Will The Guardians Make An Outfield Move?
The Guardians enter this afternoon’s series finale against the Yankees with a narrow lead in the AL Central. They’re half a game up on the White Sox with a 37-32 record in their bid for a third consecutive division title.
It has been a similar story to the past few iterations of Guards baseball. They have one of the better bullpens in the American League, moving seamlessly to Cade Smith in the ninth inning while getting surprisingly strong work from reclamation pickup Colin Holderman. They could use another lefty, but the back end is generally a strength.
They’re the only team that has used the same five-man rotation all season, mostly successfully. Parker Messick and Gavin Williams have made for an excellent combination at the top. Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo have been less consistent but reasonably effective overall.
The other side of the ball remains the big question. The offense isn’t as bad as last season, when they somehow won the division despite scoring the fewest runs in the American League. They’re certainly better positioned in the middle infield with Travis Bazzana at second base and Brayan Rocchio amidst a breakout season at shortstop.
It’s still one of the weaker overall lineups in the league, however. They’re 10th in the AL in scoring, 12th in home runs, and last in batting average and slugging. They’ve worked enough walks to get to middle of the pack in on-base percentage. By measure of wRC+, only the Red Sox and Royals have had less productive offenses among AL teams. They’re 22nd by that measure overall and 21st in MLB in runs scored.
There should be a clear target area for the front office as they approach deadline season: the outfield. Cleveland is clearly content to punt offense from the catcher position. First base hasn’t been great overall, but Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins have each gotten going since the beginning of May. The outfield, on the other hand, has been rough after a reasonably encouraging start to the season.
Cleveland outfielders were hitting .251/.321/.413 through the end of April. They were 12th in OPS and tied for 11th in homers. Since the calendar turned to May, they’ve combined for a .215/.291/.310 line across 465 plate appearances. Their .601 OPS over the last six weeks is dead last in the Majors. They’ve hit just eight home runs, above only the White Sox, Rays, and Royals. Only Houston outfielders have fared worse by the park-adjusted metrics.
Essentially the entire outfield has gone cold. Chase DeLauter started his career with a bang, homering four times in his first three regular season MLB games. He added another homer amidst a three-hit game on April 3. He’s gone deep just twice since then and has a .252/.315/.333 line since the beginning of May. It’s common for players even as talented as DeLauter to have some ruts during their rookie seasons. He’s not in danger of losing playing time, but his slump exposes the depth concerns elsewhere.
Steven Kwan was supposed to be the stabilizer. He’s an elite defensive left fielder whom the Guardians felt could play a capable center field on a semi-regular basis. Kwan has impressed defensively, but his bat has tanked. He’s hitting .213/.323/.262 with just one home run through 264 trips to the plate. No other qualifier has made less hard contact.
Kwan’s game has always been about plate discipline rather than hard contact. He rarely expands the strike zone and probably has the best pure contact skills of anyone not named Luis Arraez. That’s still intact — even Arraez has a slightly higher swing-and-miss rate this year — but Kwan can’t be a productive hitter without some kind of extra-base impact. He’d topped 10 home runs in both 2024 and ’25 and hit at least 25 doubles in three of his first four seasons. This year, he’s on pace for 19 doubles and two homers. Stephen Vogt dropped him from the leadoff spot in favor of Bazzana in mid-May; Kwan has hit seventh for the past couple weeks.
It’d be less concerning if this were only a bad two-month stretch. Kwan’s numbers trended down during the second half of the ’25 season as well. He’s a .233/.311/.310 hitter in nearly 700 trips to the plate over the last calendar year.
Kwan has come up in trade rumors for the last few seasons. It’d be less straightforward to move him now than it would’ve been last summer, when they were deadline sellers before going on an improbable run to seize the division from Detroit. At the same time, Kwan is the team’s second-highest paid player on a $7.725MM salary.
