Guardians Option Kyle Manzardo
The Guardians announced that third baseman José Ramírez has been reinstated from the paternity list with first baseman Kyle Manzardo optioned to Triple-A Columbus as the corresponding move.
Manzardo, 23, came into this season ranked as one of the top 100 prospects in the sport and the Guards promoted him to the big leagues in early May. Unfortunately, his first six weeks in the majors have not gone especially well. In 87 trips to the plate, he has yet to hit a home run while walking just 3.4% of the time and striking out at a 26.4% clip. His .207/.241/.329 batting line leads to a wRC+ of 61, indicating he’s been 39% worse than the league average hitter.
Those numbers are fairly uncharacteristic for Manzardo and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get back on track after a bit of a reset. Prospects don’t always follow a linear development path and it’s not the first time he’s needed to make an adjustment after some struggles.
A second-round pick of the Rays in 2021, he produced a monstrous batting line of .327/.426/.617 in 2022, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A. That included 22 home runs and a 14.9% walk rate while he was only punched out 16.4% of the time.
The Rays bumped him up to Triple-A last year, but he didn’t have much initial success at that level. In 73 games for the Durham Bulls, he hit 11 home runs and still walked at a strong 13.4% pace, but the overall line of .238/.342/.442 led a wRC+ of 95 in a fairly heightened offensive environment in the International League last year.
The Guardians decide to take a shot on him, sending Aaron Civale to the Rays in a one-for-one swap at last year’s deadline. After changing organizations, he finished the season on a strong note, hitting .256/.348/.590 in 21 Triple-A games after the deal. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and slashed .272/.340/.565 in 22 games there. He returned to Triple-A to start this year and hit nine home runs in 29 games while walking in 11.7% of his plate appearances, leading to a line of .303/.375/.642 before his promotion.
Unfortunately, the big league audition saw all his numbers move in the wrong direction, so he’ll have to head back to Columbus for now. Since he’s always had strong walk and strikeout rates, it would be quite surprising if he weren’t able to improve those numbers in the major leagues the next time he comes up.
From a service time perspective, Manzardo was already going to be coming up short of one year of service time since he missed more than a month off the top of the 2024 campaign. He would have been on track for early arbitration as a Super Two player after 2026 if he stayed up, but that will now be less likely, depending on how long it takes him to come back up.
For the Guardians, they are leading the American League Central and should be in firm buyer position at the upcoming deadline. Manzardo had largely been serving as the designated hitter, so manager Stephen Vogt will now have some ability to rotate various players through that spot. It could also give the Front Office some flexibility in perhaps adding a bat-first player to strengthen the lineup for the final months of the season, with guys like Brent Rooker, Eloy Jiménez, Taylor Ward, Miguel Andujar or old friend Josh Bell just some of the guys that could be available towards the end of July. In the shorter term, guys like José Abreu, Daniel Vogelbach, J.D. Davis and Garrett Cooper have recently lost their roster spots with other clubs and should be attainable.
The Guardians’ Bullpen Has Been Transformative
Coming into 2024, the expectations for the Guardians were modest. They finished 76-86 last year and didn’t do much in the offseason. They made a few small trades, and their largest free agent signing was giving catcher Austin Hedges $4MM to be a glove-first backup to Bo Naylor.
Many in the baseball world expected the Twins to repeat as champions in the Central, since they ran away with it last year. Others suggested the Tigers or Royals as potential upstarts, as both of those clubs made some intriguing offseason moves to supplement their young cores. However, more than two months into the seasons, the Guardians are up top with a 43-23 record, five games ahead of the second-place Royals. That hot start is largely due to the Cleveland bullpen.
The club has sometimes found surprise success in the past based on strong starting pitching, but that hasn’t been the case this time. Shane Bieber required Tommy John surgery after just two starts. Gavin Williams has been on the injured list all year due to his own elbow issues. They’ve gotten some decent results from Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively, but Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, Carlos Carrasco and Xzavion Curry have been mediocre or just bad. The rotation has a collective 4.23 earned run average that places them 18th out of the 30 clubs in MLB.
