive a Platinum Glove as the best defensive player regardless of position in the American League.

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Guardians Gold Glover Leads The AL In Batting Average, Leads MLB In Hits

April 12, 2024

Vanessa Serrao

The Cleveland Guardians are surprising many teams and they are on a roll of late. But don’t look now, as Steven Kwan leads the American League with a .386 batting average. Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees is behind Kwan, who’s hitting .372. Kwan is also leading all batters in the majors with 22 hits. Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers are right behind him with 21 hits a piece. Kwan, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, is certainly making a case for an All-Star-like campaign.

Cleveland’s leadoff hitter has a slash of .386/.397/.526 through the first 12 games of the season. Kwan has said that his approach was to “Be aggressive, spoil some pitches, see what happens, and put the ball in play.” That game plan has clearly helped the former Rookie of the Year finalist. Kwan also has a solid WAR of 0.9. Manager Stephen Vogt knows how important Kwan is to the team saying:

“What Kwan means to the top of this lineup and to help our team in general, you can’t say enough about, Vogt said. “He got us going to start the season.”

According to Stathead, the left fielder tied a Cleveland franchise record with his fourth three-hit game in the team’s first ten games of the season. Kwan is the sixth hitter to accomplish the feat as he’s the first since former catcher and current Guardians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr..Five other players to reach the mark for the club are Reggie Jefferson, Lyn Lary, Tris Speaker and Bill Bradley.

Kwan is Poised for a Breakout Year

Making his debut in 2022, Kwan has a career total of 41 stolen bases. In 2022, he also finished the year with the second-best swinging strike rate in all of baseball at 3.1 percent. With everything he’s done so far in his career, he’s posted for a breakout campaign. Despite not being known as a power-hitter, he only has 11 home runs and slugged .384 in his career. Yet his tremendous contact ability along with his speed helps him add more pop to his game.

Kwan appears to be the whole package, as he also has speed. He’s surely a hot ticket player, and it will be exciting to see what numbers he will put up for the rest of the season. He’s certainly a valuable player and asset to the Guardians and represents exciting young talent. His impressive 2022 rookie season is looking like the one he’s having now. Could he go from an impressive rookie to being a contender for MVP? His consistency as a performer and defensive asset has made him an appealing player in the majors.

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More bullpen prospects, a hot college hitter, a look at former Guardians – Terry Pluto's Scribbles
Updated: Apr. 13, 2024, 4:48 a.m.|Published: Apr. 13, 2024, 4:47 a.m.
andres gimenez
Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez flips the ball out of his glove to shortstop Brayan Rocchio. Gimenez won a platium glove for his play at second base last year and seems even better in 2024. AP

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians scribbles from my notebook:

1. The Guardians took a 9-3 record into Saturday’s doubleheader with the Yankees. They have been helped by a soft schedule, facing Oakland, the White Sox, Seattle and Minnesota. So they have been beating bad teams. But that’s a big part of having a good season.

2. What I like is how they are playing good baseball. Their defense has been solid-to-great, depending upon the game. Rookie Brayan Rocchio is impressive at short, Andres Gimenez is beyond outstanding at second base. Jose Ramirez is solid at third. All the catchers have done a good job. Tyler Freeman has been effective in center, with the other outfielders performing well.

3. The team playing well in the field and the bullpen being the most pleasant surprise of the early season is a tribute to the work done in training camp by manager Stephen Vogt and his coaches. The schedule becomes rugged, with the next four opponents being the Yankees, Boston, Oakland and Boston again. A key will be if the Guardians keep playing as they have, not giving away games in the field.

Nic Enright
Nic Enright has fanned 11 in five scoreless innings for Class AAA Columbus. Carolyn Kaster, AP


TALKIN’ GUARDIANS BULLPEN
1. The bullpen has been the most impressive part of the early season for the Guardians, especially because they have had to rely on players such as Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tyler Beede with limited MLB experience. The bullpen also is throwing a lot of innings because the starting pitching has struggled.

2. The Guardians have more promising bullpen arms in the minors. At Class AAA Columbus, Nic Enright has thrown five scoreless innings, fanning 11. Anthony Gose has four scoreless innings, striking out nine. Xzavion Curry is expected to soon be promoted, to either help as a starter or reliever.