That’ll probably jump into eight figures for his final arbitration season. He’s on pace to be worth roughly one win above replacement despite the defensive contributions. Would a team that runs one of the lowest payrolls in the sport be willing to tender him a $10MM contract if he hits like this all season? If they feel he’s trending toward a non-tender, they could entertain trade scenarios this summer while looking to acquire a corner outfielder who has more offensive punch.
That’s complicated by their lack of recent production from center and right field. Hot starts from Angel Martínez and Daniel Schneemann were among the reasons for Cleveland’s early success. Schneemann’s fantastic April always felt unsustainable, and he has hit .160/.233/.181 since the beginning of May. Schneemann has gotten some run as a regular center fielder but should be in a utility role.
Martínez has bigger physical tools and can certainly flash significant upside. He’s less than a month removed from winning AL Player of the Week after popping four homers in five games. Martínez also has an extremely aggressive approach and almost never walks, lowering the floor from an on-base perspective.
He’s among the bottom 10 qualified hitters this year with a .275 OBP. In 19 games since the Player of the Week award, he’s hitting .178 with a .200 on-base mark — though he matched last year’s career high by connecting on his 11th home run of the season this afternoon.
Schneemann and Martínez are each capable big leaguers, but they should be role players rather than locked into the everyday lineup on a contender. Cleveland has Kahlil Watson, George Valera, CJ Kayfus and Petey Halpin on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment in Triple-A.
Watson and Valera have hit pretty well against minor league pitching, as has non-roster corner bat Nolan Jones. Neither Valera nor Watson has an MLB track record. Jones hasn’t hit big league pitching since 2023. Gabriel Arias could get some outfield work when he returns from a hamstring strain, but his strikeout issues are well established.
Although the Guardians aren’t typically aggressive deadline buyers, they could move one or two of their toolsy but unestablished minor league outfielders for someone with a higher floor. There aren’t many defined sellers yet, though the Rockies have a couple outfielders (Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy) who should be available. Moniak is currently sidelined by ankle tendinitis but expected back before the deadline. Lars Nootbaar, Taylor Ward, Trevor Larnach, Casey Schmitt and Jacob Young are some of the other players who could hit the trade market. Adding someone to raise the offensive floor should be the priority next month.
The Guardians’ Faith In Their Own Players Is Paying Off
The Guardians had a very disappointing offseason. Despite winning the American League Central in two straight years and three of the past four, they did almost nothing to upgrade their roster for 2027. They made no trades of significance and spent less than $12MM in free agency.
Even that very modest outlay was offset by savings elsewhere. Emmanuel Clase was supposed to make $6MM this year but he probably won’t see any of that due to his ongoing gambling investigation. José Ramírez signed an extension that technically increased his 2026 salary from $21MM to $26MM but the new deal defers $10MM annually, so it actually saved the club money in the short term.
After MLBTR published its Offseason In Review entry for the Guards, readers mostly panned the club’s actions. In the poll at the bottom of the post, both the F and D options got 37% of the vote. C was next with 19%. The B option got just a 5% share, followed by A at 2%.
But almost two months into the season, they are thriving. They are currently 30-22, one of the few American League clubs comfortably above .500. They are 3.5 games clear of the White Sox and six up on the Twins. Coming into the season, the Tigers were considered by many to be the division favorite, but they are 9.5 back.
How are the Guards doing it? The pitching staff is quite good, which isn’t really a surprise, since they were strong in that department last year. But they have taken a big step forward offensively. The team has a collective .230/.324/.377 line and 101 wRC+. That may not sound too impressive, being just barely above average, but consider where they were last year. The 2025 Guards hit .226/.296/.373 for a wRC+ of 87. They were successful in spite of that lack of offense thanks to their pitching and defense. Cranking up the offense, even just to be middle of the pack, is a notable improvement.
Since they made almost no effort to add external options, the gains are clearly coming from inside the house. Some of this was to be expected. Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana came into the season ranked among the club’s top prospects and both are contributing, but the Guards are also getting improved results from guys who have already been on the team for years, as each of Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martínez and Daniel Schneemann have boosted their numbers this season.
