It has been a quiet start to the offseason for the Guardians. Their only notable moves have been the trade of middle reliever Eli Morgan to the Cubs and the return of backup catcher Austin Hedges on a $4MM free agent deal.
As the Winter Meetings approach, Cleveland’s front office is monitoring the market for a potential 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 adding a “complementary player” on the grass.
Steven Kwan is one of the game’s best left fielders. The other two outfield spots are more open. Lane Thomas played a good amount of center field after the Guardians acquired him from Washington in a deadline deal. He’s stretched defensively up the middle. Ideally, Thomas would slot into right field. The Guards don’t have many internal options who could take everyday playing time in center. If they’re to bump Thomas into a corner, they’ll probably need to add a center fielder.
The free agent class at the position is very weak. Harrison Bader is the only player who projects as even a low-end regular. Leody Taveras and Jake Meyers are glove-first options who could be available on the trade market. None of them are going to provide much offense, but they’d upgrade Cleveland’s outfield defense.
The Guardians are also likely to receive some trade calls regarding Thomas. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Thomas for an $8.3MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility. That’s a decent sum for a low-payroll franchise, but the Guardians relinquished a solid prospect return to land Thomas a few months ago. They’d get a lesser package back after he struggled down the stretch (timely postseason home runs aside), and a trade would leave them with two question marks in the outfield.
If the Guardians stick with Thomas in center field, they’d have some combination of Will Brennan, Jhonkensy Noel and Daniel Schneemann in right field. Noel has monster power but strikes out a ton. He’s a better runner than one might expect given his 6’3″, 250-pound frame, but he might be stretched defensively as an everyday outfielder. Neither Brennan nor Schneemann has demonstrated much offensive upside. Johnathan Rodriguez, Angel Martínez and Petey Halpin are all on the 40-man roster but have little to no big league experience.
Top prospect Chase DeLauter could be a midseason upgrade. An Opening Day call would be a longer shot. DeLauter has battled injuries in his minor league career and has only appeared in 42 games above High-A, just six of which have come at the Triple-A level.
There’s a decent amount of depth in the free agent corner outfield class. Michael Conforto, Max Kepler and Alex Verdugo are all potential regulars who are likely to be limited to one or two years. They all hit left-handed, but a righty bat could better fit the search for a complementary player. Brennan and Schneemann each hit from the left side, as does DeLauter. (Noel is a righty.) Randal Grichuk or recent non-tenders Austin Hays and Bryan De La Cruz could occupy short-side platoon roles. They could pair with Brennan or Schneemann early in the season while allowing Stephen Vogt to shield DeLauter from tough left-handed pitching if he earns a big league look later in the year.
HumbleO'sFanWhoHatesYourFace
Austin Hays would be a nice pickup for them
Wire to wire 2024
I’d like him on the reds
YourDreamGM
Agree. Heard Pillar wants to keep playing. Canha for some position flexibility.
RicoD
Agreed, I think Hays is the logical choice for both value and upside. Would like to see him get a full season non-platoon role here.
James Midway
I heard Juan Soto is available.
YourDreamGM
Breaking news from Heyman. A “mystery team” has entered the Soto sweepstakes
Col_chestbridge
Whoever they get, I want Thomas to be in RF. He has a cannon there, his range works there (he is stretched for CF), and while his bat is reduced a bit against RHP, it’s still average enough to work with his defense.
The best compliment to that would be a LHH CF.
Chrome 8550
Steven Kwan played center field in college. Move Kwan to center and get a left fielder with power.
hockeyjohn
Kwan is a gold glove left fielder. You don’t mess with that.
debubba
Right, he becomes an average at best fielder and center fielders cost more money so his arbitration will go up.
jbigz12
Lane Thomas has the traits to make him a plus CF. He has top end speed and arm. He hasn’t graded out well there, which is surprising given those traits.
You’d think with the right coaching that he could improve on his routes and be solid out there.
westcasey
difficult to say, with Naylor being bantered about in trade talk.
I like Hays but he is best in LF, so no room.
draker
Noel looks pretty solid to me. I think he, Thomas and Kwan make a fine starting outfield.
