It has been a quiet begin to the offseason for the Guardians. Their solely notable strikes have been the commerce of center reliever Eli Morgan to the Cubs and the return of backup catcher Austin Hedges on a $4MM free agent deal.
Because the Winter Conferences method, Cleveland’s entrance workplace is monitoring the marketplace for a possible outfield acquisition. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti tells Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic that the Guardians are open to including a “complementary participant” on the grass.
Steven Kwan is likely one of the recreation’s finest left fielders. The opposite two outfield spots are extra open. Lane Thomas performed quantity of middle subject after the Guardians acquired him from Washington in a deadline deal. He’s stretched defensively up the center. Ideally, Thomas would slot into proper subject. The Guards don’t have many inside choices who may take on a regular basis taking part in time in middle. In the event that they’re to bump Thomas right into a nook, they’ll in all probability want so as to add a middle fielder.
The free agent class on the place may be very weak. Harrison Bader is the one participant who initiatives as even a low-end common. Leody Taveras and Jake Meyers are glove-first choices who could possibly be accessible on the commerce market. None of them are going to offer a lot offense, however they’d improve Cleveland’s outfield protection.
The Guardians are additionally more likely to obtain some commerce calls relating to Thomas. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz initiatives Thomas for an $8.3MM wage in his ultimate season of arbitration eligibility. That’s an honest sum for a low-payroll franchise, however the Guardians relinquished a strong prospect return to land Thomas a number of months in the past. They’d get a lesser package deal again after he struggled down the stretch (well timed postseason house runs apart), and a commerce would depart them with two query marks within the outfield.
If the Guardians persist with Thomas in middle subject, they’d have some mixture of Will Brennan, Jhonkensy Noel and Daniel Schneemann in proper subject. Noel has monster energy however strikes out a ton. He’s a greater runner than one may count on given his 6’3″, 250-pound body, however he may be stretched defensively as an on a regular basis outfielder. Neither Brennan nor Schneemann has demonstrated a lot offensive upside. Johnathan Rodriguez, Angel Martínez and Petey Halpin are all on the 40-man roster however have little to no massive league expertise.
Prime prospect Chase DeLauter could possibly be a midseason improve. An Opening Day name could be an extended shot. DeLauter has battled accidents in his minor league profession and has solely appeared in 42 video games above Excessive-A, simply six of which have come on the Triple-A stage.
There’s an honest quantity of depth within the free agent nook outfield class. Michael Conforto, Max Kepler and Alex Verdugo are all potential regulars who’re more likely to be restricted to at least one or two years. All of them hit left-handed, however a righty bat may higher match the seek for a complementary participant. Brennan and Schneemann every hit from the left aspect, as does DeLauter. (Noel is a righty.) Randal Grichuk or current non-tenders Austin Hays and Bryan De La Cruz may occupy short-side platoon roles. They might pair with Brennan or Schneemann early within the season whereas permitting Stephen Vogt to defend DeLauter from robust left-handed pitching if he earns a giant league look later within the yr.