Rocchio came into this season seemingly on the fringe of the roster. By the end of 2025, he had 911 career plate appearances. He had just 13 home runs, a .222/.293/.327 line and 77 wRC+. He had exhausted his final option season. On paper, he and Gabriel Arias had the middle infield jobs but Bazzana was on the way, along with Juan Brito and Angel Genao. There was a non-zero chance of him getting pushed off the roster.
But instead, he’s been taking a step forward. The Guards somewhat surprisingly started the year with Bazzana in the minors and Rocchio at second base. Arias hit the IL in April, leaving Rocchio in charge of the shortstop job. Rocchio has stepped to the plate 188 times and has a .290/.376/.420 line, leading to a 130 wRC+. A lot of that is due to plate discipline. He came into the year with a 7.7% walk rate and 21.3% strikeout rate in his career. Those numbers are at 10.1% and 10.6% this year.
His contact hasn’t made huge strides. In fact, his hard hit rate and exit velocity are actually down relative to last year. What seems to be working for him is some extra patience. His swing rate is down 3.4 percentage points. Perhaps more importantly, his first pitch swing rate is down by 11.5 points. That has led to more walks and fewer strikeouts.
There is a bit of luck at play, as he has a .309 batting average on balls in play. Since he is striking out so rarely, that means lots of balls in play and the luck is really helping him. Perhaps there is some regression coming but Rocchio has already racked up 1.7 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs, with his solid shortstop defense and nine stolen bases also helping.
Martínez was sent to the plate 653 times over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He had a tepid .226/.277/.353 line and 77 wRC+ in those, hitting 14 home runs. His 21.9% strikeout rate was around average but his 5.8% walk rate was quite low. He wasn’t guaranteed playing time in 2026, as Cleveland came into the year with an outfield mix consisting of DeLauter, Schneeman, Steven Kwan, George Valera, CJ Kayfus, David Fry and Petey Halpin.
But some struggles from the guys in that group have opened time for Martínez that he has taken advantage of. Unlike Rocchio, there are no big improvements here in terms of discipline. His 19.4% strikeout rate is a bit better but he’s also walking less, with just a 3.4% rate this year. But he already has nine home runs, almost matching his previous career tally, in just 175 plate appearances. That has helped him hit .256/.298/.488 for a 119 wRC+.
Also unlike Rocchio, there are some tangible shifts in the Statcast data. His 36.2% hard hit rate is only around league average but a big jump from the 29.3% rate he had last year. His 88.6 mph average exit velocity is exactly league par but a mile and a half better than his own mark from last year. His 41st percentile bat speed isn’t too impressive but he was in the 21st percentile last year. Making those kinds of gains can sometimes come with more whiffs but, as mentioned, he is actually striking out less.
He also may have found a defensive home in the outfield, depending on who you ask. Martínez was bounced between second base, third base and the grass in 2024 and 2025. His outfield results were poor, as he was given minus-9 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-5 Outs Above Average. DRS is still not convinced this year, giving him a minus-3 grade. Since that’s in roughly one third as many innings, it’s roughly the same pace as last year. But he has been credited with 3 OAA on the year. He has also stolen eight bases, already matching last year’s total. He’s been credited with 1.2 fWAR on the year.
Schneemann spent 2024 and 2025 in a utility role, playing everywhere except first base and the battery. He hit .210/.290/.358 for a wRC+ of 84 in 643 plate appearances. He has been sent to the plate 150 times this year with a .246/.327/.403 line and 109 wRC+.
It’s possible that Schneemann’s improvements are more fluky than those of Rocchio or Martínez. While Rocchio is showing an improved approach and Martínez is hitting the ball with more authority, Schneemann’s gains look to be based on luck, as he has a .333 BABIP so far. HIs 10.7% walk rate is nice but only a slight gain on the 9.8% pace he had coming into the year. His 28.7% strikeout rate is high and only a marginal improvement over the 29.1% rate he had in previous seasons.