3. This reliever is at Class AA Akron and is just starting his pro career, but Andrew Walters could rise quickly. An elite college closer from Miami, Walters has seven strikeouts and allowed one run in 3 ⅓ innings at Akron.


COLLEGE PROSPECT TALK
1. The Guardians have the No. 1 pick in the baseball draft. Those who read Baseball America know all about Charlie Condon. But many of us don’t follow college baseball. Now is a good time to start. And begin with Condon, who is batting .484 (1.721 OPS) with 23 HR and 49 RBI for Georgia. That’s in 34 games. In the tough SEC, he’s a .408 hitter.

2. I mention Condon because he was recruited to Georgia by Scott Stricklin, the former Kent State coach. Stricklin was fired last year by Georgia. And get this: Condon came to the school as a “preferred walk-on.” That means he had to earn his scholarship. He’s a 6-foot-6, 211-pound right-handed hitter who can play the outfield, along with third base. This is only his second college season.

3. The Athletic’s Keith Law on Condor: “I had Charlie Condon as the No. 1 prospect for this year’s MLB Draft in my rankings last month. I’m starting to think that was too low.”

4. I’m hoping the Guardians take Condon or another power hitter with that top pick. Let that player join Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo as prospects with bats that pop and can help Cleveland.

UPDATE ON SOME FORMER GUARDIANS
1. Nolan Jones had a breakout 2023 season with Colorado: .297, .931 OPS with 20 HR. He’s off to a rough start in 2024, batting .157 (8 of 51 with 23 strikeouts). He’s also made four errors in the outfield. After the 2023 season, the Guardians ranked Oscar Gonzalez and Will Brennan over Jones. It’s why they traded Jones for Juan Brito, who was named the Guardians’ 2023 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America.

2. Also with Colorado is Cal Quantrill, who is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. He has allowed four homers in 15 innings. While it was not a direct deal, the Guardians moved Quantrill and Enyel De Los Santos to pick up Scott Barlow. De Los Santos has allowed one run in six innings for San Diego.


3. Will Benson is batting .209 (.788 OPS) with two homers for the Reds. He hit .275 (.863 OPS) with 11 homers for the Reds in 2023.

4. Oscar Gonzalez is on the injured list with the Yankees’ Class AAA team. Gonzalez had a good spring for the Yankees, batting .326 (.889 OPS).

5. Amed Rosario is batting .250 (.604 OPS) and playing mostly right field for Tampa Bay. Josh Bell is batting .188 (.574 OPS) with one homer in 48 at-bats for Miami.

6. Historically, Francisco Lindor’s worst month is April, but he’s never had an April like this. The Mets shortstop is 5 of 51 (.098) heading into the weekend.

Where will pitchers land when music stops? Guardians takeaways

Updated: Apr. 13, 2024, 7:11 p.m.|Published: Apr. 13, 2024, 6:20 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Guardians have plenty of pitchers. The problem is deciding which will be the 13 on the 26-man big league roster.

Xzavion Curry, Ben Lively and Wes Parsons were in the Cleveland clubhouse before Saturday’s doubleheader against the Yankees. The three pitchers had yet to throw a pitch for the Guardians this season.

Curry and Lively are on the 40-man roster, but they opened the season on the injured list because of a viral infection that knocked them out of action late in spring training.

They’ve been rehabbing at Class AAA Columbus and are close to being activated. One of them will probably start Tuesday against Boston at Fenway Park. The Guardians need a starter to replace injured Shane Bieber.

“We’ve got a lot to figure out for Boston, which is why Lively and Xzavion are both here,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “They’re both ready to come off the injured list. We just haven’t figured out exactly when.”

Parsons, acquired on Wednesday from Toronto, was added as the 27th player for Game 2 of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader against the Yankees. The Guardians lost the first game, 3-2.

“It’s good to see those guys around,” said Vogt, referring to Lively and Curry. “They both had really interesting spring trainings with the plague, and so it’s nice to have them back with us and obviously we’re still figuring out how everything’s going to shake out after Sunday.”

The Guardians travel to Boston after Sunday’s game against the Yankees for a four-game series at Fenway Park.

Lively made two rehab starts at Columbus, going 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA. He struck out four and allowed three earned runs in 8 1/3 innings.

“I feel good now,” said Lively. “Three days after I got sick, I tried to throw and could barely make 60 feet. I lost 15 pounds. I’ve finally gained it back.”

