Guardians Promote Grant Fink To Hitting Coach
The Guardians have made a few notable changes to their coaching staff, as relayed on X by Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Grant Fink is the new hitting coach, replacing Chris Valaika, who departed to join Terry Francona in Cincinnati. Also, bench coach Craig Albernaz is still on the staff but with a promotion to assistant manager.
Fink, 34 next month, had a brief professional playing career. He was drafted by Cleveland in 2013 and played with them in the minors through 2015, but never climbed higher than Single-A. He transitioned into a coaching role in the minors in 2017 and has spent the past three years as minor league hitting coordinator. With Valaika being whisked across the state by Francona, Fink will get a chance to come up to the major league coaching staff.
Albernaz, 42, has been a popular name in managerial searches lately. He was connected to the skipper vacancies of the Marlins and White Sox and was reportedly a finalist for both jobs, but the Sox went will Will Venable and Albernaz withdrew himself from consideration for the Miami job.
Instead, he will stick with the Guardians with a title change and perhaps a salary bump, though that’s pure speculation. Albernaz spent four years on the staff of the Giants, working as bullpen/catching coach, before coming to the Guardians a year ago. After one year as bench coach in Cleveland, he had enough respect around the game to be a hot commodity in managerial rumors, but he’ll stick around as manager Stephen Vogt’s top lieutenant.
Bud Daley Passes Away
In news that eluded MLBTR at the time, former All-Star pitcher Bud Daley passed away last month at 92. The news was revealed via obituary from a Riverton, Wyoming funeral home.
Daley was a Long Beach native who signed with the Indians out of high school. He pitched in the minors over four-plus seasons and debuted as a September call-up in 1955. Daley pitched in a swing role for three years before Cleveland dealt him to the Orioles as part of a three-player package to reacquire Larry Doby and add lefty Don Ferrarese. Daley never pitched for Baltimore, who flipped him to the Kansas City Athletics for righty Arnie Portocarrero.
It was a nice pickup for the A’s. Daley spent the ’58 season in the bullpen but moved into the rotation the following year. He topped 200 innings and won 16 games in each of the next two seasons. Daley made four All-Star appearances — there were two All-Star Games per season at the time — and picked up some down-ballot MVP support.
The A’s traded Daley to the Yankees midway through the 1961 season, landing pitcher Art Ditmar and corner infielder Deron Johnson in return. That positioned Daley to win a pair of rings, as he remained in the Bronx on the World Series teams in 1961 and ’62. He was on both World Series rosters, combining for eight innings without allowing an earned run over three relief appearances.
Daley finished his career in 1964. He appeared in parts of 10 seasons and concluded his playing days with a 4.03 ERA through 967 1/3 innings. He recorded 549 strikeouts and posted a 60-64 record. MLBTR sends our condolences to Daley’s family, loved ones and friends.
Guardians, Parker Mushinski Agree To Minor League Deal
The Guardians are in agreement with lefty reliever Parker Mushinski on a minor league contract, reports Chandler Rome of the Athletic (on X). He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Mushinski had been with the Astros since they drafted him in the seventh round in 2017. The Texas Tech product pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. Mushinski hasn’t found much success, turning in a 5.45 ERA across 33 career innings. He has a below-average 17.4% strikeout rate over that stretch. Mushinski only fanned three hitters in 11 innings this year, leading the Astros to outright him off the 40-man roster in September. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end.
Things have generally gone better at the Triple-A level. Mushinski carries a 3.68 ERA over parts of four seasons in the Pacific Coast League. The majority of that success came between 2022-23. He had a tough season in the minors this year, allowing 5.44 earned runs per nine through 44 2/3 innings.
The Guardians have arguably the best bullpen in the majors. The group skews a bit right-handed, which plays in Mushinski’s favor as he tries to secure an Opening Day job. Tim Herrin is a lock for a season-opening spot, while Erik Sabrowski pitched well in a small sample as a rookie. Sam Hentges, arguably the most talented of Cleveland’s southpaws, is likely to miss all of next season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September. Joey Cantillo and Logan Allen could factor into the ‘pen mix but project as rotation depth for the time being.
Mushinski has exhausted his minor league options. If the Guardians call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him on the MLB roster or send him back into DFA limbo.