In terms of the Statcast data, his hard hit rate and average exit velocity are actually down relative to last year. If there’s one big bright spot, it’s that Statcast has his launch angle sweet spot percentage in the 97th percentile, whereas he was in the 23rd percentile last year. The regression may already be setting in, as Schneemann is hitting .143 in May after batting .321/.391/.564 through the end of April. Even if it was just one big month, some solid offensive results have combined with his speed and defense to give him a tally of 1.0 fWAR on the season.
These three guys aren’t going to get any MVP votes but their contributions are significant in the larger context. As mentioned, the Guards did almost nothing to add outside help. There are seven players on the team who have received at least 150 plate appearances this year. Ramírez is doing his usual thing. DeLauter is having a strong rookie season. But Kwan and Kyle Manzardo are struggling so far. Rocchio, Martínez and Schneemann have stepped up. Those three have a combined .265/.335/.439 line, 120 wRC+ and 3.9 fWAR on the year so far.
Time will tell if they can keep it going but those strong starts have already pushed the Guards out to a nice division lead. If the gains do prove to be sustainable, then it could lead to some interesting decisions down the line.
Bazzana was called up at the end of April and has taken over the second base job, having hit .288/.409/.384 for a 133 wRC+ in the early going. The Guards also have one of the league’s top infield prospects in Genao. He was promoted to Triple-A earlier this month and has put up a .305/.359/.576 line at that level so far. A promotion is arguably already viable and his knocks on the door should get louder every day. His defense is still a work in progress but evaluators expect him to be a viable big league shortstop as he refines his tools.
The Guardians have historically not been shy about trading from their middle infield. Francisco Lindor was their regular shortstop for most of the 2015 to 2020 period before getting flipped to the Mets. Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez came back in that trade and were fixtures of the middle infield for the next few years. Giménez even got a nine-figure extension. But both were eventually traded, Rosario to the Dodgers and Giménez to the Blue Jays. With Bazzana, Genao, Rocchio, Arias, Schneemann and Brito all now in the middle infield mix, maybe they can make someone in that group available to address another part of the roster.
In the outfield, it’s probably just nice that things are going relatively well out there, as Cleveland has been struggling for years to get production from the grass. Their outfielders hit a collective .225/.288/.341 last year for a 77 wRC+, putting them ahead of only the Royals. This year, they are up to the middle of the pack with a .232/.316/.384 line, thanks to Martínez and DeLauter.
Perhaps the Guards will have to move on from Kwan at some point. He is under club control through 2027. He’s making $7.725MM this year and would be due an arbitration raise going into next year. But his offense slipped to league average last year and he’s down to .202/.330/.260 in 2026, so perhaps a non-tender or a trade are becoming possibilities. Even without Kwan, they have DeLauter, Martínez, Valera, Schneemann, Fry, Halpin, Kayfus, Brito and Kahlil Watson in the mix and controllable for years to come.
Photos courtesy of Brett Davis, Rick Osentoski, Ken Blaze, David Richard, Imagn Images
How Will The Guardians’ Middle Infield Play Out?
The Guardians have had a quiet offseason, only re-signing backup catcher Austin Hedges and acquiring a handful of relievers on one-year deals. They’ve yet to add anyone to a lineup that ranked 28th in scoring. They were the only team in the bottom 10 that made the postseason, so it’s unlikely they’ll get back to October without improving the offense.
Cleveland’s budgetary restrictions mean they’re never going to accomplish much via free agency. They’re unlikely to often package top prospects for marquee trade chips. The Guardians should make a smaller move or two in the back half of the offseason. They opened last season with a $103MM payroll, and RosterResource calculates their ’26 obligations around $78MM. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com wrote as part of a reader mailbag over the weekend that he expected some kind of lineup acquisition on a short-term deal. Adding a complementary right-handed outfield bat would make sense with Lane Thomas departing via free agency.
That said, the majority of the necessary offensive improvements will have to come internally. That’s especially true in the middle infield, where serviceable free agent options are slim. Cleveland middle infielders combined for a .225/.289/.359 slash line with a 27.6% strikeout rate that was 29th in MLB (marginally better than the Angels’ 27.8% mark). That’s clearly an area for upgrade as the 2024 first overall pick gets closer to making his debut. How will things shake out?
