It’s been a busy last few days – let’s get to know the new look Cleveland Guardians!
First of all – a fond farwell to Bo Naylor, Juan Brito, Will Dion and Codi Heuer who were dealt away in the flurry of deals. Bo could never quite deliver on the promise he showed as a hitter in the minors and in his first extended stint in Cleveland. The team also seemed discontent with his defense as a catcher, specifically in pitch-calling and handling a staff. He seems like a great dude and I hope the Brewers fix
him. I still like Juan Brito as a hitter, but after debuting in Cleveland and struggling, he could not regain his footing in Columbus. We will now see if he resurfaces with the Reds… if so, I would bet it will be at first base or right field as I was taken aback at how awful of a defender he was at second and third base. Dion has a fastball with a great shape but is just too tiny to ever imagine him being more than a middle reliever. And Heuer is a roster churn reliever who somehow already made his way to Baltimore by way of Milwaukee after leaving Cleveland. All the best, boys. Bo is the one I suspect still has an outside shot to become something special, but that’s no sure thing. Also, goodbye to Sean Armstrong who was placed on the 60-Day IL… a torn calf muscle will take him out for the remainder of the season. His return engagement was… not good.
See ya later (maybe) David Fry and Kyle Manzardo who head to Columbus. Since his electric April-May of 2024, Fry put up a 79 wRC+ with a .279 xwOBA while mostly facing the lefty pitchers he was supposed to mash. No one will ever forget Fry’s 2024 postseason and part of me will always wonder if his elbow injury led to ongoing issues, but his production simply wasn’t sustainable. He seems like an excellent human being and teammate and I hope he can figure things out again.
Manzardo was the worst hitting qualified first baseman in MLB with a 95 wRC+ and expected numbers to match. It turns out the team couldn’t put up with that any longer. His 6% jump in strikeout rate and .060 drop in ISO was a deadly combination to go with mediocre first base defense. Is it the shoulder injury he sustained prior to being dealt to Cleveland? It is ongoing back issues that have popped up periodically? Or, is it simply approach issues he has been unable to clean up, perhaps connected to being sat twice a week when lefties are on the mound? Time will tell with Manzardo back in Triple-A to try to rebuild from scratch. He needs to show the ability to shorten up his swing when needed, to work counts and take walks, and to punish the pitches he gets in his nitro zones. I would not rule out seeing him again before the season is over; hopefully, he takes this opportunity to make some serious changes.
Welcome to the new guys! Cleveland fans already got a look at Craig Yoho who threw a scoreless inning in Sunday’s 5-0 win. Yoho is 26 years old and still a ball of moldable clay for Guardians’ pitching coach Carl Willis and company. His carrying weapon is his changeup which he throws almost half the time and he’s attempting to use a sinker more widely this year to tunnel with that changeup to increase its effectiveness. His 3.00 ERA will play as long as he can avoid the long balls that have plagued him at times. His changeup SHOULD eventually play well against LHP but it has not quite yet panned out that way. Trust the process when it comes to the Guardians and bullpen guys. Expect to see Yoho in the 5th and 6th innings as needed for a while as Vogt builds trust in him.
Foster Griffin is the new addition to the Guardians’ rotation. After three years pitching in Japan, the left-handed Griffin is back and went 12-3 (for anyone who cares) for the Nationals and has an ERA of 3.09 and an 8.07/2.09 K/BB/9. He throws seven different pitches – a four-seamer, a cutter, a sinker, a split-finger, a slider, a curve and a changeup. His cutter is his go-to but he still only throws it 32% of the time. He gets a groundball rate of close to 50%, so it will be important to keep defense tight behind him. Griffin has a 3.18 FIP this season against LHP and a 3.95 FIP against RHP. He looks like a great#3 or #4 starter for a playoff contender and one can hope that Patrick Bailey, Austin Hedges and the Guardians’ pitching group can get even more from him. Perhaps he might even be willing to pursue a small extension here if things go well, one can dream. He sets the Guardians up for THREE lefties in their rotation, hearkening back to C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey in 2008 at certain points.