The offense has undoubtedly played a role in the club’s success this year, certainly more than last year. The team hit .250/.313/.381 overall for a wRC+ of 92 last year, 22nd in the league. After their quiet offseason, not much was expected out of the lineup in 2024, but they are currently hitting .239/.318/.398. That line isn’t markedly different from last year’s, but with offense down around the league, it actually translates to a 107 wRC+. That puts them eighth in the league, pretty good but not elite.
The bullpen, however, has been in a class of its own. Cleveland’s relief core has an ERA of 2.33, easily the best mark in the majors. The Dodgers are second at 2.92, a gap of more than half a run. The Brewers are in fifth place at 3.34, more than a full run behind. Here’s how it breaks down individually, sorted by innings pitched…
- Emmanuel Clase: 32 1/3 innings pitched, 0.84 ERA, 28.6% strikeout rate, 2.5% walk rate, 54.4% ground ball rate
- Hunter Gaddis: 31 1/3 IP, 1.72 ERA, 23.7 K%, 4.2 BB%, 36.1 GB%
- Cade Smith: 30 1/3 IP, 1.78 ERA, 34.5 K%, 6 BB%, 47.8 GB%
- Nick Sandlin: 28 1/3 IP, 2.54 ERA, 26.5 K%, 8.8 BB%, 35.3 GB%
- Scott Barlow: 27 IP, 3.67 ERA, 30.8 K%, 12 BB%, 51.5 GB%
- Tim Herrin: 27 IP, 1.00 ERA, 25.5 K%, 10.8 BB%, 43.5 GB%
- Pedro Avila: 23 1/3 IP, 3.09 ERA, 29.2 K%, 5.2 BB%, 48.4 GB%
- Sam Hentges: 13 1/3 IP, 2.70 ERA, 33.3 K%, 2.1 BB%, 44.8 GB%
They also got some poor results from Tyler Beede as well as some small contributions from Eli Morgan, Peter Strzelecki and Wes Parsons, though none of those four are on the active roster at the moment. Of the eight guys currently in the mix, none of them has an ERA higher than Barlow’s 3.67. The league-average strikeout rate for relievers in the majors this year is 22.8%, meaning everyone in this group is ahead of the curve. Only Barlow and Herrin have walk rates worse than the 9.3% league average. The 43.4% league-wide ground ball rate is bested by everyone except Gaddis and Sandlin.
Relievers are notoriously volatile, and it’s fair to assume the entire group can’t stay this dominant forever. Most of the group have really low batting averages on balls in play, which could be related to the club’s strong defense, but there’s likely still some luck-based correction coming. League-average BABIP is .286 this year, but Gaddis, Clase, Herrin, Hentges and Sandlin are respectively at .232, .228, .203, .200 and .164.
But even if regression is coming, there’s still lots of good stuff going on and there are plenty of wins in the bank. The Guardians have gone 11-8 in one-run games and 6-2 in extra innings, no doubt thanks to this group of relievers.
The strong bullpen vaulting them to the top of the standings surely impacts their upcoming deadline plans. Last year, as the club was hovering around .500, they tried to walk the buy-sell line. They traded Aaron Civale to the Rays for Kyle Manzardo, a move that clearly downgraded the club at that time but could eventually work out in the long run if Manzardo clicks. They also made a couple of change-of-scenery swaps, sending Amed Rosario to the Dodgers for Noah Syndergaard in addition to flipping Josh Bell to the Marlins for Jean Segura and Kahlil Watson. Segura was released immediately and Syndergaard about a month later.
This year, they should be more firmly in the buyers’ camp and should have plenty of flexibility in what they can do. Relievers are generally cheaper than other players in terms of salary but can be pricey trade acquisitions at the deadline. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer put it this way at last year’s deadline, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune: “The price to go get a rental reliever or even a controllable reliever this time of year is often cost prohibitive. And so, to me, it just underscores the value of developing those guys yourself.”
