Guardians Place Steven Kwan On Injured List
The Guardians announced that outfielder Steven Kwan has been placed on the 10-day injured list. They have selected the contract of Myles Straw to take his place on the active roster. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco, currently on the 15-day injured list, has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Straw.
Kwan hasn’t played in a game since September 12. He was scratched from the lineup on September 13 with the club describing his issue as body fatigue, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com on X. Manager Stephen Vogt later described the issue as back soreness, per Bell.
It’s unclear how long the club expects Kwan to be out, but it seems they want him to rest for at least a week. IL stints can be backdated by as many as three days if they player has been out of the lineup, so the Guardians have presumably done so with Kwan.
For however long he’s out, the Guards will be without one of the game’s best contact hitters. Kwan has only been punched out in 9.4% of his plate appearances this year. Among qualified hitters, only Luis Arráez has been struck out at a lower rate this year. Kwan is generally not a power threat but has 13 homers this year, more than doubling his previous career high of six. He’s hitting .291/.364/.419 on the year overall for a wRC+ of 127.
In addition to the offense, Kwan has stolen 12 bases and received strong grades for his left field defense. That’s allowed him to produced 3.8 wins above replacement on the year, per the calculations of FanGraphs, second on the team to José Ramírez.
Losing a player like that would be a blow at any time, but it’s especially concerning at this part of the calendar. Perhaps the club is just giving Kwan a breather and expects him to be healthy by the time the playoffs start. But even in that scenario, any kind of setback would roll into the postseason.
With Kwan out in recent days, the Guards have been utilizing an outfield mix of Lane Thomas, Ángel Martínez, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan. Thomas has been the club’s regular center fielder since coming over from the Nationals in a deadline trade but he hasn’t taken well to his new club. He has hit .217/.273/.377 for Cleveland while striking out in 37.3% of his plate appearances.
Perhaps the Guards will install Straw in center and hope for better results, though that might be a tall ask. He was outrighted off the club’s roster in March after a few years of offensive struggles. He hit .229/.296/.284 for the Guards over 2022 and 2023, leading to a combined wRC+ of 67. Since clearing waivers and getting sent down to Columbus coming into this year, his results haven’t improved much. in 123 Triple-A games this year, he’s hitting .240/.321/.329 for a wRC+ of 72.
Despite the lack of offense, Straw at least has a solid floor from his speed and defense. He has swiped 30 bags in 31 tries this year and has regularly had similar stolen base totals in previous seasons. Thomas is also capable of providing value in those departments, with 32 steals this year and defensive metrics that are roughly average for his time in center. Whether Straw will push Thomas for playing time or simply serve as a glove-first bench guy remains to be seen.
Straw signed a $25MM extension with Cleveland going into 2022, which has not worked out so far due to his aforementioned offensive downturn. Given his struggles and that contract, it was unsurprising that he went unclaimed off waivers. He had the right to elect free agency at that time since he has at least three years of service, but since he has less than five years, doing so would have meant walking away from the money still to be paid out on that deal. He unsurprisingly accepted his outright assignment and gets back on the roster today. There’s not enough time left in this season for him to hit that five-year mark, so it’s possible he’s outrighted again later this year or in the winter.
Carrasco, 37, signed a minor league deal with the Guards in the winter and made the Opening Day roster. He has made 21 starts for the club this year with a 5.64 earned run average in 103 2/3 innings. That’s obviously not amazing production but it was valuable to the club at times this year as various other starters struggled or landed on the injured list.
The club currently has a rotation of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Matthew Boyd, Joey Cantillo and Ben Lively with Alex Cobb currently on the IL due to a blister. Williams was on the IL for most of the first half of the year but has since returned. Boyd wasn’t signed until midseason as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery but has looked strong since joining the club. Cobb was a midseason trade acquisition and Cantillo has gradually pitched his way into the picture with a solid season.