“It’s good to see those guys around,” said Vogt, referring to Lively and Curry. “They both had really interesting spring trainings with the plague, and so it’s nice to have them back with us and obviously we’re still figuring out how everything’s going to shake out after Sunday.”

The Guardians travel to Boston after Sunday’s game against the Yankees for a four-game series at Fenway Park.

Lively made two rehab starts at Columbus, going 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA. He struck out four and allowed three earned runs in 8 1/3 innings.

“I feel good now,” said Lively. “Three days after I got sick, I tried to throw and could barely make 60 feet. I lost 15 pounds. I’ve finally gained it back.”

Lively is listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds.

Curry made two rehab starts at Columbus as well. In seven innings he allowed one earned run with eight strikeouts and four walks.

No bunt

Ramon Laureano started the ninth inning of Saturday’s first game against the Yankees with a double. The Guardians trailed 3-2 against closer Clay Holmes.

Holmes ended the drama by striking out Bo Naylor and Estevan Florial before retiring Brayan Rocchio on a grounder to second.

After the game Vogt was asked if he considered having Naylor try to bunt Laureano to third.

“No, absolutely not,” said Vogt. “Bo’s been one of our better hitters, especially in the clutch. He’s also facing a pretty good closer. It looked like he (Holmes) got mad (after the leadoff double) and made some pretty good pitches to the last three guys.

Florial, the former Yankee, protested loudly to plate umpire Jordan Baker, when he was called out on a 3-2.

“I haven’t looked at it yet,” said Vogt, when asked about the pitch. “I’m hearing that it was a little inside, but Trevino (Yankee catcher Jose Trevino) is one of the best back there (when it comes to framing).

“It’s unfortunate when that happens in that spot. But we had our opportunities before that and didn’t capitalize.”

High wind warnings

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was not a good one for fielders chasing fly balls.

“If you looked at the flags, they were blowing in every direction,” said Vogt.

Cleveland’s defense watched two wind/sun balls fall for Yankee hits. Anthony Rizzo had an infield pop fall in front of the mound for a single in the fifth inning. Jose Trevino had a pop up fall in short right field for a single in the eighth.

Finally

The Guardians are 1-8 in their last nine doubleheader games since the start of the 2023 season. ...

Josh and Bo Naylor are the third pair of brothers since 1961 to have game-tying and game-inning RBI in the ninth inning or later. Cal and Billy Ripken did it on Sept. 17, 1998 for Baltimore and Justin and B.J. Upton did it for Atlanta on April 6, 2013. The Naylor brothers struck in the 10th inning Wednesday against the White Sox. ...

Andres Gimenez extended his hit streak to eight games with a first-inning single off Clarke Schmidt.

But not one had a tougher time trying to catch what started out as an innocent fly ball than right fielder Will Brennan. In the first inning, Aaron Judge sent a fly ball to right. The wind caught it and carried it toward the outfield wall. Brennan chased it to the track as the ball hit the wall for a double.

“That right there showed you want kind of day it was going to be,” said catcher Bo Naylor.

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Three Guardians takeaways after wild cap to weekend series with Yankees CLEVELAND — In the 10th inning Sunday, with the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians exchanging haymakers in a chaotic series finale, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt turned to his bench coach and smiled.

“This is awesome,” Vogt said to Craig Albernaz.

Vogt has steered the Guardians to a 10-5 start. His club skidded through a doubleheader against the Yankees on Saturday but rebounded to salvage a wild 8-7 win Sunday. Vogt has been tested in his first two weeks as manager, navigating through injuries and inconsistent starting pitching while juggling how to deploy a cast of unproven position players. Sunday’s game pushed him even more, as Vogt cycled through relievers, emptied his bench and shifted guys around the diamond.

He relished every second of it

“Of course it means a lot and it’s high intensity,” he said, “but it’s such a fun game.”
Comeback kids

As Logan Allen and an army of relievers cooled down in the clubhouse following their outings Sunday, they lived and died by the roar of the crowd. The fans’ reactions revealed what had unfolded on the field before the delayed broadcast on the clubhouse TVs did. The constant back-and-forth in the final few innings kept the pitchers guessing.