The Incumbents
Of the five players who logged any middle infield action for Stephen Vogt’s club last year, only Will Wilson is off the roster. Last year’s middle infield usually involved a three-player rotation: Gabriel Arias mostly at shortstop, Daniel Schneemann in a multi-position role with a lot of second base work, and Brayan Rocchio bouncing between the up-the-middle spots.
Angel Martínez also started 25 games at second base but was more frequently used in center field. The Guardians could push him back into a utility role this year depending on their outfield performance. Chase DeLauter made the ALDS roster and should be ticketed for his regular season MLB debut on Opening Day. They could add a center fielder in free agency. Harrison Bader would be an excellent fit but might be out of their price range. Even if that’s the case, taking a buy-low flier on Chas McCormick as a fourth outfielder makes sense.
None of Arias, Rocchio, Schneemann or Martínez contributed much offensively. By measure of wRC+, they were all between 21 and 26 points below league average. Rocchio led the pack with a subpar .233 batting average and .290 on-base percentage. He hit five home runs in 115 games. Schneemann, Martínez and Arias each had 11 or 12 longballs.
The season trend lines were most favorable to Rocchio. He was at least within range of league average in the second half, batting .257/.313/.376 over his final 241 plate appearances. Arias (.203/.247/.356), Schneemann (.194/.268/.309), and Martínez (.207/.283/.313) all had terrible numbers after the All-Star Break. Arias and Rocchio were the starters in the postseason, though Vogt was quick to hit for Arias and use Schneemann off the bench.
Rocchio is probably on the strongest ground of the group, yet he remains a .222/.293/.327 hitter in more than 900 career plate appearances. He turns 25 tomorrow and is out of minor league options. He’ll break camp but shouldn’t be a lock to remain on the roster all season if he doesn’t build off the second half promise. Public metrics have been divided on his defense, grading him highly in 2024 but looking less favorably on last year’s work.
Arias, 26 in February, is also out of options. He has huge physical tools: plus bat speed and raw power, a solid glove, and an excellent arm. That’s undercut by an untenable approach. Arias chases tons of pitches off the plate and too frequently gets beat within the strike zone. He had the fourth-highest strikeout rate among hitters with 300+ plate appearances. No one missed more often on a per-pitch basis. Aside from occasionally running into a fastball for a homer, he’s not going to provide any offense.
Schneemann is a utility player who is a couple weeks away from his 29th birthday. He’ll work some walks and pop a few home runs against right-handed pitching, but there’s also too much swing-and-miss in his game to be a regular. He’s a .210/.290/.358 hitter with 17 homers and a 29% strikeout rate in 643 career plate appearances. Schneemann has a full slate of minor league options and could therefore be the first one sent down if/when the Guardians bring up a higher-upside player from the minor leagues.
The Prospects
Guards fans have eagerly awaited the arrival of second baseman Travis Bazzana since the club announced his selection with the top pick in the ’24 draft. It has become increasingly common for top college draftees to get to the big leagues before the end of their first full professional season. Bazzana didn’t move that quickly, at least in part because of recurring oblique issues. The Oregon State product had decent numbers between the top two minor league levels (.245/.389/.424 including seven rehab games in the Complex League), but he was limited to 84 games by a pair of IL stints.
Bazzana will be one of the most important players to watch in Spring Training. He remains one of the better offensive talents in the minors. He has 26 games of Triple-A experience. The Guardians could justify sending him back there to begin the season but should leave the door open to him breaking camp. Bazzana’s minor league approach probably tipped over the line from patient to passive, leading both to a ton of walks (17.6%) and a decent amount of strikeouts (24.3%). He’s not a finished product, but there’s a good chance he’s already a better hitter than Arias or Schneemann would be.
