2023 Guardians Offseason Thread!

CBBI said:

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All this to finish in 2nd. Gs still better across the board.

Juice is Loose said:

Andre Knott was on a podcast with Will Burge (Cleveland Barstool) and they talked G's for a little bit.

- He was just down in the DR, spent time with Jose, Oscar and Amed​

- Was down there to tell THEIR story. It's about the players down there​

- Everyone in the DR is VERY high on Oscar. They talk about superstar level for him (Vlad Guerrero comparsions)​

- The younger DR players looked up to Jose Reyes when he was in his prime. Reyes clowns on players from down there that do interviews speaking in English. That's why many of the players still speak in Spanish in interviews with Dre and whoever (could be a stay true to your roots thing)​

- I think it was Jim Bowden that reported G's were in on Michael Brantley this offseason. Dre texted Brantley and he said G's haven't/never called.​

- Dre thought they should've brought him back in 18' and that Brantley was open to coming back.​

- He still talks to a lot of the former players. Said Lindor reached out to a few players when we started the playoffs. Players are still very close even if they move on​

- They were competitive for Jose Abreu, but didn't get into specifics​

- He talked about Nolan Jones being our #1 prospect for a while and why no one ever mentioned Oscar. He said its much easier for reporters and all these prospect sites to read articles about guys in the states, rather than countries like DR. Exposure plays a big factor in how these guys are ranked​

- Myles Straw is a better hitter than he showed last season. Guys in the club house love him​

- Arias is THAT GUY. He was taking BP on the road while in AA, big leaguers mistook him for Tatis Jr. Just has to find a way to get himself in the lineup, but he's that good and he'll find a way.​

- they asked about a Bieber extension, brushed it off and just laughed.​

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I also heard that each of the young guys down there are already in the best shape of their careers, each gained 10 lbs of muscle thanks to home cooking, and are shooting 1000 jumpers a day.

That move makes the Twins lineup 1 injury to Buxton or Correa, which seems to happen every season, away from one of the worst lineups in baseball.

Not having to deal with Arraez bumping up pitch counts anymore will be nice on my heart.

Juice is Loose said:

Andre Knott was on a podcast with Will Burge (Cleveland Barstool) and they talked G's for a little bit.

- He was just down in the DR, spent time with Jose, Oscar and Amed​

- Was down there to tell THEIR story. It's about the players down there​

- Everyone in the DR is VERY high on Oscar. They talk about superstar level for him (Vlad Guerrero comparsions)​

- The younger DR players looked up to Jose Reyes when he was in his prime. Reyes clowns on players from down there that do interviews speaking in English. That's why many of the players still speak in Spanish in interviews with Dre and whoever (could be a stay true to your roots thing)​

- I think it was Jim Bowden that reported G's were in on Michael Brantley this offseason. Dre texted Brantley and he said G's haven't/never called.​

- Dre thought they should've brought him back in 18' and that Brantley was open to coming back.​

- He still talks to a lot of the former players. Said Lindor reached out to a few players when we started the playoffs. Players are still very close even if they move on​

- They were competitive for Jose Abreu, but didn't get into specifics​

- He talked about Nolan Jones being our #1 prospect for a while and why no one ever mentioned Oscar. He said its much easier for reporters and all these prospect sites to read articles about guys in the states, rather than countries like DR. Exposure plays a big factor in how these guys are ranked​

- Myles Straw is a better hitter than he showed last season. Guys in the club house love him​

- Arias is THAT GUY. He was taking BP on the road while in AA, big leaguers mistook him for Tatis Jr. Just has to find a way to get himself in the lineup, but he's that good and he'll find a way.​

- they asked about a Bieber extension, brushed it off and just laughed.​

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Thanks ... and I also had heard that our offer to Abreu was very competitive (maybe a wee bit more) but I would assume Houston with their line-up and WS contention year-end year-out appealed to an aging player a wee bit more.

Yet, I don't really buy into this argument that DR players like Oscar don't get the attention versus a Jones. I can see a Leiter or Rocker getting attention in college WS or a phenom HS player but that wasn't Jones (had some hype but not national hype). Not one of us really knew Jones more than he was a good player in HS. Did any of us go to a PG show and watch him? And now with sites highlighting International Signing day as much as the draft, you get to know the big time players like a Tatis. Heck, we knew of Yandy D, Yu C and Erik G.