Guardians Re-Sign Austin Hedges To One-Year Deal
The Guardians announced that they have re-signed catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year deal. The Boras Corporation client gets the same $4MM salary that he had last year.
Hedges, 32, has carved out a decade-long career in a unique way as he’s one of the worst performers at the plate but one of the best behind it. In 2,359 career plate appearances, Hedges has hit .186/.243/.315. That production translates to a wRC+ of 50, meaning he’s been 50% worse than league average as a hitter in his career.
But he has also produced 91 Defensive Runs Saved over the past decade, the top mark of any backstop in the league for that time frame. Roberto Pérez and Buster Posey are the next two names on that list, though Posey retired years ago and Pérez hasn’t contributed in a while due to injuries. No other catcher has even 50 DRS in that time. For that same frame, Hedges is second to only Yasmani Grandal in terms of the FanGraphs framing metric. Outlets like Statcast and Baseball Prospectus also give him glowing grades for his glovework.
Teams have generally tolerated the poor offense in order to get at that strong work behind the plate. He has maybe been pushing the limits of their patience, as his offense has declined even relative to his own low standards recently. He hit .184/.234/.227 last year for a wRC+ of 23 and then .152/.203/.220 for a wRC+ of 20 this year. The latter line was with the Guardians after they signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal. Since they are bringing him back, it seems they have no buyer’s remorse and are happy to sign up for another year of poor hitting but strong work otherwise.
Hedges got essentially half as much playing time as Bo Naylor in 2024, getting 146 plate appearances over 66 games while Naylor got 389 trips to the plate in 123 games. Presumably, a similar timeshare will be the plan for 2025. Naylor also had strong defensive grades this year, although with a better performance with the bat.
The Guardians put together a successful campaign with this duo behind the plate this year, winning the American League Central and progressing as far as the American League Championship Series. The rotation was a bit of a struggle but much of the club’s success was due to having the best bullpen in the league.
Cleveland relievers had a 2.57 ERA in 2024, easily the best in the majors with only four clubs within a run of that. The Brewers were second at 3.11, then Atlanta at 3.32, the Dodgers at 3.53 and Tigers at 3.55. The pitchers are obviously a big part of that but having capable receivers undoubtedly helps.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Guardians and Hedges had agreed to a one-year deal. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported the $4MM salary.
James Karinchak Granted Free Agency After Outright From Guardians
The Guardians announced some roster moves this afternoon, including the news that right-hander James Karinchak was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and then outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster. Karinchak was granted free agency, so the 29-year-old righty will now hit the open market.
The hard-throwing Karinchak burst onto the scene with a sixth-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, posting a 2.67 ERA over 27 innings while striking out an exceptional 48.6% of all batters faced. A 14.7% walk rate was attached to all those missed bats, however, which ended up being a constant over Karinchak’s time in the majors. Over parts of five seasons with Cleveland, Karinchak had a 36.3K% and 14.1% walk rate in 165 2/3 innings, with a 3.10 ERA.
While the bottom-line results were still okay, Karinchak’s performance diminished after the league’s crackdown on illegal substances in 2021, and continued control problems and injuries made him something of an afterthought for the Guardians. A teres major muscle strain cost him a big chunk of the 2022 season, he was shuttled back and forth from Triple-A multiple times in 2023, and he was limited to just 6 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2024 due to a shoulder injury suffered during Spring Training.
Karinchak was projected to earn $1.9MM in the arbitration process, so today’s transaction is essentially just an early non-tender. Karinchak is still arb-controlled through 2026 and he has one minor league option year remaining, so any interested teams could stash him in Triple-A to see if he can stay healthy or harness his control. The obvious strikeout potential will surely land Karinchak a minors deal somewhere, and a change of scenery could help him get his career back on track.
David Fry To Miss Start Of 2025 Season Due To Elbow Surgery, Will Be Limited To DH Duty
Guardians utilityman David Fry was known to be receiving consultation from Dr. Keith Meister about a lingering right elbow injury, and MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (X link) reports that Fry had to undergo a surgery to correct the issue. As outlined by the Guardians (via X), Fry underwent a hybrid/internal brace and tendon reconstruction surgery to address a flexor strain and a “chronically insufficient” UCL.