That leaves less room for Carrasco than earlier in the year and he has had his own injury issues. He landed on the injured list in May due to an acute neck spasm and returned a couple of weeks later. A second IL stint put him out of action just over a month ago, with a left hip strain being the culprit. He began a rehab assignment a few days ago but the club has nudged him off the roster today.
Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers so Carrasco should be on release waivers shortly. It’s a fairly moot point as he’s likely to clear in either case. He’s making a $2MM salary this year and other clubs won’t have much use for him at this part of the calendar. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any other team and wouldn’t have much time to make contributions in the regular season either.
Assuming he clears waivers, he would be able to elect free agency as a veteran with plenty of years of experience, but it’s possible he decides to stay and serve as non-roster depth for the Guards and possibly get a chance to rejoin the roster for the postseason.
Guardians’ George Valera To Undergo Patellar Tendon Surgery
Guardians outfield prospect George Valera is headed for season-ending surgery, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. The 23-year-old sustained a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee while trying to make a catch at the wall in Triple-A. The procedure comes with a six-to-nine month recovery timetable, so it’s likely Valera will open next season on the injured list.
Injuries have sapped some of Valera’s value. The lefty-swinging outfielder appeared at the back half of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect lists in both 2022 and ’23. Valera underwent hamate surgery during the 2022-23 offseason and has had brief injured list stints because of hamstring issues in the last couple years. He’d been healthy between the start of May and the middle of September this year, spending the entire time on optional assignment to Triple-A Columbus.
Valera had hit very well through Double-A. His Triple-A numbers are closer to average. He’s a career .229/.336/.424 hitter in 205 games at the level. That includes a .248/.337/.452 line with 17 homers in 374 plate appearances this year. While Valera has a strong 12% walk rate, he has gone down on strikes at a lofty 27% clip. A center fielder early in his career, he has played all but nine innings in the corners or at designated hitter this year.
Cleveland has carried Valera on the 40-man roster going back to the 2021-22 offseason. He has spent the past three seasons on optional assignment. Most players can only be optioned to the minors in three separate seasons. MLB sometimes grants teams a fourth option for players who have less than five full seasons on a minor league or MLB roster.
Valera, who didn’t play a full season at an affiliate until 2021, could be a candidate for a fourth option. That’d afford the Cleveland front office an extra year of flexibility. If Valera is out of options going into next season, Cleveland would need to carry him in the majors or make him available to other teams once he is ready to return from the injured list.
AL Central Notes: Twins, Kwan, Olson
The Twins recently welcomed a pair of key players back from the injured list, returning both center fielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa to the starting lineup. Buxton was activated in advance of yesterday’s game after missing the past month with a hip injury, while Correa has been out for the past two months due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The duo’s return to action is surely a relief for Twins fans. After all, only Matt Wallner‘s 162 wRC+ surpasses Correa’s 152 and Buxton’s 142 figures among the club’s regulars, and the two stars also play key defensive roles at shortstop and center field respectively.
As important as both Correa and Buxton are to the Twins’ pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot and impending postseason push, however, they won’t be in the lineup every day down the stretch. As noted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters earlier today that both players will be in the lineup on a truly game-to-game basis, with the team’s medical staff evaluating them both after each game to determine whether or not they’ll be available to play in the club’s next game.
That aggressive management of the club’s two top players might seem counter-intuitive for a Twins club that’s clinging to a 2.5-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot, but it’s fairly understandable given the pair’s significant injury woes. After all, Buxton’s injury woes throughout his career have been extreme enough that the next game he takes the field for will mean he’s played more games in 2024 with 93 than he has in any season of his 10-year big league career except 2017. While Correa’s injury woes haven’t been quite that extreme, the shortstop has been limited to just 75 games this year by injury and is now attempting to play through plantar fasciitis for the second consecutive September. For a Twins club that hasn’t made it to the ALCS since 2002, keeping Correa and Buxton as healthy as possible for the playoffs is clearly a top priority.