With the results so far this year, the Guardians should have less need than any other club to shop in that aisle, freeing them up to focus on starting pitching or the lineup. Acquiring those kinds of players can also be pricey, but the Guards should have lots of wiggle room to make things work. Their tepid offseason means their payroll is relatively light, certainly by league standards but even by their own. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they had an Opening Day payroll of $98MM. They were in the $120-135MM range in the three pre-pandemic years, so perhaps there’s an ability to take on a notable contract from another club with minimal prospect cost.
In the longer term, Bieber and Barlow are coming off the books this winter, subtracting respective salaries of $13.125MM and $6.7MM. Lesser contracts for Hedges, Carrasco and Ramón Laureano will also be expiring. Some of those savings will be needed for arbitration raises to McKenzie and Josh Naylor, but there’s only $45MM on the books for next year as of right now, mostly for José Ramírez and Andrés Giménez.
At least part of the reason the budget is so low is that the bullpen has largely been built on the cheap. Clase was acquired as a prospect and signed a team-friendly extension while still in his pre-arb years, making just $2.5MM this year. Gaddis, Hentges, Sandlin and Herrin are all Cleveland draftees making less than $1.2MM. Smith went undrafted in 2020, when the pandemic reduced the draft to just five rounds, and is still pre-arb. Avila is also pre-arb, acquired from the Padres in a cash deal after being designated for assignment in April. Barlow, an offseason trade acquisition, is in his final arbitration season and making the highest salary of the bunch at $6.7MM.
But even if they don’t want to be taking on significant money, the Guardians could make deals happen with prospect capital. Their farm system isn’t especially strong, with evaluators generally putting in the middle of the pack. FanGraphs puts them 13th, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both put them 19th, while Keith Law of The Athletic puts them in the 22nd spot.
However, they are about to get a huge boost in a month’s time when the 2024 draft takes place. The Guardians can always count on a strong draft since they’re a small-market club and get competitive balance picks, but they also won the draft lottery in December, meaning they get the No. 1 overall pick despite having the ninth-best odds of doing so. That should allow them to bump their farm system up in those rankings when the draft takes place from July 14 to 16. And while they can’t trade the players they draft until after the season (nor can they use the player-to-be-named-later loophole to do so), a fresh influx of high-end talent will lessen the sting of dealing some prospects they already have in-house.
All of these factors will put them in a very interesting position when the deadline approaches on July 30. Even if they hit a slump in the next month or so, falling back a bit in the standings would still have them not just in playoff position but in contention for the division. The Central has been weak in the past, leaving those clubs to either win the division or not make the playoffs at all. But they are stronger this year with the Royals and Twins both currently holding Wild Card spots. Even if one of those two can gain ground on Cleveland, it wouldn’t significantly dampen their buyer position.
When the Guardians do start lining up deals, they should have plenty of options thanks to their financial position and the infusion of young talent that the farm system is about to receive from the draft. Adding to the rotation and the lineup will likely be the priorities and they should have every ability to do just that, with a big thanks to their elite bullpen.