Fry will need 12 months to return to action as a fielder, so he’ll be limited to DH duty for the entirety of the 2025 season. Even in that case, Fry will need 6-8 months just to return as a designated hitter, so he’ll be sidelined for at least the start of next season.
It’s a tough turn of events for both Fry and the Guardians, as his defensive versatility made him a uniquely valuable asset on Cleveland’s roster. Ostensibly a backup catcher, Fry has bounced all over the diamond during his two MLB seasons, banking almost as many innings at first base and as a corner outfielder (129 innings in left, 67 in right) as he has behind the plate, and Fry has also made a handful of appearances at third base.
This usage was curtailed midway through the 2024 season as Fry’s elbow issue began to surface. After June 23, he made only one appearance at catcher and 10 appearances at first base, otherwise playing only as a DH and pinch-hitter. There was a clear impact on Fry’s production, as he had a scorching-hot 1.046 OPS over his first 159 plate appearances of the season, and a far more modest .649 OPS over his final 233 trips to the plate.
The overall result was still a .263/.356/.448 slash line and 14 homers in 392 PA, and Fry’s 129 wRC+ ranked third on the team behind Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Fry kept it going in the playoffs, hitting .286/.333/.536 with two homers over 31 October plate appearances, highlighted by his 10th-inning walkoff homer in Game 3 of the ALCS.
Cleveland was expected to pursue hitting help this winter anyway, so losing one of their top bats to a brace surgery further sets back the Guardians’ quest for offense. In the best-case scenario, Fry will be able to return to Cleveland’s lineup in early April, and he’ll assume at least a share of the regular DH role. The right-handed hitting Fry was a lot more productive against lefties than righties this season, so a left-handed bat like Kyle Manzardo might be in line to get the lion’s share of the DH at-bats anyway once Fry eventually returns.
Of course, quite a bit might be in flux with the Guardians’ first base/DH situation this winter, as Josh Naylor is widely seen as a trade candidate as he enters his last year of team control. If Naylor was dealt and Fry needs more recovery time, it leaves Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel as an inexperienced pair of first-choice candidates for first base and DH duty, which might make Cleveland a little more apt to hang onto Naylor.
On the catching side, Bo Naylor will continue to receive the bulk of starts behind the plate, and nobody would be surprised if defensive specialist Austin Hedges is re-signed to again serve as the backup. Fry will be missed in the outfield as well, though it was expected that the Guardians would look to bolster the outfield mix anyway with a new addition.
Guardians Outright Myles Straw
The Guardians sent outfielder Myles Straw outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Cleveland successfully ran him through waivers once the offseason got underway, removing him from the 40-man roster.
Straw was a lock to go unclaimed because of his contract. A team would’ve needed to assume the remaining $14.75MM in guaranteed money. Straw has cleared waivers twice this year. Cleveland outrighted him just before Opening Day. He spent almost the entire season in Triple-A. The Guards reselected his contract in mid-September but presumably always planned to take him back off the roster at year’s end.
Cleveland inked Straw to that deal early in the 2022 season. He’d posted a solid year in ’21, hitting .271/.349/.348 while stealing 30 bases and playing plus defense in center field. The Guardians reasoned that his speed and glove gave him a solid floor despite minimal power. His bat completely cratered over the next two seasons. Straw combined for only one home run with a .229/.296/.284 line from 2022-23. He didn’t hit in Triple-A this year, either, running a .240/.321/.329 mark against upper minors pitching.
As a player with less than five years of major league service, Straw would forfeit his contract to test free agency. He’s obviously not going to do that, so the Guards can keep him in Triple-A as a depth option. He only made seven MLB appearances this year, collecting one hit in four at-bats. He stole two bases in as many attempts.
Craig Albernaz Withdraws From Marlins’ Managerial Search; Clayton McCullough Still Under Consideration
Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz has withdrawn his name from the Marlins’ managerial search, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Both the Marlins and White Sox liked Albernaz enough to consider him a finalist in their searches, but Passan suggests Albernaz took his name out of the bidding in Chicago as well prior to the team’s hiring of Will Venable. In a separate report, Passan adds that Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough is still in the mix for Miami’s vacancy. MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola first linked Miami and McCullough about three weeks ago.