For his part, Correa seems to be on board. The shortstop told reporters (as relayed by Gleeman) that “Realistically, [he’s] not going to play every game” before adding that he wants to be on the field for the Twins “as much as possible” going forward this season. When Correa and Buxton are unable to play, Brooks Lee appears to be the club’s primary backup at shortstop while Willi Castro is the top option in center field.
More from around the AL Central…
- The Guardians are dealing with an injury scare regarding one of their top hitters, as club manager Stephen Vogt told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com) that outfielder Steven Kwan has been out of the lineup in recent days due to what he described as “back soreness.” While that diagnosis may seem fairly benign, it’s at least somewhat concerning that Vogt added Kwan has been sent for testing to determine the severity of the issue. While it’s nearly impossible for the Guardians to miss the playoffs at this point, the club holds a fairly tenuous three-game lead over the Royals for the AL Central crown, which is likely to come with a bye through the first round of the playoffs. The loss of Kwan, who has excelled as the club’s leadoff hitter with a .291/.364/.419 slash line this year, would surely complicate the club’s hopes of holding onto its present playoff positioning and an lengthy absence could even jeopardize Kwan’s availability in the early rounds of the playoffs. Will Brennan, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann are among the club’s options in left field while Kwan is unavailable.
- The Tigers have been without Reese Olson for virtually the entire second half this year after the right-hander went on the IL back in July due to a shoulder strain. Fortunately, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) this afternoon that the club hopes to activate Olson from the IL during the club’s upcoming series against the Royals early next week. A healthy and effective return from Olson would be a huge boost for a Detroit club that sits just 2.5 games back of Minnesota for the final AL Wild Card spot, as the 25-year-old righty was in the midst of a breakout season with a 3.23 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 19 starts before being sidelined.
Guardians Place Alex Cobb On Injured List, Select Andrew Walters
The Guardians announced Thursday that right-hander Alex Cobb has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to blisters on his pitching hand. Right-hander Andrew Walters has had his contract selected from Triple-A Columbus in his place. Cleveland already had a 40-man vacancy after recently outrighting left-hander Anthony Gose again.
It’s the second time since Cobb was acquired at the trade deadline that he’s landed on the 15-day IL due to a minor injury on his pitching hand. He was previously out from Aug. 16 to Sept. 1 with a fractured fingernail on his right hand as well. Though neither a broken nail nor a blister is severe in nature, both issues can prevent a pitcher from gripping his pitches properly — particularly a knuckle curve like the one thrown by Cobb.
Though he’s now twice been briefly shelved, Cobb has made three starts with the Guards: two of them excellent and one rather rocky. He surrendered four runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Twins in his team (and season) debut, but he’s since rebounded with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Cubs and six shutout frames against the Pirates. There’s still time for him to get back by the end of the season, and Cobb could factor into the team’s postseason plans as well.
Cleveland acquired Cobb from the Giants in exchange for a pair of prospects (Jacob Bresnahan, Nate Furman). The Giants had hoped he’d be able to return early in the season after recovering from hip surgery performed over the winter, but a shoulder issue and a separate set of blister troubles delayed his activation. From 2021-23, Cobb pitched 394 1/3 innings with a 3.79 ERA and quality strikeout and walk rates (22.8%, 6.8%) with the Angels and Giants.
Turning to the 23-year-old Walters, he’ll be making his big league debut barely a year after being selected with the No. 62 overall pick in the 2023 draft. The University of Miami product has pitched exclusively in relief this season and laid waste to Double-A and Triple-A lineups alike. In the first 50 1/3 innings of his professional career, he’s recorded a 2.32 ERA and whiffed more than 37% of his opponents, though some command troubles have cropped up in Triple-A in particular. He’s issued a free pass to 11.8% of his opponents this season, including a 13.2% mark in Triple-A. Walters has also plunked three hitters, meaning more than 12% of his opponents this season have reached base without putting a ball in play.
