Stuart Fairchild is with the Guardians for the weekend. It might be enough time to see if he should stay longer.
The reason for Fairchild joining the Guardians is a sad one, as Steven Kwan has had some sort of family crisis. So, we obviously begin by hoping that Kwan’s loved ones are ok before analyzing any baseball moves. Kwan will be back in 3-7 days.
Fairchild has had a great showing in Columbus with a 141 wRC+. He has a 1.197 OPS against LHP there and a .788 OPS vs RHP. Fairchild has spent parts
of five seasons in the majors – he SHOULD be tearing up Triple-A. In looking under the hood, he isn’t hitting the ball hard more than usual, his chase and whiff rates remain average to below average. He is taking walks because Triple-A pitchers are bad.
Fairchild is 9 for 11 on stolen bases and has the speed to play center. This is helpful in a bench role on the Guardians, and it’s why Petey Halpin has found a spot on the team. But, in the next few days, the team should evaluate whether or not Fairchild should supplant Halpin.
The big factor is Fairchild’s potential to hit left-handed pitching. He would be a good piece to plug in center or left against LHP if he could be relied on to produce something around his career wRC+ of 106 against them… or better. Halpin doesn’t offer anything of significance at the plate, so, while his defense is superlative, I am not sure he’s the best roster fit. To his credit, Vogt has not tried to shoehorn Halpin into lineups as I was afraid he might. He recognizes that Halpin is best used in a bench role, so I think we can trust he’d do the same with Fairchild.
Fairchild has no options remaining so he either finds a spot on the team or is exposed to waivers. He may very well go through waivers and I’m not saying it would be devastating to lose him. I am saying the Guardians should use the next couple days when they see lefty-relievers from the Boston pen and Ranger Suarez to see if there MIGHT be something useful in Fairchild as a fourth outfielder who crushes lefties that could result in Halpin being optioned back to Columbus. Then, we can cross the “Who to DFA when Arias is healthy?” bridge when we come to it.
