2023 Guardians Spring Training Thread

[Juice is Loose]

You don’t add 10-12 pounds of “muscle” in 4 months without being on the gas.

With the quality of trainers and access to pretty much whatever he wants. I’m going to assume pro athletes have a much easier time putting on muscle than normal dudes.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

A 6'0" player adding 10-12 pounds is a bigger deal than a 6'5" guy like Will Benson or Nolan Jones adding that weight.

 

[The Oi]

1) The picture they posted is lol. How are we supposed to be able to tell?

Need one of these:



2) I’d like to think if he’s juicing, they wouldn’t draw attention to it via twitter.

 

[CDAV45]

I agree with you sorta due to Freeman's underwhelming arm but I can see either Freeman or Arias playing either corner OF and Freeman has a good reputation for baseball savviness which I think can go along way if he can be a mini Kwan. Both have good enough speed at 28.1 (Freeman) and 28.0 (Arias) which is slower than Kwan (28.4) and faster than Brennan (27.4) who people actually want to throw in CF for some reason. With Freeman I actually see more CF upside in that he would maybe be able to play it passably in enough time. Not sure I can say the same for Arias. My personal theory is that there's just an innate ability to track balls that correlates with being a disciplined contact hitter and being a good outfielder. See: Kwan and Straw, who both have great contact rates and know how to read a ball in the air like very few others. This isn't always the case but I like Freeman's chances. Arias I personally like a lot more in the left side of the infield and using him in the OF seems like a bit of wasted talent.

Clearly you haven’t watched Will play CF. He’s pretty damn good out there.

Agree with Arias in the OF. Too good of a glove and arm on the left side to dick around with him in the OF. It’s not like we’re short on corner OFers.

If Freeman can play CF with some decency I’d be all for that too.

 

[CDAV45]

You don’t add 10-12 pounds of “muscle” in 4 months without being on the gas.

Totally not true at all, but it’s your story.

 

[sportscoach]

@BMAN

You can actually add that weight fairly easily if you know what you are doing and your build can support the additional weight.

Now I wouldn't recommend it without talking to doctor, trainers and whatnot. It's not hard to put on weight like that, but it's easy to lose mobility and cause other issues if you don't do it correctly...

 

[BMAN]

Lol I know what I’m doing in the weight room. But I’ll just check the box that I’m the asshole.

 

[PocketMonger]

@BMAN

You can actually add that weight fairly easily if you know what you are doing and your build can support the additional weight.

Now I wouldn't recommend it without talking to doctor, trainers and whatnot. It's not hard to put on weight like that, but it's easy to lose mobility and cause other issues if you don't do it correctly...

Yeah you can 10-12 pounds of weight very easily in 4 months. Adding 10-12 pounds muscle is a different thing all together.

 

[Gson]

Yeah you can 10-12 pounds of weight very easily in 4 months. Adding 10-12 pounds muscle is a different thing all together.

The added weight could be a direct result of the torn rotator cuff injury he sustained during the 2021 season & shelved him until the start of the 2022 season.. It looks like shoulders and upper body have been the focus.. Along with flexibility exercises and the intrinsic ability to put the barrel of the bat on the ball.. this could be the forerunner of his break out season.. It is a very good time for this to happen..

If he waits.. he may never get another chance.. I think @sportscoach alluded to the steam roller coming behind him... so it's now or never.. (it's not never.. but...)

 

[Derek]

I once gained almost 80 lbs in 3 months with the help of steroids

And Digiorno

 

[Mott the Hoople]

From a spring training report:

Over the winter Straw attended the Guardians’ swing camp in Cleveland.



“That was good,” said Francona. “But it was not just coming to camp, but he came with an open mind. I think it gave him and Val (Chris Valaika, hitting coach) some days to talk. When you don’t have the emotion of the game hanging over you, (it’s easier to accomplish things).



“I think the word vulnerable is a good word. It’s hard to do that when you’re competing. I think Val felt really good about that and I know Myles did.”

