2023 Guardians Offseason Thread!

[Soar]

I’m hopeful that aggressive youth movement continues.

Also imagine if Bo Naylor can actually hit some… will do wonders for this offense.
Having a catcher who is actually a threat to hit. That alone probably wins us a few games next year.

 

[BigJ0526]

really excited for the future, but also nervous. lots of kids, means they may have a down year next year. can we really expect OG to not regress some? can we expect arias and freeman to be better than miller and clement? who are our starters? will valera/jones/rocchio/others provide anything? will ownership trade bieber and rosario?

im still positive. i think we improve. 94-96 wins and the division next year.

 

[Stark]

And my opinion on Amed and his situation which I’m sure there will be questions about.

Now see you all down the road, time for an RCF purge.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

What's the realistic expectation for some of our young guys to develop some power? How much of the added offense can come from within?

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The best thing is no lockout next spring. The lockout kind of screwed our starting pitching.

The Guardians were 46-44 at the All-Star break and 46-26 in the second half. It took them the first 90 games to get the pitchers stretched out and to weed out the guys who couldn't play (Reyes, Mercado, Clement, Chang, Bradley) and figure out who could (Kwan, Oscar, Gimenez, Brennan, Stephan, Hentges, DLS, Karinchak).

Next year we'll be so far ahead of where we started this year. The starters will be ready to go on Opening Day. Josh Naylor will be 100% and not coming off a gruesome injury. The everyday lineup, the rotation, and all but one spot in the bullpen will be set. Like Bimbo said, just replace Miller and Clement with Arias and Freeman.

The front office learned so much this year about who they can go forward with and who they can't. The finished product ended the season 24-6, then won 4 of 7 playoff games against the Rays and Yankees. Just look at the pitchers who started those seven games; McLanahan, Glasnow, Cole (twice), Cortes (twice), and Severino. The Guardians still went 4-3 in the playoffs against some of the toughest pitchers in baseball.

Yes, they need to decide about Rosario, but there is really no wrong decision. I would replace Plesac with Morris in the rotation and AFAIC Civale is on borrowed time until Williams, Espino, or Bibee is kicking down the door.

The Guardians are so well-positioned it's ridiculous.

I wish they could have survived this series. The Astros would have trampled them I'm sure, but for possibly the first time in my life I would be able (this Sunday) to watch the Guardians, Cavaliers, and Browns play on the same day.

 

[Stark]

Jhonkensy Noel could be an interesting internal platoon option with Naylor at 1B/DH.

Right handed hitter with a ton of power (32 HR in MiLB this year) but a lot of swing and miss in his game.

 

[Mr. Orange]

Look at this NLCS game. Phillies have 3 hits. Lead 2-0. I am not sure small ball is going to win on Oct. We need some more power.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Look at this NLCS game. Phillies have 3 hits. Lead 2-0. I am not sure small ball is going to win on Oct. We need some more power.

Power helps.

Any strategy can win.

We're one or two hits away from beating the Yankees in four and talking about game 1 vs Houston tomorrow.

To everyone saying power helps--of course it does.

But if you're saying we need to gut this team and mirroring the Yankees offense is the only way to win, you're dead wrong.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Look at this NLCS game. Phillies have 3 hits. Lead 2-0. I am not sure small ball is going to win on Oct. We need some more power.

The Padres had fewer than that…

 

[KilgoreTrout]

The best thing is no lockout next spring. The lockout kind of screwed our starting pitching.

The Guardians were 46-44 at the All-Star break and 46-26 in the second half. It took them the first 90 games to get the pitchers stretched out and to weed out the guys who couldn't play (Reyes, Mercado, Clement, Chang, Bradley) and figure out who could (Kwan, Oscar, Gimenez, Brennan, Stephan, Hentges, DLS, Karinchak).