Albernaz, 42, was a minor league catcher in the Rays and Tigers systems from 2006-14. He spent four years as the Giants’ bullpen and catching coach and overlapped with then-manager (and now Marlins assistant GM) Gabe Kapler’s time in San Francisco’s dugout. The Guards hired him away from the Giants last offseason — but not after first interviewing him for their own managerial vacancy (which eventually went to Stephen Vogt). Albernaz was originally hired as the Guardians’ field coordinator, but just 16 days later he was listed as the team’s bench coach when they finalized their entire staff under the newly hired Vogt.
McCullough, 44, played four years in the minors before shifting to a minor league coaching track. He managed for seven seasons in the Blue Jays’ system and has been with the Dodgers since 2015. Los Angeles originally hired McCullough as their minor league field coordinator, and he’s been Dave Roberts’ first base coach since the 2021 season.
For the past few years, McCullough has been widely viewed as a future manager. He’s interviewed not only with the Marlins but also the White Sox, Brewers, Guardians, Mets and Royals — emerging as a finalist alongside Matt Quatraro for the Kansas City gig. De Nicola tweets that Dodgers star Mookie Betts has called McCullough “the best coach I’ve ever had.” Like Albernaz, McCullough has worked with Kapler in the past, as the two overlapped during their time in the Dodgers’ minor league coaching ranks.
It’s not clear at this juncture who, beyond McCullough, is still under consideration. Albernaz and Venable were reported to be among the team’s finalists earlier this week. Venable, of course, has since been hired by the White Sox while Albernaz has taken his name out of the running. Other known candidates for Miami’s managerial search included Tigers bench coach George Lombard and Luis Urueta, who served as the bench coach under Skip Schumaker prior to his recent departure from the organization.
Offseason Outlook: Cleveland Guardians
Despite a quiet offseason, the Guardians returned to contention in 2024. They won 92 games and the AL Central crown before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. As November approaches, two related questions loom large for this team: Will the surprising success of their rivals in Detroit and Kansas City convince the Guardians to do more this winter to defend their division title? Or will the potential loss of local media revenue lead to another slow offseason?
Guaranteed Contracts
- José Ramírez, 3B: $88MM through 2028
- Andrés Giménez, 2B: $96.86MM through 2029 ($23MM club option for 2030 with $2.5MM buyout)
- Myles Straw, CF: $13.8MM through 2026 ($8MM club option for 2027 with $1.75MM buyout and $8.5MM club option for ‘28 with a $500K buyout)
- Emmanuel Clase, RHP: $11.3MM through 2026 ($10MM club options for 2027 and ‘28 with $2MM buyout for ‘27 and $1MM buyout for ‘28)
- Trevor Stephan, RHP: $5.8MM through 2026 ($7.25MM club option for 2027 with $1.25MM buyout and $7.5 club option for ‘28 with no buyout)
Additional Financial Commitments
- Jean Segura, INF: $2MM buyout owed on $10MM club option for 2025
Total 2025 commitments: $45.17MM
Total future commitments: $225.26MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Josh Naylor (5.127): $12MM
- Lane Thomas (5.014): $8.3MM
- James Karinchak (4.099): $1.9MM
- Triston McKenzie (4.002): $2.4MM
- Sam Hentges (3.157): $1.4MM
- Nick Sandlin (3.157): $1.6MM
- Eli Morgan (3.091): $1MM
- Steven Kwan (3.000): $4.3MM
- Ben Lively (2.133): $3.2MM
Non-tender candidates: Karinchak, McKenzie, Hentges
Free Agents
The top teams are often the most well-rounded, but the 2024 Guardians were defined by their strengths and weaknesses. Their bullpen was the best in baseball, but their starters were unreliable for most of the year. Meanwhile, their offense was excellent against left-handed pitching but struggled to score against righties. They were also one of the better defensive teams in the league by almost every metric, but their baserunning numbers were surprisingly mediocre. First and foremost, the Guardians need to focus on their scoring, and not run prevention, this winter. That said, they could badly use a couple more reliable options for the rotation.