Oscar just got overlooked due to his high K rates ... 25.4%, 39%, 25.8%, 23.1%, 17.1%, 23.4% and 15.6% that he had to fix overtime ... almost like Benson (we will see on him). But, how much do even USA prospects in our system get dinged for whiffing too much? Sure, no one out of Cleveland knew of Oscar before this year too much but you can say that of Benson as well. Both are in same boat.

Once international players get stateside, they start getting attention that hs/college kids get who were drafted in top 4-5 rounds. Heck, we all know that Izturis got overlooked by FG today but that will change next year when scouts see him in Arizona and buzz starts. Francisca is getting a lot of hype even though he hasn't even taken the field yet.

LL3 said:

I remain pretty bullish on Arias as a ‘23 contributor and long term piece…not sure what position, but also not sure that matters much.

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I have Arias penciled in replacing Miller as an utility guy... Miller got 400 ABs, so I have Arias about that...

sportscoach said:

I have Arias penciled in replacing Miller as an utility guy... Miller got 400 ABs, so I have Arias about that...

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Doesn't Freeman take some of those ABs as well? Do we have roster room for Arias and Freeman?

daddywags said:

Doesn't Freeman take some of those ABs as well? Do we have roster room for Arias and Freeman?

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Not really as the 13th guy rarely plays like Clement and Mercado last year. It would have been easier without Bell where everyday players could DH more. But, Arias can play 1B and LF to get time (maybe bench Naylor against all lefties). Freeman will be harder to get in with Ramirez, Rosario and Gimenez. But, if you get some one of the waiver wire to be that 13th bench guy who sits, you will lose someone off 40 man.

daddywags said:

Doesn't Freeman take some of those ABs as well? Do we have roster room for Arias and Freeman?

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Let me ask you this. What makes more sense, to give the majority of AB to an average/slightly below average offensive player with spotty defense who is soon to hit FA or a young, uber talented kid that could catapult your offense up a level? Unless Arias tanks he's going to get more than 400 AB and what a waste of what is arguably the best defensive SS in the organization if he's relegated to a utility role. He just brings an entirely different dynamic to the defense and the lineup that neither Rosario or Freeman can provide. That doesn't mean he'll realize his full potential, but if you're serious about winning you have to give him the opportunity or make another move.

I’m here for a Gabriel Arias breakout campaign.

I really am. Sign me up for that kid earning an everyday slot by the summer.

daddywags said:

Doesn't Freeman take some of those ABs as well? Do we have roster room for Arias and Freeman?

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If Rosario is traded, Freeman and Arias both have roles... If Rosario is here, it goes to Arias who is the stronger of the two defensively...

Hence why I was thinking the last roster spot will be rotation of players or we find a veteran utility man (Aka Mike Freeman's of the world) to take those last 200ish ABs... it's possible we see a bunch of guys on the roster just to get their feet wet in a sense...

Arraez never hit very well vs. Cleveland, believe it or not.
A Little better than Owen Miller did last year, but not by an awful lot.

Benway said:

Arraez never hit very well vs. Cleveland, believe it or not.
A Little better than Owen Miller did last year, but not by an awful lot.

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But he hits well against most of the teams in the league. He's just to good of a hitter for a team that lacks depth in proven/legit hitters.

This shortens their lineup and makes it easier to maneuver around Correa and Buxton

Alabuckeye said:

This shortens their lineup and makes it easier to maneuver around Correa and Buxton

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How so? They'll have Correa at SS and Polanco at 2B. I'd rather face Arraez everyday of the week than Polanco. You people wishing this was a bad move for the Twins are cracking me up.

CDAV45 said:

How so? They'll have Correa at SS and Polanco at 2B. I'd rather face Arraez everyday of the week than Polanco. You people wishing this was a bad move for the Twins are cracking me up.

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Arraez is a way better hitter than Polanco... Arraez is probably the best pure contact hitter in all of baseball.

Plus tell me who is in their lineup...

Correa, Polanco, Buxton, Kepler... Miranda... and who else? Oh wait, Buxton and Kepler haven't been able to stay in the lineup, so it's just Polanco and Correa, with Miranda trying to take a step forward and Gordon mimicking Rosario...

Can you even name the position players they even have?