Cleveland Guardians Offseason Discussion 2021-22

[KluberSociety]

"Half a season" sounds very much like a tryout for Mr. Bradley.

I don't think having surplus talent is a bad thing though, if say, Bradley and Naylor are both looking promising at 1B. Somehow I kind of doubt it but I'll be interested to see how Bradley comes back after the offseason. Surely there are a lot of lessons to be learned from his first go.

His healthy OF play looked like that of a 1B, so I'm not sure the injury even matters that much? He's not going to get more nimble with age.

Curious since it was a significant injury, does the club think this will limit his ceiling as a player or do they see it as something he will be able to fully move beyond in time and be the same player he was before?

It seems to me that his future may be at 1B.

The interesting thing might be where Jones fits into all this.

If we lose Jose, I think he'll be seen mostly as a 3B. However if we don't and we have Naylor and Jones in the lineup at the same time, which one plays 1B and which one plays OF? I'd imagine Jones plays OF making Naylor the 1B.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Keep in mind, “half a season” means from the time he is cleared to play fully, which I don’t think would be until the summer.

We’re talking about Naylor being an injury replacement late summer or a September call up “half a season”.

 

[sportscoach]

He and Tom are not similar at all other than they bat from the same side.

I think this kid can contribute, but I don't know if his moderate power will translate therefore I don't see him as a corner OFer. The question I have that cannot be answered at this time is if Steven Kwan is a better all around CFer than Myles Straw?

Kwan is an above average CF, but average athlete for an OF... Straw is both above average CF and above average athlete so on paper Straw will almost always be better than Kwan cause of the better natural speed... LF defensively in Cleveland is where he ends up in my mind cause we have Straw...

We lack power on the roster at the current moment so with the current roster, we won't have anyone that profiles for LF/RF regardless of how we look at the position. So because of that, I want the best hitter possible out there...

 

[KluberSociety]

Keep in mind, “half a season” means from the time he is cleared to play fully, which I don’t think would be until the summer.

We’re talking about Naylor being an injury replacement late summer or a September call up “half a season”.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[sportscoach]

Thanks for the clarification.

Sounds like he would be a trade deadline reinforcement in a sense.

I just personally cannot go into the season expecting anything from him on the field.

 

[KluberSociety]

Sounds like he would be a trade deadline reinforcement in a sense.

I just personally cannot go into the season expecting anything from him on the field.

3rd worst UZR/150 in all of baseball (2019-2021, min 1000 innings). Only Domingo Santana and JaCoby Jones were worse but Jones played some CF which is graded harder. For context, Harold is 15th worst.

Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Outfielders » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

Major League leaderboards for 2021 outfielders with fielding statistics

www.fangraphs.com

 

[sportscoach]

3rd worst UZR/150 in all of baseball (2019-2021, min 1000 innings). Only Domingo Santana and JaCoby Jones were worse but Jones played some CF which is graded harder. For context, Harold is 15th worst.

Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Outfielders » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

Major League leaderboards for 2021 outfielders with fielding statistics

www.fangraphs.com

On paper, I am not sure why exactly the organization likes Naylor since he just doesn't do anything well enough, but hopefully the time off actually allows him to improve overall

 

[KluberSociety]

On paper, I am not sure why exactly the organization likes Naylor since he just doesn't do anything well enough, but hopefully the time off actually allows him to improve overall

Contact skills and latent power make for a hitter with potential, but at some point he has to turn that latent power into real power or it doesn't count.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Curious since it was a significant injury, does the club think this will limit his ceiling as a player or do they see it as something he will be able to fully move beyond in time and be the same player he was before?

It seems to me that his future may be at 1B.

Won't know until he's fully rehabbed. Didn't think he belonged in RF before the injury either.

I do know that right now he is lighter than his playing weight in 21, by a good bit too, and as he rehabs his legs to build that strength back more and more it isn't hard to see more coming off. Will be curious to see what he looks like by the time he is playing rehab games.

 

[CDAV45]

Kwan is an above average CF, but average athlete for an OF... Straw is both above average CF and above average athlete so on paper Straw will almost always be better than Kwan cause of the better natural speed... LF defensively in Cleveland is where he ends up in my mind cause we have Straw...

We lack power on the roster at the current moment so with the current roster, we won't have anyone that profiles for LF/RF regardless of how we look at the position. So because of that, I want the best hitter possible out there...

What Kwan lacks when compared to Straw is as you stated, but he's a better hitter and has a little more power.

Believe it or not I agree with you Coach. If we don't add a significant power bat in the OF corners then by all means put Kwan in one. Hell put Palacios in the other for all I care. I just don't want to see Zimmer or Mercado there anymore. I still like the idea of picking up a young OFer like we've formerly discussed.

 

[Gson]

On paper, I am not sure why exactly the organization likes Naylor since he just doesn't do anything well enough, but hopefully the time off actually allows him to improve overall

...we've seen guys who are injured and take rehabilitation more than a little seriously.. Bobby Bradley converted himself from a baby fat carrying slugger who could launch with anyone while striking out at an inordinately sad rate. When you have an injury.. you're by yourself almost all the time.. You don't have anything else to do but work and work at working:

Example..... you sit on chair while taking batting practice w/o swinging.. just tracking the ball.. watching/recognizing spin.. etc.. things you'd never do with healthy wheels.. wrist work.. hand work.. torso work.. balance work.. anything and everything that you can do.. repeat.. and redo better while you cautiously heal your leg.. it's like being a caged leopard that can only walk on top of a tree limb.. carefully and under self imposed control..

Hopefully.. Josh's little bro, Noah.. is right there with him.. because it's the kind of work that pays dividends for the rest of their lives..

 

[BMAN]

Still the best front office and coaching combo in this town.

 

[KluberSociety]

What Kwan lacks when compared to Straw is as you stated, but he's a better hitter and has a little more power.

Believe it or not I agree with you Coach. If we don't add a significant power bat in the OF corners then by all means put Kwan in one. Hell put Palacios in the other for all I care. I just don't want to see Zimmer or Mercado there anymore. I still like the idea of picking up a young OFer like we've formerly discussed.

Zimmer/Mercado platoon is worth about 2 WAR by last years numbers. While frustrating at the plate it has speed and defense. We could do worse...

I only think 1 of Kwan and Palacios makes sense to be up after spring training, not exactly sure who it'd be but I lean toward the guy who isn't learning how to play the outfield. A lot could happen as the season progresses though.

 

[Benway]

Still the best front office and coaching combo in this town.

And it's currently as strong of a field as I can remember!

 

[sportscoach]

What Kwan lacks when compared to Straw is as you stated, but he's a better hitter and has a little more power.

Believe it or not I agree with you Coach. If we don't add a significant power bat in the OF corners then by all means put Kwan in one. Hell put Palacios in the other for all I care. I just don't want to see Zimmer or Mercado there anymore. I still like the idea of picking up a young OFer like we've formerly discussed.

We will keep at least one of Zimmer/Mercado because they are solid defensively, even with bad offensive numbers they are plus OFs hence why they weren't cut... Though how the OF shakes up, that's something that will be hard to know since I don't think we will stay put honestly with who we have.