MLBTR Podcast: Injured Astros, The Chances Of Bad Teams Rebounding In 2025 And More
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Astros have lost several players to injury but general manager Dana Brown insists they will be deadline buyers (0:45)
- With so few teams clearly out of contention, signs are pointing towards a seller’s market at the deadline (7:20)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Out of the five worst teams right now (Athletics, Angels, White Sox, Marlins and Rockies), who most needs to replenish their farm system and who could possibly turn things around by 2025? (11:20)
- The Guardians need a right-handed right fielder with power. Who is a viable target? (20:40)
- Will the Marlins to try trade Jesús Luzardo and Jazz Chisholm Jr.? (24:30)
- Could you see Alex Anthopoulos of the Braves trying to get Kevin Gausman from the Blue Jays? (28:35)
- How active will the Reds be at the deadline? (32:15)
- Should the Dodgers acquire Javier Báez from the Tigers and move Mookie Betts back to the outfield and/or option Gavin Lux? (35:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- Gambling Scandal, The State Of The Blue Jays And The Orioles’ Rotation Depth – listen here
- Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting – listen here
- The Likelihood Of A Juan Soto Extension, What’s In Store For Pete Alonso, And Corbin Carroll’s Struggles – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Hank Foiles Passes Away
Former All Star catcher Hank Foiles passed away late last month at the age of 94, as noted by various sources including Jami Frankenberry of The Virginian-Pilot. An veteran of 11 major league seasons, Foiles played for the Reds, Indians, Pirates, Athletics, Tigers, Orioles, and Angels throughout his time in the big leagues.
Foiles started his professional career at the age of 19 as a member of the Yankees organization back in 1948, but he didn’t make his big league debut for several years. He was selected in the 1951 Rule 5 draft by the Reds but didn’t make his big league debut with the club until 1953. He appeared in just 12 games at the big league level that season between Cincinnati and Cleveland and collected three hits across his first 20 major league at-bats. Foiles wouldn’t play at the big league level in 1954 but split time with Hal Naragon as the backup to five-time All Star Jim Hegan in 1955. In 132 plate appearances that year, Foiles hit .261 with a solid .354 on-base percentage.
Foiles would appear in just one more game with Cleveland before being traded to Pittsburgh during the 1956 season. Although he had a down season at the plate during his first year with the club, his years in Pittsburgh would prove to be the most significant of his career as he earned the everyday catching job for the Pirates in 1957 and 1958. Foiles made the lone All Star appearance of his career in 1957 when he combined his glove-first profile with above average offense to slash .270/.352/.431 in 109 games.
On the 1957 NL All Star team, he joined legends of the game such as Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, and Henry Aaron opposite AL legends like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. Foiles pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with Willie Mays on third base and drew a wild pitch to score Mays and bring the NL within two before delivering a single against longtime White Sox ace Billy Pierce. Foiles later scored from second on a single by Ernie Banks, though the NL would go on to lose the game 6-5.
Foiles would remain in Pittsburgh for two more seasons following his All Star season, and though his offense took step backward with a .209/.314/.355 line between the next two campaigns, he nonetheless made 157 appearances and 402 trips to the plate across those two seasons. 1960 saw Foiles change organizations multiple times, as he was traded from the Pirates to the then-Kansas City Athletics during the 1959-60 offseason but appeared in just six games with the club before being returned to the Pirates. He was then traded to Cleveland to act as their back-up catcher before a late July deal sent him to the Tigers. He finished the 1960 season in Detroit but was selected in the Rule V Draft for the second time that November, putting him in five different organizations over the course of one calendar year.
Over the next two years, Foiles would find his groove at the plate again as a back-up catcher for the Orioles and Reds with a combined slash line of .275/.338/.482 across 43 games. Foiles found himself on the move again in 1963 when he joined the Angels, and he appeared in 45 games for the club over the next two seasons with a roughly league average slash line of .216/.289/.386. He played his final game in the big leagues just a month before his 35th birthday on May 2, 1964. A career .243/.321/.392 hitter who appeared in 608 big league games, Foiles tallied 353 hits, 46 home runs, and 166 RBI during a solid major league career.
We at MLBTR offer our condolences to the Foiles family and to his friends, fans, and others who are mourning him around the game.
Guardians Outright Estevan Florial
The Guardians announced Friday afternoon that outfielder Estevan Florial cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Florial accepted an outright assignment and will report to Triple-A Columbus. He remains in the organization without holding a spot on the 40-man roster.