I'm glad to learn Myles was working on the problem.

 

[KluberSociety]

Clearly you haven’t watched Will play CF. He’s pretty damn good out there.

Agree with Arias in the OF. Too good of a glove and arm on the left side to dick around with him in the OF. It’s not like we’re short on corner OFers.

If Freeman can play CF with some decency I’d be all for that too.

I watched Will (Benson) play CF because that's mainly who played CF when both were options. Brennan on the other hand got more time in the corner spots.

He's likely on the lower end of "MLB caliber" for CF. If you're to put him in the lineup to play CF, you are going to be doing it because you want his bat in there, not his glove.

He's got some skills, and a surprisingly strong arm (OGonz has an even stronger arm but can't field). Not extremely fast and that does matter for tracking down balls. I think he can be extremely good at RF whereas he will always be more "meh" in CF but defense isn't everything. An OF of Kwan, Straw, and Brennan could be one of the best defensive OFs ever because yeah we're talking about 3 talented OFs who all could play CF if they had to.

 

[macbdog]

From a spring training report:

Over the winter Straw attended the Guardians’ swing camp in Cleveland.



“That was good,” said Francona. “But it was not just coming to camp, but he came with an open mind. I think it gave him and Val (Chris Valaika, hitting coach) some days to talk. When you don’t have the emotion of the game hanging over you, (it’s easier to accomplish things).



“I think the word vulnerable is a good word. It’s hard to do that when you’re competing. I think Val felt really good about that and I know Myles did.”

I'm glad to learn Myles was working on the problem.

My prediction from the predictions thread is rounding into shape...

 

[CDAV45]

I watched Will (Benson) play CF because that's mainly who played CF when both were options. Brennan on the other hand got more time in the corner spots.

He's likely on the lower end of "MLB caliber" for CF. If you're to put him in the lineup to play CF, you are going to be doing it because you want his bat in there, not his glove.

He's got some skills, and a surprisingly strong arm (OGonz has an even stronger arm but can't field). Not extremely fast and that does matter for tracking down balls. I think he can be extremely good at RF whereas he will always be more "meh" in CF but defense isn't everything. An OF of Kwan, Straw, and Brennan could be one of the best defensive OFs ever because yeah we're talking about 3 talented OFs who all could play CF if they had to.

I’ve seen him make some plays at the wall that Straw doesn’t make. No he can’t get to every ball that Myles can get to, but I seriously doubt it’s enough to make a difference in the end. Factor in his bat which would be like having a similar bat to Kwan’s with a little less average and a bit more power and you have your starting CFer IMO. At the very worst he’s an average MLB CFer and most likely a little better than that. He has good instincts out there and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him not make a play that he should have. I guess “sound” with a penchant for making spectacular plays is a good description.

 

[CDAV45]

I watched Will (Benson) play CF because that's mainly who played CF when both were options. Brennan on the other hand got more time in the corner spots.

He's likely on the lower end of "MLB caliber" for CF. If you're to put him in the lineup to play CF, you are going to be doing it because you want his bat in there, not his glove.

He's got some skills, and a surprisingly strong arm (OGonz has an even stronger arm but can't field). Not extremely fast and that does matter for tracking down balls. I think he can be extremely good at RF whereas he will always be more "meh" in CF but defense isn't everything. An OF of Kwan, Straw, and Brennan could be one of the best defensive OFs ever because yeah we're talking about 3 talented OFs who all could play CF if they had to.

When OGon takes over the majority of DH at bats you’re probably right with saying Kwan, Straw and Brennan unless one of Valera or DeLauter burst onto the scene.

I have to admit that the idea of Freeman becoming an CFer is intriguing. I don't know if he'll "cut the mustard" out there, but it would be worth a shot IMO. Although I'm not big on all these high average/no power hitters. They aren't going to get you to the promise land. They have their place, but too many of them leave a team lacking.

Even more intriguing is James Outman. He's blocked behind Peralta in LA now. Lots of tools and plays very good defense in CF. My type of player for sure.