Control issues have been the primary knock on Walters since he turned pro. He boasts a mid-90s heater that can reach 100 mph and couples that with a slider that he barely used in college while focusing on a fastball-heavy approach. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gives him 30-grade command on the 20-80 scouting scale, ranking him 14th among Cleveland prospects and noting that he lacks feel for finishing and command his breaking ball. MLB.com tabs him 22nd in the system and notes that his command was sharper in college (evidenced by a 5.6% walk rate in the NCAA), voicing some optimism that he’ll be able to improve as time goes on.
Guardians Release Scott Barlow, Outright Anthony Gose
The Guardians released veteran right-hander Scott Barlow and outrighted lefty Anthony Gose to Triple-A Columbus, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had designated both relievers for assignment in recent days. The Guardians announced that Gose accepted his assignment. He can be selected back to the big league roster whenever the team needs a fresh arm, and Barlow’s release creates an opening to do so rather easily.
Barlow pitched in 63 games for the Guardians this year. Cleveland acquired the right-hander in an offseason swap that sent Enyel De Los Santos to the Padres. It was a rare trade in which the Guardians took on a fairly significant salary — he ultimately settled on a $6.7MM deal for his final year of arbitration — to add the more established player. Barlow had been the Royals’ closer in recent seasons and worked in high-leverage spots with San Diego in the second half of last year.
That track record initially earned him important innings with Cleveland. Barlow had pitched fairly well through the season’s first few months. A tough second half had increasingly pushed him down the leverage hierarchy for skipper Stephen Vogt, however. Barlow has allowed nearly six earned runs per nine with a diminished 18.9% strikeout rate since the All-Star Break. He had fanned more than 32% of batters faced with a 3.52 ERA in 38 1/3 innings during the season’s first half.
Barlow’s overall numbers are passable. He has a 4.25 ERA with an above-average 28.2% strikeout percentage and a grounder rate above 47%. His 12.9% walk rate is high but not dramatically above last season’s 11.4% mark. The late-season dip in performance was concerning, though, and that’s especially true considering Barlow’s velocity. He had averaged 95 MPH on his fastball and 84-85 on his slider during his best seasons with Kansas City. Those respective marks dipped to 93 and 83 last year and are down further this season. Barlow’s slider has checked in around 81 MPH all year. His fastball had dipped to the 90-91 range in the last couple months.
The Guardians remain on the hook for the final few weeks of Barlow’s salary. He surpassed six years of major league service this season and would have been a free agent during the upcoming offseason in any case. Barlow could try to sign with another contender for the final couple weeks of the regular season, but he would not be eligible for postseason play. He may choose to look ahead to next offseason. Barlow could still find a big league deal going into 2025, though he’s unlikely to land the multi-year contract that seemed it’d be on the table a couple months ago.
As for Gose, an outright was the expected outcome after Cleveland designated him for assignment for the fourth time in the last month. The southpaw had the right to elect free agency but is clearly comfortable with the organization, as he either accepted an outright or re-signed on a minor league deal shortly after each of his previous DFAs. Gose has made three MLB appearances this season, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings. He carries a 3.27 ERA with huge strikeout (32.8%) and walk (14.7%) rates over 41 1/3 frames with Columbus.
Sam Hentges Out 12 To 14 Months Due To Shoulder Surgery
Guardians left-hander Sam Hentges will undergo shoulder surgery next week, the team announced. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will repair both the labrum and capsule in Hentges’ left shoulder, and the recovery period is expected to be in the range of 12 to 14 months. In all likelihood, the procedure will keep Hentges out of action not only for the balance of the 2024 season but also the entirety of the 2025 campaign. Hentges has been out since July 10 with what was originally termed inflammation in his left shoulder.
It’s an awful blow for the Guardians and the 28-year-old Hentges alike. The former fourth-round pick had a rough debut campaign as a starter in 2021 but has thrived as a reliever across the past three seasons. Dating back to 2022, Hentges boasts a terrific 2.93 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, 58.1% grounder rate and just 0.52 HR/9. Metrics like FIP (2.66) and SIERA (2.93) feel he’s been as good or perhaps even better than that more rudimentary earned run average would indicate.