Acquired from the Yankees over the offseason, Florial broke camp with Cleveland despite a rough Spring Training. His offensive struggles carried into the regular season. Florial tallied 111 trips to the plate but limped to a .173/.264/.367 line while striking out 36.9% of the time. After hitting three home runs in the season’s first month, he turned in a .120/.200/.240 slash in 55 trips to the plate during May.
Florial was once a highly-regarded prospect in the New York farm system. Evaluators were intrigued by his power, speed and patient plate approach. Florial has well below-average pure contact skills, though, resulting in big strikeout tallies both in the upper minors and against MLB pitching. He played in 48 games over parts of four seasons in the Bronx, hitting .209/.313/.296 while fanning 41 times in 134 plate appearances (a 30.6% rate).
This is the second time in Florial’s career that he has cleared waivers. New York outrighted him last April and kept him in Triple-A for most of the 2023 season. The 26-year-old hit 28 homers and stole 25 bags with a .284/.380/.565 line in 482 plate appearances. Florial has never had any problem turning in strong results in the minors, though even last year’s huge slash came with an alarming 29.9% strikeout rate.
Guardians Select Daniel Schneemann
The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Daniel Schneemann. Outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room for Schneemann on the club’s active roster. Cleveland also announced that right-hander Eli Morgan had been placed on the 15-day injured list, with veteran Carlos Carrasco activated from the IL in the corresponding move. The Guardians’ 40-man roster is now full after the addition of Schneemann, who steps into the spot vacated by Estevan Florial on Friday.
Schneemann, 27, was selected by Cleveland in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft and has been slowly climbing the minor league level ever since. After getting his first taste of Triple-A action in late 2022, Schneemann posted solid numbers for Columbus last year and has gotten off to a incredible start in his second season starting the the highest level of the minors with a .294/.428/.556 slash line in 223 trips to the plate so far this season. To this point in his career, Schneemann has primarily played shortstop and third base but has also seen at least occasional time at second base, first base, and all three infield spots.
Going forward, Schneemann figures to provide a versatile option off the bench for the Guardians who could help contribute offensively all around the diamond. Cleveland’s offense has been a surprising success story this season, although Brayan Rocchio‘s work at shortstop, where he’s slashed just .200/.308/.258 in 50 games this year, has left something to be desired. It’s also possible Schneemann could serve as a right-handed complement to the club’s outfield mix alongside Gabriel Arias as the Guardians run out lefties Steven Kwan and Will Brennan in the outfield corners. Brennan, in particular, has slashed just .200/.200/.350 in limited opportunities against southpaws this year.
Making room for Schneemann on the active roster is Rodriguez, a rookie who made his big league debut last month. He’s appeared in just eight games for the Guardians since being promoted to the majors, and went 3-for-23 with five walks and nine strikeouts during his brief cup of coffee in the majors. The youngster figures to return to the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed a much more impressive .276/.389/.449 this year, to wait for his next opportunity.
Also departing the club’s roster is Morgan, who has been placed on the shelf due to right elbow inflammation. It’s a concerning diagnosis for the 28-year-old, particularly given the fact that he’s in the midst of what has been the best start to a season he’s had in his career to this point. Since transitioning to the bullpen full-time in 2022, Morgan had posted a solid pair of seasons in middle relief for the Guardians with a combined 3.69 ERA (108 ERA+) and 3.73 FIP in 134 innings of work. In ten appearances this season, however, Morgan has pitched to a dazzling 1.64 ERA with a 3.24 FIP. Those excellent numbers belie some concerning peripherals, however, as Morgan has struck out just 15.6% of batters faced while walking an elevated 11.1%. That’s a far cry from his numbers the past two years, when he struck out a combined 26.5% of opponents while walking 6.7%.
Replacing Morgan on the club’s active roster is Carrasco. The veteran righty has been on the shelf since mid-May due to an acute neck spasm, but now returns to Cleveland after only a minimum stay on the injured list. The 37-year-old righty returned to the club on a minor league deal this offseason after three seasons in New York and managed to earn a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster in Spring Training as their fifth starter. The righty has struggled through nine starts with the club this year, pitching to a 5.16 ERA and 5.33 FIP in 45 1/3 innings, but nonetheless figures to slot back into the club’s rotation mix alongside Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, and Ben Lively.