Griffin enables the team to take a significant step up in their rotation production as Slade Cecconi had slipped to a 4.78 ERA and 4.53 FIP. It remains to be seen if Cecconi will join the bullpen temporarily or (least likely of all) be part of a 6-man rotation now. I think Cecconi has a rubber arm so I think he should be tried in the pen and then stretched out if needed, but however the team wants to handle this is good with me. I would have liked to see Tim Herrin demoted as he cannot be trusted to throw strikes, but it is Franco Aleman who heads back down. Aleman got rocked a couple times recently and the team doesn’t seem to trust him, but that electric fastball is tough to deny for me.
Jo Adell joins the team as an outfielder/DH who is a right-handed hitter, under team control through 2027. Adell is here to chew bubble gum and mash lefties and he’s ALLLLL out of bubble gum. He has a .579 slugging percentage against lefties since 2024. However, he did also manage to hit RHP well in 2025 (not this year), getting 30 homers off same-side pitchers. It may be worth a look to see if getting him out of Anaheim and away from that disaster of a team can help him rediscover his stroke, but playing vs. lefties should be the main strategum. It’s important to note that Adell has been a full-time starter for a while now and it can be tough for guys to get used to the rhythms of not playing everyday. He has rarely been asked to pinch-hit and has only a 14 wRC+ in those scenarios. However, he does have a 133 wRC+ this year and 111 wRC+ for his career in high leverage situations. He’s got that dog in him, in other words, and will hopefully be able to adjust to any role a contending team asks of him. Adell will chase and strike out a lot… it’s all about destroying the pitches he gets to hit, which he is more than capable of doing. He should be thrilled to be on an actual contending team, which can really help players find another gear.
Finally, Nathaniel Lowe is the last minute trade addition who pushed Kyle Manzardo to Columbus. With a 120 wRC+ and a 25/10 K/BB% overall and a 137 wRC+ against RHP, Lowe figures to platoon with Rhys Hoskins at first base and get some AB’s at DH as well. Neither Lowe nor Hoskins are good defenders at first base so I would expect to see Gabriel Arias brought in as a defensive replacement for them late in games when the Guardians have a lead. Lowe is a gamer and should have good memories of winning a World Series title with Austin Hedges with the Rangers. He had a 167 wRC+ for the Reds in high leverage situations and you can see his reputation of being able to put up good at-bats when it really mattered if you peruse social media centered around the Reds. I’d expect him to be the team’s cleanup hitter against right-handed starters for the rest of 2026 (after that, Lowe is a free agent).
The Guardians should be able to make a run if these players perform as expected AND the familiar faces do their parts. My biggest question right now revolves around Erik Sabrowski finding his way out of the bullpen and Tim Herrin throwing strikes, but plenty of other issues remain to be resolved. Will Jose Ramirez’s hand strength return enough after surgery to allow him to be more like a 120 wRC+ hitter? Will Steven Kwan’s recent productivity continue? Can Brayan Rocchio correct himself out of his recent hitting slide? Will Travis Bazzana’s defense accompany what should be some natural growth for his promising bat? Will Chase DeLauter remain strong enough to continue to produce consistently after being asked to play far more games than he ever has in his pro career? Will Angel Martinez rediscover his early success after his foot injury? Will Petey Halpin provide enough offense to make his exceptional center field play something the team can afford to keep on the roster? Will Rhys Hoskins sustain recent pop he has discovered? Will Patrick Bailey and Austin Hedges continue their insane runs of being actual competent hitters?
A lot of questions remain, but the path is there for this team, with the much ballyhooed easiest schedule remaining in MLB, to make a run in a weak American League. Let yourself fall in love with the 2026 Cleveland Guardians again. They’ve got a shot.