All-Stars José Ramírez and Steven Kwan led the offense in 2024, and they’ll be back at the top of the order again next year. Even the notoriously stingy and trade-happy Guardians wouldn’t possibly part with their star third baseman, who continues to look like an absolute bargain on the seven-year, $141MM extension he signed in 2022. As for Kwan, the left fielder is a strong extension candidate himself after another terrific season.
Additional veterans in the lineup include the slugging Josh Naylor at first base, defensive stalwart Andrés Giménez at second, and trade deadline acquisition Lane Thomas in center field. Youngsters Kyle Manzardo (DH), Bo Naylor (C), and Brayan Rocchio (SS) should have spots in next year’s starting nine as well. All three had up-and-down seasons, but considering their recent top prospect status, there’s little reason to think they won’t get to continue their development with the big league club in 2025. Indeed, the best way for Cleveland to improve its offense next year will be to get more production out of Manzardo, Bo Naylor, and Rocchio.
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White Sox Managerial Search Reportedly Down To Three Finalists
The White Sox are on the hunt for a new manager and might be getting closer to a decision. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today on X, the three finalists for the job are Rangers associate manager Will Venable, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and former Angels manager Phil Nevin.
As noted by Nightengale, this could make for an interesting standoff. The Sox are one of two clubs on the hunt for a new manager, with the other being the Marlins. It was reported yesterday by Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald that Venable and Albernaz are the two finalists for the Marlins gig, so there’s plenty of overlap in the two searches.
Nevin, 53, appears to be the one name on the radar of the Sox but not the Marlins. Jon Heyman of The New York Post listed him as a candidate a few weeks ago and it seems Nevin is still in the running. He’s also the only one in the group with previous managerial experience. He was working as the Angels third base coach in 2022 when manager Joe Maddon was fired. The club gave Nevin the gig on an interim basis and eventually re-signed him for the 2023 campaign but didn’t extend his contract after that.
The club went 119-149 during his time there, but that might not say much about his abilities as a skipper. The club also posted poor results before he had the job and after he left, meaning the poor record is likely more a reflection of roster construction as opposed to a lack of dugout leadership.
After parting ways with the Angels, Nevin interviewed for the managerial vacancy in San Diego but that job went to Mike Shildt and Nevin didn’t land a gig elsewhere for the 2024 season. Prior to joining the Angels, he spent about a decade in the majors as a player before pivoting into coaching. He worked in indy ball and then in the minors with the Tigers and Diamondbacks. He then had major league coaching jobs with the Giants and Yankees before landing with the Angels.
Venable is also a former player with plenty of coaching experience. He was a base coach with the Cubs for the 2018-2020 seasons before becoming the bench coach with the Red Sox. He’s spent the past two years as associate manager for the Rangers under skipper Bruce Bochy.
He was listed as a candidate for managerial gigs last winter with the Guardians and Mets but reportedly declined to be interviewed as he was happy with the Rangers. Now it appears that he’s giving more consideration to a change. Heyman reported yesterday that Venable was in Miami to interview for that gig and a move to the South Side of Chicago seems to be feasible as well.
Albernaz never cracked the majors as a player, spending almost a decade in the minors from 2006 through 2014. After that, he started his coaching career in the minor league system of the Rays. Prior to the 2020 season, he was added to the major league staff of the Giants as bullpen and catching coach. A year ago, the Guardians hired him to be their bench coach, working under new manager Stephen Vogt.
It’s been speculated by some that Albernaz is the favorite for the Miami job, given his history with Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. When Albernaz was coaching for the Rays in the minors, Bendix was working for that club, eventually becoming general manager in December of 2021.
Pedro Grifol was fired as White Sox manager during the most recent season and replaced by Grady Sizemore on an interim basis. Sizemore had been identified as a candidate to take the job more permanently but Nightengale’s report suggests he’s behind this trio of Venable, Albernaz and Nevin.
Plenty of other names have been connected to the job but many have reportedly been eliminated from the running, including former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker, Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis.
Teams are generally discouraged from announcing big news on days when a playoff game is taking place. Even if the White Sox make a final decision soon, it may not be publicly reported until the World Series is done or gets to Thursday’s off-day.