After the Guardians pulled off another come-from-behind win — this one requiring a pair of late-inning charges — players shouted “We don’t quit!” as they retreated to the clubhouse through the dugout tunnel. It was the theme of the week: The Guardians trailed at least 3-0 in each of the final five games of their homestand. They pulled out wins in two of them, both in 10 innings. In only one game were they decidedly defeated. It’s the sort of habit that shortens the lifespan of a manager or fan.

The rotation has been Cleveland’s weak link, a primary explanation for the sluggish starts. It obviously doesn’t help when the club’s ace, Shane Bieber, is home in Arizona with his right elbow in a protective contraption. Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively will join the rotation this week at Fenway Park, starting Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Cleveland’s starters are averaging fewer than five innings per start (72 2/3 innings in 15 games), which isn’t a healthy trend. The team needs more from Triston McKenzie and Tanner Bibee.

Credit the bullpen for keeping opposing lineups at bay, granting the offense a chance to mount a comeback. Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith have combined for 16 2/3 scoreless innings, just as everyone expected. The Guardians’ bullpen owns a 1.88 ERA as a whole.
Double duty

Vogt was beaming about the double play that ended the Yankees’ half of the 10th, a prototypical 3-2-3 twin killing to neutralize another scoring threat. The longtime catcher — who also moonlighted as a first baseman and corner outfielder — lauded the athleticism demonstrated by two catchers: David Fry and Bo Naylor.

Fry placed a perfect throw to the plate, where Naylor applied the tag, pirouetted and whipped a throw back to Fry, who scooped the one-hopper for the second out (and third of the inning). Fry, who shifted from first to catcher back to first during the game, credited Naylor’s presence of mind to even consider a throw to first while completing the tag at the plate.

“For (Fry) to make that throw on the run,” Vogt said, “and to have the IQ to get back to first base and for Bo to sweep tag, apply the tag, spin and throw it back — the amount of athleticism and baseball IQ in that play probably won’t get talked about enough. That should be No. 1 on ‘SportsCenter,’ MLB. Whatever the top plays are, that should be the top play.”
Revenge tour

Estevan Florial entered the interview room Sunday, and Fry yelled, “Revenge tour, baby!” Florial had one home run in 48 big-league games over parts of four seasons with the Yankees. Then he socked two homers in 24 hours against his former team, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning Sunday.

With those two hacks, Florial boosted his wRC+ to 154 (meaning he’s been 54 percent more productive than the league-average hitter this season). Let’s toast to tiny, early-season sample sizes. Florial has totaled only 25 plate appearances. He’s had four walks, 10 strikeouts and those two homers, an apt demonstration of his skills and deficiencies.

“He makes really good swing decisions,” Vogt said. “He does punch out, but … there’s a big reason why he’s with us: the quality of his at-bats.”

The Guardians knew this would be an experiment when they traded pitcher Cody Morris for Florial over the winter, but with so few answers in the outfield, they felt it was a gamble worth taking. Before Saturday night, they had witnessed much of what the Yankees saw in brief spurts. Then he homered in consecutive games against New York to remind everyone why he was once a top prospect, why he’s able to produce silly numbers at Triple A and why teams can’t quit him. The question is whether he can find some modicum of consistency.

This team desperately needs someone other than Steven Kwan to emerge in the outfield. Tyler Freeman and Will Brennan are off to rough starts. Aside from some walks and wielding a rocket arm, Ramón Laureano hasn’t offered much yet. There’s ample opportunity for someone to get in a rhythm and seize regular playing time. Maybe Florial will be the one.

“The swings have been better and better,” Vogt said.

More bullpen prospects, a hot college hitter, a look at former Guardians – Terry Pluto's Scribbles
Updated: Apr. 13, 2024, 7:42 p.m.|Published: Apr. 13, 2024, 4:47 a.m.


By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians scribbles from my notebook:

1. The Guardians took a 9-3 record into Saturday’s doubleheader with the Yankees. They have been helped by a soft schedule, facing Oakland, the White Sox, Seattle and Minnesota. So they have been beating bad teams. But that’s a big part of having a good season.


2. What I like is how they are playing good baseball. Their defense has been solid-to-great, depending upon the game. Rookie Brayan Rocchio is impressive at short, Andres Gimenez is beyond outstanding at second base. Jose Ramirez is solid at third. Tyler Freeman has been effective in center, with the other outfielders performing well.