Next year we'll be so far ahead of where we started this year. The starters will be ready to go on Opening Day. Josh Naylor will be 100% and not coming off a gruesome injury. The everyday lineup, the rotation, and all but one spot in the bullpen will be set. Like Bimbo said, just replace Miller and Clement with Arias and Freeman.

The front office learned so much this year about who they can go forward with and who they can't. The finished product ended the season 24-6, then won 4 of 7 playoff games against the Rays and Yankees. Just look at the pitchers who started those seven games; McLanahan, Glasnow, Cole (twice), Cortes (twice), and Severino. The Guardians still went 4-3 in the playoffs against some of the toughest pitchers in baseball.

Yes, they need to decide about Rosario, but there is really no wrong decision. I would replace Plesac with Morris in the rotation and AFAIC Civale is on borrowed time until Williams, Espino, or Bibee is kicking down the door.

The Guardians are so well-positioned it's ridiculous.

I wish they could have survived this series. The Astros would have trampled them I'm sure, but for possibly the first time in my life I would be able (this Sunday) to watch the Guardians, Cavaliers, and Browns play on the same day.

Not gonna lie - I’m still bummin’ hard.

 

[Mr. Orange]

The Padres had fewer than that…

Yeah but this series showed that the singles hitting experiment needs to end if we want the hardware. Need HR/SO guys.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Yeah but this series showed that the singles hitting experiment needs to end if we want the hardware. Need HR/SO guys.

We definitely need more than we’ve got. But Franmil Reyes was supposed to hit for power, and he couldn’t hit for dick.

 

[Criznit]

Not gonna lie - I’m still bummin’ hard.

Me too. It was a helluva ride.

 

[CBBI]

If Rosario stays, then they don't really need anything. A 4th OF who can start/pinch hit against LHP would be nice to have as the RF competition (Brennan, Jones, Benson) are all left-handed bats.

If Rosario goes, then they would likely need two additions as Arias would become the starting SS. So they would then need a 1B to platoon with Naylor against LHP. In addition to that, they would also need someone who could either start in RF or at DH against LHP as well since Gonzalez would be only be able to man one of those two spots. Unless they want to get Freeman’s at bats at DH against LHP.

Rosario Stays
C: Bo Naylor
1B: Josh Naylor v. RHP, Gabriel Arias v. LHP
2B: Andres Gimenez
SS: Amed Rosario
3B: Jose Ramirez
LF: Steven Kwan
CF: Myles Straw
RF: Will Brennan v. RHP, Oscar Gonzalez v. LHP
DH: Oscar Gonzalez + Gimenez/Rosaio/Ramirez with Arias starting at 2B/SS/3B 1x week at each

Bench: Hedges, Freeman, Benson/Jones/New 4th OF

Rosario Goes
C: Bo Naylor
1B: Josh Naylor v. RHP, NEW ACQUISITION 1 v. LHP
2B: Andres Gimenez
SS: Gabriel Arias
3B: Jose Ramirez
LF: Steven Kwan
CF: Myles Straw
RF: Will Brennan v. RHP, Oscar Gonzalez or NEW ACQUISITION 2 v. LHP
DH: Oscar Gonzalez or NEW ACQUISITION 2

Bench: Hedges, Freeman

 

[Real Deal]

Imagine shaming this team because 'they came up short'

Seriously, imagine lumping this 2022 team in with past teams that went through the times together for a handful of years. The same team that was picked to barely win 70 games, and yet they were 1 game away from the ALCS against a heavy favorite in Houston.

I'm disappointed in the 2-1 fall off, I'm upset of the choking ABs away yesterday. Rosario never bunts, but he sure had the worst AB of the day in the first 5 min of the game. Pressure makes you burst a pipe, ask AC. But I'm not going to be lumping them in with other teams failing to execute, because they shouldn't even know how to execute at this age, it's a jumpstart at what's to come and that's something to look forward to.

If anything the organization is now under fire, they have to put a few pieces together of they truly want to hoist the trophy. I'm expecting the fan base to be back on the rise. There's a lot of things to like.