As Hentges broke out as a quality reliever, the Guardians increasingly trusted him in higher-leverage spots. Former manager Terry Francona and (to a lesser extent) rookie skipper Stephen Vogt wound up trusting Hentges in a pivotal setup role to star closer Emmanuel Clase. He’s picked up 32 holds and one save over the past three years and been remarkably effective while pitching in those pressure-packed spots; Hentges only has one blown save in those 34 save situations into which he’s been placed.
Hentges and the Guardians agreed to a one-year, $1.1625MM deal this season in his first trip through the arbitration process as a Super Two player. He’s controllable for another three seasons but would be owed a small raise in arbitration next year after pitching 23 2/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball and collecting nine holds this season. He’d then likely be owed that same salary for the 2026 season. Since he can be controlled through 2027, it’s likely the Guards will still tender him a contract and be content to pay him around $3MM combined for the 2025-26 seasons even though he won’t pitch in the former.
Guardians Designate Anthony Gose For Assignment
The Guardians designated left-hander Anthony Gose for assignment … again. Cleveland announced Monday that Gose has been DFA in favor of fellow southpaw Joey Cantillo, who has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
It’s the fourth DFA of the past month for the out-of-options Gose, who has fully embraced the depth role in which the Guardians have placed him. He can’t be optioned to the minors, so Cleveland has continually designated him for assignment and passed him through waivers, at which point Gose has either accepted an outright assignment or briefly elected free agency and near-immediately re-signed on a new minor league deal.
It’s an odd cycle but not an entirely unfamiliar one. The Yankees have gone this route with righties David Hale and Ryan Weber in the past. The Marlins have done the same this year with lefty Kent Emanuel, just as they did with Devin Smeltzer in 2023. Gose is clearly fine with the tumultuous and somewhat unconventional arrangement, as he’s getting frequent MLB service time and pay out of it and agreeing to return to the organization each time. Granted, not all of those situations featured such rapid-fire selections to the majors and immediate DFAs, but it’s conceptually the same scenario.
Gose allowed two runs in an inning of work during his most recent brief stint with the Guards. He’s pitched in three games this season and yielded runs in all of them, combining for five runs on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. He’s posted better run-prevention numbers in Triple-A, logging a 3.27 earned run average with a hearty 32.8% strikeout rate against a more troubling 14.7% walk rate.
The 2024 season is Gose’s first year back from a Tommy John procedure that wiped out his entire 2023 campaign. A former second-round pick who ranked as one of the top prospects in the game during his days as a center fielder, he’s still looking to establish himself as a viable big league option in the bullpen. Gose has pitched 32 innings in the majors since making the switch to the mound and recorded a 4.78 ERA with big strikeout numbers (29.7%) and also big walk issues (12.3%).
A two-way star in high school who had some draft interest as a pitcher, Gose was brandishing a fastball that averaged 99.3 mph when he made his mound debut in 2021. He’s since undergone elbow surgery and seen that average heater dip to 95.2 mph — still a well above-average mark (particularly for a lefty), but not the same type of overpowering offering it was a few years back. Gose is still piling up strikeouts in Triple-A, but the command of his fastball/slider combination is a work in progress. He’ll head back to waivers and likely clear quickly before returning to the Guardians, whether via outright assignment or again electing free agency and signing a new minor league pact while he awaits his next call to the majors.
Guardians Designate Scott Barlow For Assignment
The Guardians have designated right-hander Scott Barlow for assignment, according to MLB.com’s Transactions Tracker. Taking his spot on the 40-man and active rosters will be left-hander Anthony Gose, whose contract was selected according to Gose’s MLB.com Player Page.
Barlow, 31, was acquired by the Guardians in a trade with the Padres last November that sent right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to San Diego. A longtime Royals relief arm who emerged as the club’s top leverage arm during the 2021 season, Barlow pitched to an excellent 2.30 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 148 2/3 innings between 2021 and ’22 while striking out 28.2% of batters faced and racking up 40 saves.
