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2023 Guardians Spring Training Thread

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Carlos Vargas.. just mowed down two Guardians hitters with high heat and a cutter... Andres Gimenez was able to put the barrel on the ball for a ripped single... (and was replaced by Brito running for him) before blowing away Mike Zunino on a triple digit FB that he couldn't catch up to... Losing Vargas was a mistake..
I would have never chosen to drop Vargas in favor of someone like Palacios. I don't mean for that to sound like I don't like Palacios, but Vargas could have helped this already fantastic BP.
 
Very nice performance from Aaron Civale tonight...
 
Not with his walk rate last year. He'll have to demonstrate he can limit the free passes significantly if he's to get the call. I'm sure some of that is due to the cutter trial and error, but Bibee's control is superior. There are a lot of options and the one(s) they choose are probably already on the 40 man so this is a moot point. In all fairness I did say "Me" to preface the suggestion of promoting Bibee.

Allen and Battenfield are above Bibee...

If we see Bibee then we either had injuries or we are out of contention. There is no way he sees MLB time in 23 otherwise.
 
I would have never chosen to drop Vargas in favor of someone like Palacios. I don't mean for that to sound like I don't like Palacios, but Vargas could have helped this already fantastic BP.

I don't 100% get the Vargas move myself, but they made it. We won't really won't ever know why either...
 
Allen and Battenfield are above Bibee...

If we see Bibee then we either had injuries or we are out of contention. There is no way he sees MLB time in 23 otherwise.
No they are not because there is no reason for them to be. Bibee is the most polished SP prospect this organization has. He'll be seeing time in Cleveland at some point. The only thing preventing him from making his debut now is the 40 man juggling that would be required.

Time to make a deal or 2 CA. Quit fuckin' lolly-gagging around already.
 
Allen and Battenfield are above Bibee...

If we see Bibee then we either had injuries or we are out of contention. There is no way he sees MLB time in 23 otherwise.
whoa...I completely disagree with this. Bibee will be here a lot sooner than you think. Brass absolutely loves him.
 
Civale with, perhaps, his best outing of the spring.. nice to see..
Not with his walk rate last year. He'll have to demonstrate he can limit the free passes significantly if he's to get the call. I'm sure some of that is due to the cutter trial and error, but Bibee's control is superior. There are a lot of options and the one(s) they choose are probably already on the 40 man so this is a moot point. In all fairness I did say "Me" to preface the suggestion of promoting Bibee.
A cutter is very much a feel pitch.. as such.. there are many guys who abandon the pitch because of their inability to command it.. Allen isn't one of those guys.. Allen could be the guy.. if one's selected..
 
Civale with, perhaps, his best outing of the spring.. nice to see..

A cutter is very much a feel pitch.. as such.. there are many guys who abandon the pitch because of their inability to command it.. Allen isn't one of those guys.. Allen could be the guy.. if one's selected..
Well if he is the one I hope he pitches his ass off. It's time for some of these SP prospects to get opportunities to prove themselves. Should they do that, and I have no reason to believe they won't, then it's time to make a couple of trades. I firmly believe that all of Allen, Bibee, Williams, Battenfield, Gaddis and Pilkington can all find success at the highest level to varying degrees. It's time to start finding out IMO.
 
Yep... Gaddis is the best we got now, I don't trust the others at all. Just gotta get him stretched out slowly I guess. I still have a lack of confidence in him but our 6th starter situation isn't great. Please no Curry or Pilkington.

Morris might be ready at some point, Triston to 60 day IL likely.
 
Let's keep on breaking it down.

40 man roster guys...
Hunter Gaddis
Konnor Pilkington
Xzavion Curry
Joey Cantillo - performance/results accelerate this fella.
Cody Morris - how injured is he? Likely enough to be out longer than TMac?

Next up - these guys require roster spots.
Battenfield - Will have to perform. Seem pretty out to me unless the plan is to give him the Kirk McCarty roster treatment.
Logan Allen - rostering him (like the following) requires a long term roster commitment.. Will have to perform, as others in this same boat probably have priority... See:
Tanner Bibee - If he hits 5+ dominant starts in the early going and the need is there... Don't look back.
Gavin Williams - If he hits 5+ dominannnnn... Wait see above.
 
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Let's keep on breaking it down.

40 man roster guys...
Hunter Gaddis
Konnor Pilkington
Xzavion Curry
Joey Cantillo - performance/results accelerate this fella.
Cody Morris - how injured is he? Likely enough to be out longer than TMac?

Next up - these guys require roster spots.
Battenfield - Will have to perform. Seem pretty out to me unless the plan is to give him the Kirk McCarty roster treatment.
Logan Allen - rostering him (like the following) requires a long term roster commitment.. Will have to perform, as others in this same boat probably have priority... See:
Tanner Bibee - If he hits 5+ dominant starts in the early going and the need is there... Don't look back.
Gavin Williams - If he hits 5+ dominannnnn... Wait see above.
I don't think we're going to see non 40-manners getting called up in Triston's absence. Curry (or maybe Pilkington) probably takes the long relief role while Gaddis enters the rotation. We aren't gaining anything extra at this point by calling up a Battenfield or Allen to justify adding them to the 40 man. Bibee and Williams also aren't going to skip over AAA out of nowhere, although either one of them can theoretically overtake Battenfield and Allen. Allen has been struggling as of late.
 
MMBC- Monday Morning Bench Coach
  • If I was Amed's agent, there is no way in hell I would have him sign a team friendly extension right now. If he has a season similar to last year, and becomes a FA, it would be the perfect storm. He would be the top FA SS. Actually, he might be more valuable than some SS that have already cashed in. Salaries don't go down in MLB. That would be generational type money.

A 4th straight (full) season of a .280 / .320 / .410 with a wRC+ hovering around 100 and average at best defense is going to make a team give him "generational money"?

Hard, hard disagree. No team is going to pay him stupid money if he doesn't a take up a leap in production, even if he is the best SS FA available
 
A 4th straight (full) season of a .280 / .320 / .410 with a wRC+ hovering around 100 and average at best defense is going to make a team give him "generational money"?

Hard, hard disagree. No team is going to pay him stupid money if he doesn't a take up a leap in production, even if he is the best SS FA available
I think he is most likely getting a Josh Bell type deal. A 1 year contract for decent money to see if he should get more. I would be surprised if he got more than 3 years from anyone unless he takes it to a new level this year.
 
Yeah I wonder what kind of team will give Amed money to play SS into his 30s. This is why I see him actually shifting over to 3B. I didn't realize how weak the SS market was though, but still that range probably isn't going to get better. Even Correa who is supposedly a few steps above, was ready to shift over to 3B. The standards on MLB SSs are just so high.
 

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