Guardians Designate Estevan Florial For Assignment
The Guardians have designated outfielder Estevan Florial for assignment, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder Steven Kwan, who’s been reinstated from the injured list and is back in the Cleveland lineup tonight.
Acquired from the Yankees in a December swap that sent right-hander Cody Morris back to New York, the out-of-options Florial won a spot on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster but has yet to hit with his new club. The once-vaunted prospect has appeared in 36 games with the Guards and tallied 111 plate appearances while mustering only a .173/.264/.367 slash. Florial has shown some extra-base pop, with three homers, six doubles and a pair of triples, but he’s also gone down on strikes in a staggering 36.9% of his plate appearances.
Strikeout woes are nothing new for Florial, who’s now punched out in 33.5% of his 245 big league plate appearances. Even as Florial put up gaudy numbers in Triple-A with the Yankees organization in 2022-23, he did so while fanning in three out of every ten trips to the plate. The Yankees largely left him in Triple-A to try to sort through his lack of contact skills, but it’s not a flaw that Florial has been able to overcome to this point.
Florial’s combination of power and speed has long been tantalizing, but he’s now a .192/.291/.329 hitter in the big leagues who can’t be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. Another club that’s not in contention could perhaps afford to take a flier and place a waiver claim, but it’d be hard for any team with postseason aspirations to give Florial any kind of meaningful playing time when he’s clearly a project. The Guardians will have a week to try to trade him, pass him through outright waivers, or release him. If he clears outright waivers, Florial can reject the assignment and elect free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted once in the past (with the Yankees in April 2023).
Guardians Reinstate, Option Angel Martínez
The Guardians announced today that infielder Angel Martínez has been activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Cleveland had an open 40-man spot but that roster is once again at capacity after this move.
Martínez, 22, began the season on the injured list due to a right foot contusion but later transferred him to the 60-day IL, with his injury listed as a left hamate fracture. He still hasn’t made his major league debut but this stint on the IL did allow him to pick up roughly two months of MLB service time.
He was initially added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster in November of 2022, to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. He was coming off a season in which he hit .278/.378/.471 in the minors for a 135 wRC+. His offense dipped a bit last year, as he hit .251/.321/.394 between Double-A and Triple-A for a 92 wRC+.
The Guards have had an open 40-man spot since designating Ramón Laureano for assignment last week, which is why no corresponding move was required today. Martínez will try to earn his major league debut by getting regular action in Columbus. He can be kept on optional assignment for the rest of this year and one more season as well.
KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Sign Jaime Barria, Release Felix Pena
May 28: The Guardians announced that Barria’s contract has officially been sold to the Eagles. Hanwha announced over the weekend that they’ve released former MLB righty Felix Pena (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). KBO teams are limited to carrying two foreign-born pitchers on their rosters, so the Eagles had to move on from either Pena or Ricardo Sanchez to add Barria. Cutting Pena was the straightforward call, as he has struggled to a 6.27 ERA over nine starts. (Sanchez has a solid 3.35 mark in his nine appearances). Pena spent parts of three seasons with Hanwha, posting a sub-4.00 mark between 2022-23 before this year’s struggles.
May 25: Right-hander Jaime Barria is finalizing a deal with a team in the Korea Baseball Organization, according to MLBTR’s Steve Adams. It’s not yet clear which club Barria is working out a deal with. Barria is currently in the Guardians organization on a minor league deal but it’s common for teams to release players in order to pursue overseas opportunities, often in exchange for cash considerations from the player’s new club. Kim Geun-han of MK Sports (Korean language link) reports today that Barria is poised to sign with the Hanwha Eagles.