3. The team playing well in the field and the bullpen being the most pleasant surprise of the early season is a tribute to the work done in training camp by manager Stephen Vogt and his coaches. The schedule becomes rugged, with the next four opponents being the Yankees, Boston, Oakland and Boston again. A key will be if the Guardians keep playing as they have, not giving away games in the field.





TALKIN’ GUARDIANS BULLPEN
1. The bullpen has been the most impressive part of the early season for the Guardians, especially because they have had to rely on players such as Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tyler Beede with limited MLB experience. The bullpen also is throwing a lot of innings because the starting pitching has struggled.

2. The Guardians have more promising bullpen arms in the minors. At Class AAA Columbus, Nic Enright has thrown five scoreless innings, fanning 11. Anthony Gose has four scoreless innings, striking out nine. Xzavion Curry is expected to soon be promoted, to either help as a starter or reliever.

3. This reliever is at Class AA Akron and is just starting his pro career, but Andrew Walters could rise quickly. An elite college closer from Miami, Walters has seven strikeouts and allowed one run in 3 ⅓ innings at Akron.




COLLEGE PROSPECT TALK
1. The Guardians have the No. 1 pick in the baseball draft. Those who read Baseball America know all about Charlie Condon. But many of us don’t follow college baseball. Now is a good time to start. And begin with Condon, who is batting .484 (1.721 OPS) with 23 HR and 49 RBI for Georgia. That’s in 34 games. In the tough SEC, he’s a .408 hitter.


2. I mention Condon because he was recruited to Georgia by Scott Stricklin, the former Kent State coach. Stricklin was fired last year by Georgia. And get this: Condon came to the school as a “preferred walk-on.” That means he had to earn his scholarship. He’s a 6-foot-6, 211-pound right-handed hitter who can play the outfield, along with third base. This is only his second college season.

3. The Athletic’s Keith Law on Condor: “I had Charlie Condon as the No. 1 prospect for this year’s MLB Draft in my rankings last month. I’m starting to think that was too low.”

4. I’m hoping the Guardians take Condon or another power hitter with that top pick. Let that player join Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo as prospects with bats that pop and can help Cleveland.






UPDATE ON SOME FORMER GUARDIANS
1. Nolan Jones had a breakout 2023 season with Colorado: .297, .931 OPS with 20 HR. He’s off to a rough start in 2024, batting .157 (8 of 51 with 23 strikeouts). He’s also made four errors in the outfield. After the 2023 season, the Guardians ranked Oscar Gonzalez and Will Brennan over Jones. It’s why they traded Jones for Juan Brito, who was named the Guardians’ 2023 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America.

2. Also with Colorado is Cal Quantrill, who is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. He has allowed four homers in 15 innings. While it was not a direct deal, the Guardians moved Quantrill and Enyel De Los Santos to pick up Scott Barlow. De Los Santos has allowed one run in six innings for San Diego.

3. Will Benson is batting .209 (.788 OPS) with two homers for the Reds. He hit .275 (.863 OPS) with 11 homers for the Reds in 2023.




4. Oscar Gonzalez is on the injured list with the Yankees’ Class AAA team. Gonzalez had a good spring for the Yankees, batting .326 (.889 OPS).

5. Amed Rosario is batting .250 (.604 OPS) and playing mostly right field for Tampa Bay. Josh Bell is batting .188 (.574 OPS) with one homer in 48 at-bats for Miami.

6. Historically, Francisco Lindor’s worst month is April, but he’s never had an April like this. The Mets shortstop is 5 of 51 (.098) heading into the weekend.

Eno Sarris


Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

“It’s something that was God-given to me,” Kwan told me of his ability to make contact, “but also I couldn’t hit home runs at a young age, so contact was something I could do then and kept doing.”

Since the beginning of 2020, only two qualified batters have struck out less than Kwan. Those two — David Fletcher and Luis Arraez — have not added power, but there’s still hope that Kwan could add more of that element to his game. For one, he doesn’t hit the ball on the ground too often, with a career ground-ball rate that’s exactly league average, and a slight trend toward fewer ground balls as he’s gotten more experience in the big leagues.

But Kwan doesn’t think that lifting the ball is the focus. It sounds like he just wants to hit the ball harder using his current swing mechanics.

“Now I can add to it,” he thought when we talked this spring. “I think what I used to think was my ‘A’ swing was really like a ‘B’ swing. Now I add intention and anticipation and effort sometimes when I swing.”




