2024 Guardians Regular Season Thread

[MattyFos.]

Resilient as fuck. No lead is safe from the Guardians.

I hope to go on a tear through the As series.

It's a Shame Bibee didn't get the W. He pitched well his lead should have held.

 

[Kiddo]

I love how Arias is swinging the bat, his hands seem so quick to the ball! Sounded like the coaches had him raise his hands a little so hopefully it stays that way. Florial coming around is great to see, both these guys have huge power potential. Gone are the days of Straw swinging weakly and hitting a lazy fly to deep 2B. Even Tyler Freeman is swinging the bat HARD! Crushed a HR over the green monster and out of the park. There is so much to love about this team already, yet there is so much room to grow still. Big Gav and perhaps Cantillo will enter the mix at some point, plus our lefty bash brothers in minors.

Vogt gets it, he immediately saw the need for making more contact with the bat (which was obvious) but also having purpose when you make that contact! Seems to be paying off already

 

[petes999]

Any news on Hentges? Just seems strange that mlb writeup that he was supposed to throw live pen hitters last Friday but that got pushed to this week due to the rain on Friday. He could have thrown inside but I would have assumed outdoor live hitters would just be a couple days afterwards - just to get him to a rehab assignment.

Just wondering why they are messing around with guys like Avila when they have already trade Int $$$ for a couple relievers, especially now that Lively needs a spot (as we also thought Hentges was 2 or so weeks away). I know these are games that Cleveland FO typically plays and he will be designated in a week or two anyways (grab and DFA w hopes to stash guy). But, whose spot on the 40/26 does he take? I assume Bedee. And, with Lively, you need to option either Curry/Smith/Morgan from 26 man (Can do Bedee today and someone else tomorrow when Avila passes physical). Would they really option another pen arm though (over Curry) - leaving 2 holes in an overused pen (Avila and Curry/Lively who need rest after their starts)?

And, why not take a look at Parsons who you just paid $250K in Int $$$ or Kent who also took some Int $$$$ before Avila's stint????? Only Peter Strzelecki is timed out due to being optioned for Curry.

 

[BMAN]

I love how Arias is swinging the bat, his hands seem so quick to the ball! Sounded like the coaches had him raise his hands a little so hopefully it stays that way. Florial coming around is great to see, both these guys have huge power potential. Gone are the days of Straw swinging weakly and hitting a lazy fly to deep 2B. Even Tyler Freeman is swinging the bat HARD! Crushed a HR over the green monster and out of the park. There is so much to love about this team already, yet there is so much room to grow still. Big Gav and perhaps Cantillo will enter the mix at some point, plus our lefty bash brothers in minors.

Vogt gets it, he immediately saw the need for making more contact with the bat (which was obvious) but also having purpose when you make that contact! Seems to be paying off already

Laughed at deep 2B.

 

[KFlash_12]

Um - we got a top 100 prospect for a year and a half of Civale... Which is again why Oakland will NOT trade Blackburn for anything less than a haul at this time. Oakland will roll the dice on a bidding war, or give it another go this off-season/2025 deadline.

@Wham with the Right Hand... Velazquez for Blackburn? No thanks - I don't want to risk a Junior Caminero 2.0 situation.

As of now Will Dion would be what I would offer for Blackburn, and I probably wouldn't pull the trigger if that was somehow enough.

Um Civale had a sub 2.34 ERA when he was traded and has a lifetime 3.86 ERA. He's a solid #3 pitcher, Blackburn hasn't posted a sub 4 ERA since his Rookie year and has an almost 5 lifetime ERA, he's a guy you hope you don't have to give regular starts too as anything more than a #5.

Really bad comparison. Really really bad.

 

[Urban]

Civale also had 2.5 years left on this contract. Blackburn will only have 1.5 years left at the deadline.

 

[Damage]

You are 100% correct, my friend.

Dude has six warnings over the past two years, including political talk in this Forum.

He is now on vacation for three months.

Next person that breaks the politics rule, or otherwise refuses to follow moderator guidance will get six months.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Given where we are at with the offense, what do you guys think it would take to trade for not 1, but two high end pitchers at the deadline? It seems we have a log jam of MIF & enough solid talent who are a few years away that we can make a run at this thing.

Schedule be damned, the team is resilient, the offense has been explosive, pitching is the one weak spot and aside from Williams coming back; I do not see how you take this pitching staff to the next level given our current inconsistencies & lack of depth.

 

[BMAN]

Given where we are at with the offense, what do you guys think it would take to trade for not 1, but two high end pitchers at the deadline? It seems we have a log jam of MIF & enough solid talent who are a few years away that we can make a run at this thing.

Schedule be damned, the team is resilient, the offense has been explosive, pitching is the one weak spot and aside from Williams coming back; I do not see how you take this pitching staff to the next level given our current inconsistencies & lack of depth.

I’d love to clear up some of the MIF we have to trade for a couple pitchers. Me being a jock sniffer, I’d maybe look to trade Rocchio while he has value along with a couple others.