Unfortunately, he took a step back in 2023 with a somewhat uneven season. While his numbers under the hood during his time with the Royals last year, including a 26.7% strikeout rate and a 4.04 SIERA, offered plenty of reason for optimism, he struggled in terms of preventing runs and ultimately surrendered a 5.35 ERA in 38 2/3 innings of work before being shipped to the Padres at the trade deadline. Once in uniform with San Diego, Barlow pitched much better down the stretch with a 3.07 ERA and 3.15 FIP in his final 29 1/3 innings last year. That seemed to leave Barlow poised to occupy a key role with the Padres in the late innings this year, but he was ultimately shipped to the Guardians as part of an effort to slash the club’s payroll and duck under the luxury tax for 2024.
That allowed the Guardians step in and take the opportunity to add Barlow to their already excellent bullpen, where he was poised to act as one of the top setup men for closer Emmanuel Clase. For much of the season, the right-hander performed that role admirably with a 3.12 ERA and 3.50 FIP in 43 1/3 innings of work through the end of July. Things took a sharp turn for the worse once the calendar flipped to August, however, and Barlow was shelled to the tune of an 8.49 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander has seemed lost on the mound for over a month now, with a 17.9% strikeout rate against a 10.7% walk rate to go along with three hit batters and two home runs over his last 13 appearances. As the Guardians look to fend off the Royals and Twins in the AL Central and earn a bye through the Wild Card Series this October, the club evidently felt they couldn’t afford to continue giving the righty opportunities to get right.
Barlow’s departure makes way for Gose, 34, on the big league roster. Once a top-100 prospect as a hitter with the Phillies, he struggled through five seasons in the majors with a below average .240/.309/.348 slash line in 372 career games and eventually decided to try converting to pitching. He resurfaced in the big leagues as a reliever in Cleveland back in 2021, impressing with a six-appearance cup of coffee that saw him strike out 37.5% of opponents and post a 1.35 ERA. Gose sported a respectable 3.90 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 27 2/3 innings of work as pitcher for his career when he underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2022, and he spent the entire 2023 season rehabbing.
Now back in action with the Guardians, Gose surrendered three runs in 3 1/3 innings of work during a brief cup of coffee earlier this year but has posted a solid 3.27 ERA in 41 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level. He’ll get another opportunity with the big league club down the stretch as he looks to establish himself as a viable relief option for the 2025 campaign, whether that’s with Cleveland or elsewhere.
Guardians Re-Sign Anthony Gose To Minor League Deal
The Guardians have re-signed left-hander Anthony Gose to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Gose’s player profile at MLB.com. The signing came together on August 31, meaning that Gose would be eligible to pitch for Cleveland in the postseason should the club choose to add him back to the 40-man roster.
Gose, 34, was once a second-round pick by the Phillies in the 2008 draft. He was a top-100 prospect as a hitter after making some noise as a two-way player during his prep days, but after struggling through five seasons in the majors with below average offensive results (he’s a .240/.309/.348 hitter for his career) the lefty decided to return to pitching. He resurfaced in the big leagues as a reliever in Cleveland back in 2021, impressing with a six-appearance cup of coffee that saw him strike out 37.5% of opponents and post a 1.35 ERA.
Since then, he’s accumulated an additional 24 big league appearances with the Guardians. The majority of those came back in 2022, when he pitched to a lackluster 4.71 ERA with a 5.06 FIP in 21 frames. While he still struck out an impressive 30.4% of opponents during that stretch, Gose walked an untenable 15.2% of batters faced and allowed four homers in his limited body of work, minimizing the impact of the high-octane arsenal he offers. Gose’s attempted comeback as a pitcher was complicated further when he underwent Tommy John surgery that September, wiping out the entirety of his 2023 season.