Vogt said at the Winter Meetings that Rocchio would get a lot of shortstop work during Spring Training (link via Zack Meisel of The Athletic). That’d leave the door open for Bazzana at second with Arias and/or Schneemann in a utility role. It also magnifies camp’s importance for 24-year-old second base prospect Juan Brito.
Brito has held a spot on the 40-man roster for three years but has yet to make his MLB debut. He would have gotten that opportunity last year but for thumb and hamstring injuries that both required surgery. He was limited to 24 Triple-A contests. The Guardians were granted a fourth option year, so they’re not forced to carry Brito on the MLB roster.
If they give the Opening Day second base job to Bazzana, Brito probably needs an injury or the more highly-regarded prospect to struggle in order to find his way into the lineup. He’s not a great athlete and unlikely to be all that effective as a multi-positional defender. Yet Brito has hit throughout his career, posting an OPS above .800 at every stop. That includes a .255/.366/.442 mark across nearly 800 Triple-A plate appearances over parts of three seasons. That’s an appealing profile for a lineup that had far too many wasted at-bats.
Shortstop prospect Angel Genao is the only other middle infielder on the 40-man roster. He’s a 21-year-old who has yet to play a Triple-A game. Genao is coming off a solid but unspectacular .259/.323/.359 showing over 77 Double-A contests. Scouting reports peg him as a potential everyday player, but he remains a work in progress on both sides of the ball. While he’ll hopefully be an upgrade over Rocchio and Arias down the line, there’s little to no chance that he’s on the Opening Day roster. A second half debut is plausible but not guaranteed.
Guardians Option Brayan Rocchio
The Guardians announced that outfielder Will Brennan has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Infielder Brayan Rocchio has been sent the other way, optioned to Columbus as the corresponding move.
Rocchio, 24, heads to the minors for the first time since the 2023 season. He spent the entire 2024 campaign in the big leagues as Cleveland’s primary shortstop. He appeared in 143 games and stepped to the plate 442 times. His offense wasn’t great, as he hit just .206/.298/.316 for a 79 wRC+, indicating he was 21% below league average on the whole. He did steal 10 bases, but was also caught six times. His glovework was well regarded, as he racked up 11 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average.
Put all together, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 1.1 wins above replacement on the season, with Baseball Reference a bit more generous at 1.9. That’s obviously not outstanding production but fine value for a guy making modest pay since he’s in his pre-arbitration years.
It was enough for him to open the 2025 season back in that role, but his performance has tanked and he has gradually ceded playing time to others. Through 102 plate appearances this year, Rocchio is hitting .165/.235/.198. His .208 batting average on balls in play is quite low but he’s also not hitting the ball with much authority. His average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate are no higher than the 11th percentile of qualified hitters, per Statcast. His 4.9% walk rate is less than half of last year’s 10% clip. The defensive metrics have also soured on him, with OAA having him at league par and DRS at -3.
In recent days and weeks, Gabriel Arias has been taking more of the shortstop time. He has a .264/.319/.416 line and 110 wRC+ on the year, with solid defense to boot. Presumably, he will take over as the regular shortstop now that Rocchio has been optioned. Arias and Daniel Schneemann had previously been sharing second base, so perhaps Schneeman will get more playing time at the keystone as he’s hitting .273/.356/.532 for a 154 wRC+ this year. Ángel Martínez and Will Wilson are on hand to step in to the middle infield, if needed, though Martínez is currently the club’s regular center fielder.
For Rocchio, instead of sitting on the big league bench, he can get some regular playing time with Columbus as he tries to get out of his recent funk. Getting his offense back to a more acceptable level could put him in position to return to the majors when an opportunity arises. He is still young and it’s certainly possible that there are better days ahead for him.
How long he spends on this optional assignment could impact his financial position in the future. He came into 2025 with one year and 37 days of service time. That put him on track to qualify for arbitration after 2026 and free agency after 2029, though those timelines will no longer be possible if he ends up spending several months down on the farm. He also has just one option season left, so he’ll be out of options next year if he spends at least 20 days in the minors this season.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
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.