Barria, 27, signed with the Angels as an international free agent out of Panama and made his big league debut with the club back in 2018 during his age-21 season. The righty enjoyed a strong rookie campaign with a 3.41 ERA and 4.58 FIP across 26 starts for the Halos that year, although he suffered a sophomore slump the following season as he pitched to a 6.42 ERA in 19 appearances (13 starts) while swinging between the bullpen and rotation during the 2019 campaign. Barria would stay in that swing role for the next two seasons, pitching to roughly average results (106 ERA+) across 89 innings of work during that time.
The 2022 season saw Barria pitch in something closer to a pure relief role, with just one start and five outings where he threw more than fifty pitches. It was perhaps the best season of his career, as he posted an excellent 2.61 ERA that was 54% better than league average by measure of ERA+ to go along with a 4.11 xERA and 4.13 SIERA, all of which were career best figures for the righty. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse for Barria last year as his home run rate spiked, leaving him with a 5.68 ERA and 6.07 FIP in 82 1/3 innings of work across 34 appearances, six of which were starts.
After that difficult 2023 campaign, Barria was outrighted off the Angels roster and elected free agency, leading him to his aforementioned minor league pact with the Guardians. He’s remained in multi-inning relief during his time at Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, and while his 4.81 ERA in 13 appearances is nothing to write home about he’s also shown a surprising proclivity for strikeouts this year, punching out batters at a 28.1% clip across his 24 1/3 innings of work.
It’s possible that uptick in strikeout rate is what caught the attention of a team overseas, and Barria now figures to head to Korea in hopes of re-establishing himself as a potential big league option. KBO teams are only allowed to carry a maximum of two foreign-born pitchers on their rosters, meaning that if Barria’s new team has already reached that limit they’ll have to part ways with another arm to make room for the righty.
Guardians Release Ramón Laureano
The Guardians have released outfielder Ramón Laureano, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’ll now head to the open market and will be free to explore opportunities with all clubs.
This was the most likely outcome when the Guardians designated Laureano for assignment last week. The outfielder’s production has been trending down for a few years now and is at an especially low point this year. The 29-year-old has hit .143/.265/.229 thus far in 2024 while striking out 38.6% of the time.
On top of his poor performance, his salary has been creeping up gradually via the arbitration process. He’s making $5.15MM this year and any team acquiring him via a waiver claim or trade would have been taking on that money. It’s unsurprising that no club wanted to take that on, given how he has been playing of late. He has more than five years of service time, meaning he can reject an outright assignment while also keeping that salary in place.
Now that he is a free agent, teams may be interested in a low-cost flier. Since he’s now been released, the Guardians are on the hook for what’s left of the money, meaning that any club that signs him would only be responsible for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Guards pay.
It’s been a few years now, but Laureano was once a solid regular for the Athletics. From 2018 to 2021, he stepped to the plate 1,257 times for the A’s and hit 49 home runs. His .263/.335/.465 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 119, indicating he was 19% above league average in that time. He also stole 34 bases and was generally given strong defensive grades, leading FanGraphs to credit him with 8.6 wins above replacement in 313 games.
But towards the end of that 2021 season, he was given an 80-game PED suspension and his performance has been tailing off since then. He hit .211/.287/.376 in 2022 for a wRC+ of 95 and his offense slipped a bit farther in 2023. The A’s designated him for assignment in August of last year and the Guards put in a claim.
Moving to Cleveland seemed to spur a bit of a bounceback, as Laureano slashed .243/.342/.382 for a wRC+ of 106 down the stretch. That apparently intrigued the Guards enough that they tendered him a contract, agreeing to the aforementioned $5.15MM salary. But he has fallen off dramatically and now finds himself looking for his next opportunity.
As mentioned, Laureano can be signed to a major league roster at essentially no cost. Perhaps some club would give him a spot and see if he can play well enough over the next two months to be flipped for a lottery ticket prospect. Or even if no club is willing to bite on that, he should at least be able to find a minor league deal somewhere.