Bleecker isn’t sure that just using more “A” swings is the way to go.

“You don’t want to have to add effort because the harder that most people try to swing, the more out of synch their system gets and ultimately their barrel doesn’t win the race,” he said of the mechanics of just trying to swing harder.

It’s hard to argue that this is the best way to add power, given Kwan’s batted-ball stats. At least this current version is a very valuable ballplayer who can use elite contact ability to be a better-than-league-average hitter. That’s the best part of starting with the ability to put bat to ball: The floor is higher.

Estevan Florial homered in back to back games over the weekend.Getty Images

Reinforcements are always at the ready for Stephen Vogt: Guardians takeaways

Updated: Apr. 16, 2024, 8:19 p.m.|Published: Apr. 16, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com

BOSTON — One of the areas Stephen Vogt has excelled at in his first 16 games as Guardians manager is balancing playing time among his regular starters and substitutes. According to Vogt, he always has confidence in the reinforcements coming off his bench.

“The guys have stepped up big the last couple days,” Vogt said. “I’m never making a lineup thinking, ‘Oh, we can use him off the bench.’ I’m looking for guys to get as much playing time as possible.”

Vogt credited players for executing the game plan of hitting coach Chris Valiaka and his assistants on a daily basis. He said Guardians hitters worked tirelessly all winter and spring looking to impact the baseball more and looking to not just put the first pitch in play, but to impact the ball early in the count.

“We’re seeing that, and we’re seeing more swing and miss and we’re OK with that,” Vogt said. “The plan that (Valaika) and the hitting group are putting together to beat these starters, these guys are buying into it and they’re following it. When you have nine guys go out and do that every night, you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to beat the starter that night.”

Vogt said as the season goes on he anticipates it will be tougher to make out a lineup based on who is hot at a particular time.

“I realize that, but it’s a good problem to have when you have 13 guys you feel like you could play every day.”

Day of rest:

Rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio earned a day off, Vogt said, after logging a lot of innings over the weekend and Monday. Gabriel Arias made his fourth start at short out of eight total appearances.

Vogt said he planned to rest Rocchio on Wednesday, but after a long weekend, and with Arias swinging a hot bat, he rearranged things.

“(Rocchio) played both games of the doubleheader, came in and played the second half of the game Sunday and the travel day (Monday). “Given the workload and the way Gabby’s swinging the bat, thought today would be a good day to get him off his feet.”

Arias entered Tuesday’s contest batting .600 in his previous three games while slugging 1.300 with a pair of runs driven in. During that three-game stretch, Arias’ season batting average has jumped from .128 to .308.

Vogt said at this point in the season he is still trying to get everybody on the 26-man roster as much playing time as possible without “running anybody into the ground.”

“On top of that, all of our guys are pretty good versus, right versus left,” Vogt said. “It kind of makes it tougher to make a lineup. I’m not set on one guy versus anybody in particular, but the splits definitely help when you’re in-between.”

Roster move ahead:

Cleveland will need to make a roster move after Tuesday’s game in order to get Wednesday’s starter, Ben Lively, on board to face the Red Sox. Lively has been on the 15-day injured list after coming down with a viral infection during spring training. In two rehab starts for Columbus, Lively went 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA and four strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.

Vogt said once Shane Bieber was lost for the season with an elbow injury, coupled with a pair of unexpected off days due to weather, plans for the starting rotation were thrown into chaos.

“Everything that we had projected out and planned, you just kind of rip it up and let’s see,” Vogt said. “We’re not sure where we’re moving forward.”

Farm hands:

A pair of Cleveland farmhands were named minor league players of the week Monday for their performances April 8-14. Left-hander Doug Nikhazy (Double-A Akron) was the Eastern League pitcher of the week after tossing five scoreless innings against Richmond on April 11. A second round pick out of Mississippi in 2021, Nikhazy allowed one hit and two walks while striking out eight.

Last year’s first-round pick, Ralphy Velazquez, earned Carolina League player of the week honors for Low-A Lynchburg after batting .500 (9 for 18) with a pair of doubles, two home runs and seven RBI in five games.

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Guardians Prospective
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#Guardians transactions

RHP Ben Lively activated off the 15-day IL
RHP Wes Parsons recalled from Columbus

RHP Xzavion Curry optioned to Columbus
RHP Eli Morgan placed on the 15-day IL (Right Shoulder Inflammation)