Ajc38
Completely agree. Thomas played well in CF down the stretch and while Noel might not be ready for every day RF they should look at left handed hitters to platoon. Brennan has plateaued and schneemann will never be anything more than a super utility guy
Michael Chaney
I think he’s definitely earned at bats, but I wouldn’t just hand him an everyday role either. They made that mistake with Oscar Gonzalez a few years ago, and his power is real but he chases a lot and his overall profile *could* be exploited in a larger sample.
Give him at bats but have another option on hand just in case. Worst case scenario they have too many good hitters and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind that lol
debubba
He reminds me of Pedro Serrano from the movie major league. Can’t hit an offspeed pitch. Can’t layoff out of the zone. TON OF POWER but that doesn’t play once they figure out you will swing at pitches in the other strike zone. I’m hoping that the new hitting coach will work with Johnathan Rodriguez to lift the ball more. I think he has more upside than Noel.
draker
I’ve only watched a few of his ABs. You’ve probably seen more of him. Hopefully he can figure it out because the power is there.
HalosHeavenJJ
There just aren’t many good centerfielders in MLB right now. For so long it was a premiere position.
kevnames42
Maybe a trade partner with the DBacks for Thomas or McCarthy? The Guardians are deep with relief pitching and DBacks need that
bighiggy
Maybe trade a young pitcher to the cards for nootbar?
debubba
We have no pitching!
porkchopexpress
Kepler always crushes the ball against the Guards, especially at Progressive and would be a LH platoon bat with Noel.
GarryHarris
Cleveland needs to upgrade the left handed hitting OFs. When they won games in the playoffs, it was their RH hitters who had the crucial hits but they still started the LH hitters.
C Yards Jeff
Watch. The Guards sign Hays. Not only does he perform well, but stays healthy the entire season. Good health; his balliwick. Painfully obvious to us fans here in Baltimore and that the Phillies fans got a taste of last season.
TheOtherRick
The fact the Myles Straw isn’t even mentioned here speaks volumes. I feel for the guy, but he’s not seen as a major league player despite his contract. Yikes.
layventsky
He might be a worse hitter than Hedges at this point.
debubba
Don’t feel too bad, he’s earning millions on AAA.
sascoach2003
Jake Marisnick could fill the CF slot defensively. However, he’d also give Hedges a run for worse bat on the team. He wouldn’t be costly at all.
layventsky
If they were gonna go that route, then they might as well give the job to Myles Straw.
sascoach2003
True. Marisnick at least can run into one on occasion, though.
Kreval
Why not move Kwan to CF? He has the speed. His bat would feel way nicer at CF. The team can then keep Thomas in RF. Sign one of the FAs for LF and keep the mega power kid Jhonkensy Noel on the bench as 4th OF or if you think the ABs would help bring his hit tool along – stash him at AAA to begin the season.
debubba
Again, he is gold glove left fielder. He becomes an average CF if you move him. CF cost more so his arbitration numbers would skyrocket.
ClevelandSpidersFromMars
Guards m.o. is to trade guys before their free agent year. This means they will at least consider the possibility of trading Josh Naylor, Lane Thomas, or both. If so, you have to look for a return that would include help for the outfield, the starting rotation, and/or 1st base. Again, history suggests they might look for major league-ready talent which is cost-controlled for several years out.
waittilnextyear
That’s exactly what they’ll do. Then see what’s out in the market. Unfortunately for fans they shop at the Dollar Store
In nurse follars
Cleveland has very few players on the roster that should not be traded under any circumstances. Everyone else of the anticipated 13 roster players would not be missed or cannot easily be replaced. Among the 13 pitchers, probably half could be culled. They need more than “complementary” players. They need an impact player or two. But they will try to piece it together, they’ve been successful when the central was weak but its not weak anymore. They risk falling behind KC and Detroit and of course the twins will be a factor. Luck goes only so far. I think that this will be a filler year while they wait for Brito, Bazzana, Delauter, mckenzie and stephan as well as some of the farm pitching to develop. 2025 belongs to detroit and kansas city.