 

[PocketMonger]

It still feels like the rotation will fall apart at some point and the team along with it. Just hope this season isn't a repeat of 2021 where they started 41-31 and finished 80-82.

Arias's stats look great so far. He's hitting for average and power with a very acceptable K rate of 24%. He does however need to draw a few more walks as he's only drawn 1 walk in 33 PA's.

Florial is striking out in 33% of his PA's but drawing walks 12% of the time. As long as Florial continues to command the zone he should be fine because the power is there.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

It still feels like the rotation will fall apart at some point and the team along with it. Just hope this season isn't a repeat of 2021 where they started 41-31 and finished 80-82.

On the one hand, the team should be even better when Gavin Williams and Sam Hentges get back. Also, we have four guys hitting below .200 in Freeman, Florial, Laureano, and Bo Naylor - they will all improve along with Brennan who is at .222 and Jose at .247/.691. We have six hitters who are far below their norms.

Bibee, Allen, and McKenzie have ERA's of 4.82, 5.06, and 6.23. I have to believe those numbers will come down.

OTOH, Kwan won't continue hitting .372 and Arias won't hit .313/.896 for the season. The bullpen as a whole is due for a regression - we're already seeing it with Beede.

But considering we have six position players and three starters who are well under their norms plus Williams and Hentges coming back, I'd say if anything this team is only going to get better.

Scoring 14 runs in 20 innings (not counting the ghost runners who also scored) against Boston is pretty impressive. The Red Sox had the best ERA in the majors at the start of this series.

Arias's stats look great so far. He's hitting for average and power with a very acceptable K rate of 24%. He does however need to draw a few more walks as he's only drawn 1 walk in 33 PA's.

Florial is striking out in 33% of his PA's but drawing walks 12% of the time. As long as Florial continues to command the zone he should be fine because the power is there.

Arias' walk percentage may be only 3.0% but he's hitting .313/.896! He has 7 RBI's in 32 at-bats. That's 140 RBI's in 640 at-bats if he played every day. He's 4-for-8 against lefties, who owned him last year. He's hitting .385 with RISP! And we're criticizing him for not walking more?

Look at Kwan. His walk rate is 3.7% but he's hitting .372 with on OBP of .395. He's scored 18 runs in 17 games. He's hitting .429 with RISP! I don't care what his walk rate is the way he's hitting the ball. With a runner on second or third I'd much rather see a hit than a walk.

Florial and Laureano are the opposite of Arias and Kwan. Florial has 4 walks and 5 hits with a .185 average. Laureano has 5 walks and has been hit by 5 pitches, but only 6 hits for a .176 average. Every time these guys come up I'm hoping for a walk because they're hitting under .200.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Everything in April is overmagnified, both the good and the bad.
I have come to no conclusions about anybody on this roster.

But, here are some things I Think I know:

• Losing Bieber was a TREMENDOUS blow for the team and the organization. Not only does this make the SP thin and inconsistent, but now he is untradeable.
• Freeman certainly looks like he can play CF.
• Whoever plays SS will be passable, but probably not an All-Star level.
• I'm glad Florial has had some good swings lately. But he won't actually improve his game unless he gets consistent playing time. And that's not likely.
• I think trading Clase would be wise. Closers are not usually consistent over multiple seasons unless they are HOF material.

(Side note: Why was Antonetti at the game in Boston last night? Could a major roster move / trade be upcoming?)

 

[Kevalier]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/guardians-to-acquire-pedro-avila.html

With the 40 man roster being full, my guess is that Tyler Beede gets DFAd with Avila taking his spot in the pen.

 

[Gson]

Given where we are at with the offense, what do you guys think it would take to trade for not 1, but two high end pitchers at the deadline? It seems we have a log jam of MIF & enough solid talent who are a few years away that we can make a run at this thing.

Schedule be damned, the team is resilient, the offense has been explosive, pitching is the one weak spot and aside from Williams coming back; I do not see how you take this pitching staff to the next level given our current inconsistencies & lack of depth.

at this early date in the season.. there are a handful of teams that might be approachable for a trade... Example, Colorado Rockies.. They are a very poor team that could use an injection of near MLB Ready MiLB talent.. The Rockies SP corp. is pretty banged up.. so, not a likely trade partner..

 

[Gson]

Everything in April is overmagnified, both the good and the bad.
I have come to no conclusions about anybody on this roster.

But, here are some things I Think I know:

• Losing Bieber was a TREMENDOUS blow for the team and the organization. Not only does this make the SP thin and inconsistent, but now he is untradeable.
• Freeman certainly looks like he can play CF.
• Whoever plays SS will be passable, but probably not an All-Star level.
• I'm glad Florial has had some good swings lately. But he won't actually improve his game unless he gets consistent playing time. And that's not likely.
• I think trading Clase would be wise. Closers are not usually consistent over multiple seasons unless they are HOF material.

(Side note: Why was Antonetti at the game in Boston last night? Could a major roster move / trade be upcoming?)

yes...