After hitting only .192/.213/.288 over his first 75 plate appearances, Guardians outfielder Oscar Gonzalez has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Infielder Tyler Freeman has been called up to replace Gonzalez on Cleveland’s active roster.
Gonzalez is the second prominent Guardians player to be optioned in the last three days, after Zach Plesac was also sent down to Columbus on Thursday. Plesac was more of an established big leaguer than Gonzalez, yet both moves are indicative of how the Guards are trying to shake things up after an underwhelming 14-18 start to the season.
One of several young players who contributed to the Guardians’ success in 2022, Gonzalez made his MLB debut last season and hit .296/.327/.461 with 11 homers over 382 PA in his rookie season. His most memorable moments included a pair of walkoff hits in the postseason — the 15th-inning home run that allowed the Guardians to eliminate the Rays in the Wild Card Series, and a walkoff single that led Cleveland to a win over the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.
Despite this early success, Gonzalez displayed some weak points that have continued into 2023. He has ranked near the bottom of the walk in both walk rate and chase rate in both seasons, even if his actual strikeout rate is above average. Gonzalez’s hard-hit rate has also plummeted from a respectable 40.1% in 2022 to just 31% this year.
The Guardians entered the season using Gonzalez and Will Brennan in a right field platoon, with Brennan seeing the majority of at-bats as a left-handed hitter. Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Cleveland.com) that the team’s desire to use Gonzalez on a more regular basis contributed to the decision to send him to Triple-A.
“We might be doing Oscar right now a disservice by playing him sparingly….Last time we called him up, he had a lot of at-bats under his belt and felt really good about himself. So we’re going to hopefully get him going again, as opposed to playing him every so often,” Francona said.
Freeman might be an example of this very tactic, as the former top-100 prospect (who also made his MLB debut in 2022) returns to the majors on the strength of a hot streak with Columbus. The Guardians called Freeman up for two games in April, but Freeman has otherwise spent the season at Triple-A, and is batting .329/.468/.482 over 109 PA with the Clippers.
It remains to be seen where Freeman will fit into Cleveland’s lineup or how often he’ll play, but Gabriel Arias is notably getting the start in right field today for the Guardians against the Twins (and right-handed starter Sonny Gray). Arias is yet another highly-touted prospect from the Guardians’ farm system, but he hasn’t shown much over an even 100 plate appearances at the big league level. Only 43 of those PA have come this season, so Arias and Freeman might get some looks as part of the right field platoon even though both are infielders by trade. Arias has made a handful of appearances as a left fielder during his career but today marks his pro debut in right field.
More likely to bounce back than Brennan
Based on?
Longer track record of success in both the MLB and AAA?
Brennan has had 119 PA’s in MLB.
What’s he bouncing back from?
I can’t believe this team didn’t do anything to upgrade their lineup this past offseason other than bring in streaky Josh Bell. They’ve had the exact same issue for years, and are going to waste the long contention window that was gifted to them due to the division they are in. It’s not going to be long before Detroit and Kansas City are no longer in their rear view mirrors.
It’s amazing that despite the roster turnover throughout the past 6-7 years, this team still has the same problem – we either all are hitting, or none of us are. The collective slumps just never go away.
They signed Mike Zunino.
That sounds like a bit of a gamble, Oscar.
:-o
Wahoooooo… Werewolves of London!
(Draw blood).
Tigers are in second place so I’d say they are already not in Cleveland’s rear view mirror. As a Tigers fan I will be honest and say I did not expect us to be ahead of Cleveland at any point this season. It’s a long season and I don’t expect that will last though, but who knows. I didn’t expect St Louis to be do terrible or Pittsburgh to be so good either.
Super talented kid, the body language and words from Tito lead me to believe that he’s a bit of a head case (not in a destructive way just in a gets in his own head at the plate kind of way) and probably has some maturing to go. I’m sure we’ll see him back soon
Thanks for your help last year, Oscar. Now get lost.
Quite a bender – first they launch Beavis then Oscar the Grouch
Happy 92nd birthday to number 24, the Say Hey Kid!
He is the reason why Junior wore 24.
Fun fact: Junior was the first guy to wear 42 on Jackie Robinson day. I remember watching that game as clear as day; it was the same season when they retired Jackie’s number in every stadium.
He specifically asked MLB if he could swap his jersey number around for one game. A few years later, every player was wearing 42 once a year
I always gave Junior mad props for that. Also, when Yankee PA man Bob Shepard asked Junior if he wanted to drop the ‘Junior’ after Senior retired, Junior said no. Way to honor Pops.
This team is well set for years and years pitching-wise, but they really need to improve their offense, especially in the outfield. Trading some pitching in their farm system for a solid hitter or two would be a good idea for them.
Trade them for future all-star and HOF candidate Franchy Cordero. Aloha.
St Louis seems like an obvious trade partner. Lots of surplus OF there.
Different year same problem for Cleveland: no offensive production from RF. Maybe it’s time to give Jhonkensy Noel a shot. The .206/.298/.411 slash line would put him 2nd on the Guardians in slugging percentage and his 6 HR’s and 23 RBI’s would lead the team in both
What in good heavens is a Jhonkensy?
):^o
He’s like a Yetti
Oscar Gonzalez is figured out. He’s a horrible RF too. That’s future DFA fodder.
Oscar has been figured out by other teams. He’s still pretty young and needs AB’s which he should get at Columbus. Not sure we should give up on him just yet.