Gose returned to action at the start of the 2024 campaign and put up solid numbers at the Triple-A level with a 3.46 ERA and a 32.9% strikeout rate in 39 innings of work. That strong body of work is enough for the lefty to have earned a couple of opportunities at the big league level with Cleveland, although those have not gone well. In 3 1/3 innings of work across his two appearances with the Guardians this year, Gose has surrendered three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two. That led the club to designate Gose for assignment last week, and while he initially elected free agency he evidently decided to return to the club shortly thereafter on a fresh minor league contract.
That will allow Gose to not only continue acting as a non-roster depth option for the Guardians’ bullpen down the stretch, but it also leaves the door open to Gose making the club’s postseason roster. Of course, for that to come to pass Gose would surely not only have to return to the big leagues before the regular season comes to an end but also flash results more in line with his strong minor league numbers than his brief stint in the majors this year.
Anthony Gose Elects Free Agency
August 30: Cleveland announced Friday that Gose cleared waivers and again elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment.
August 28: The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve designated left-hander Anthony Gose for assignment. It’s rather incredibly the third DFA of the month for Gose, who has twice cleared waivers and returned to the organization (the second time after very briefly electing free agency). His spot on the roster will go to fellow left-hander Erik Sabrowski, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Columbus. Sabrowski is now in line to make his major league debut the first time he takes the mound for Cleveland.
Gose, 34, pitched two innings in last night’s loss to the Royals, allowing a run four hits with one strikeout. The outfielder-turned-reliever has pitched 3 1/3 big league frames this season and allowed three runs. He’s spent the bulk of the season pitching for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, where he’s logged 39 innings with a solid 3.46 ERA, a huge 32.9% strikeout rate and a problematic 15% walk rate.
The 2024 season is Gose’s first year back from a Tommy John procedure that wiped out his entire 2023 campaign. A former second-round pick who ranked as one of the top prospects in the game during his days as a center fielder, he’s still looking to establish himself as a viable big league option in the bullpen. Gose has pitched 31 innings in the majors since making the switch to the mound and recorded a 4.35 ERA with big strikeout numbers (29.5%) and also big walk issues (12.9%).
A two-way star in high school who had some draft interest as a pitcher, Gose was brandishing a fastball that averaged 99.3 mph when he made his mound debut in 2021. He’s since undergone elbow surgery and seen that average heater dip to 95.2 mph — still a well above-average mark (particularly for a lefty), but not the same type of overpowering offering it was a few years back. Gose is still piling up strikeouts in Triple-A, but the command of his fastball/slider combination is a work in progress.
Gose will once again head to the waiver wire now that he’s been designated for assignment. He has the right to reject an outright in favor of free agency, but at this point of the season there’s a good chance he’d just re-sign with Cleveland and head back to Columbus anyhow, as he did following his previous DFA.
As for Sabrowski, this is his first call to the big leagues. The 6’4″, 230-pound southpaw was a 14th-round pick by the Padres in 2018 who came to the Guardians organization by way of the Rule 5 Draft’s minor league phase in 2021. Although he’s a 2018 draftee, he’s only pitched in parts of three professional seasons, thanks to the canceled 2020 minor league campaign and a pair of Tommy John surgeries that both cost him at least a full season. He has just 99 1/3 professional innings under his belt at this point.
Even with that minimal workload, Sabrowski has been impressive with the Guardians since returning from his most recent elbow surgery. Like Gose, he’s posted huge strikeout numbers but also bloated walk rates. His 2023 season saw Sabrowski log 21 2/3 frames with a 2.49 ERA in Double-A. He punched out 30.4% of his opponents but also walked 19.6% of the batters he faced.
Sabrowski opened the 2024 season back at Double-A and notched a pristine 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings there, fanning a comical 54.2% of his opponents against a vastly improved 4.2% walk rate. Since being promoted to Triple-A, he’s logged a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings while recording a 31.2% strikeout rate against a once-again troublesome 17.6% walk rate. He’ll need to improve that command in order to find sustained success in the majors, but there’s little doubting Sabrowski’s ability to miss bats in droves. For now, he gives Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt a fresh arm as the Guards look to fend off a surging Royals club in the AL Central, with the Twins only 2.5 games behind as well.