The Guardians announced Friday that they’ve designated outfielders Daniel Johnson and Harold Ramirez; righties Justin Garza and J.C. Mejia; and lefties Kyle Nelson, Alex Young and Scott Moss for assignment.
Cleveland also added a whopping 10 players to the 40-man roster, headlined by top prospects Tyler Freeman and George Valera. Also added to the 40-man roster are Brayan Rocchio, Richie Palacios, Steven Kwan, Jose Tena, Cody Morris, Bryan Lavastida, Konnor Pilkington and Jhonkensy Noel.
Finally, the Guardians have also acquired right-hander Tobias Myers from the Rays in exchange for minor league infielder Junior Caminero, tweets FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. Myers will also be added to the 40-man roster.
Johnson and Ramirez have been part of a revolving door in an uncertain Cleveland outfield in recent seasons. Neither has hit well enough to lock down a permanent roster spot, although Ramirez did start more than half the team’s games in 2021. Ramirez would have the right to elect minor league free agency if he clears waivers.
Mejia logged significant action as a depth starter this year but struggled. Garza, Nelson and Young saw some bullpen work, while Moss has yet to make it to the major leagues.
The massive turnover highlights the high minors depth Cleveland has stockpiled in recent seasons. The selection of ten prospects is highly atypical, but it’s a testament to the Guardians’ scouting and development staffs that they’ve managed to accumulate so much talent they’re afraid other teams might jump on. That’s particularly true on the position player side, with much of this group being hitters with advanced bat-to-ball skills who could factor onto the big league roster in relatively short order.
Freeman, Valera and Rocchio might be the most notable. All three appeared on FanGraphs’ Top 100 list entering the 2021 season. They’ve all topped out at Double-A Akron, where each posted above-average offensive performances despite being 22 years old or younger. Valera plays center field, while Freeman and Rocchio are middle infielders. Palacios is another infielder with great high minors numbers, while Lavastida is regarded as one of the better catching prospects in the minors.
Steve, do you snicker everytime you write the word Guardians?
Nah he does the James Franco
What about Anthony Franco
@sjwil2 Clown comment
Interesting moves by the Cleveland Indians.
Notably unprotected who could be taken in Rule 5:
OF Oscar Gonzalez (Domingo Santana clone who demolished the minors)
LHP Joey Cantillo (apart of the Clevinger trade, injured most of the year)
RHP Robert Broom, Aaron Pinto (relief arms)
Keeping Mercado and Zimmer over Johnson seems weird, though they are all 80 wRC+ hitters with plus defense, but Johnson at least isn’t out of options. Keeping Chang, Hentges, Logan Allen, who are all out of options, is also odd.
Gonzalez won’t get claimed. He’s old and can’t play a defensive position. I’m not surprised, but disappointed that cantillo wasn’t protected. He will be a productive Cub next year.
I’ve been really impressed with Gonzalez and would have been fine with him being protected because you see a lot of positives. But if we’re being realistic, he’s probably closer to Jabari Blash than a can’t miss guy. Guys at his age that are Rule 5-eligible usually end up as AAAA guys anyway.
Cantillo is a good prospect but hasn’t really pitched in a long time and would probably only be picked by a rebuilding team that can afford to carry him for a pretty long time (although it could definitely happen). Broom and Pinto have mostly good numbers and might get picked because they’re relievers, but they’re a dime a dozen. No big losses there either.
The only other guy that they didn’t protect that might have been worth it is Adam Scott, and he struggled once he made it to Columbus. Someone will probably take him, but with such a huge class of eligible guys, they just couldn’t protect anyone. They got everyone that I was legitimately worried about losing.
I was really hoping to see Oscar in the bigs. As bad as the OF has been, I would have had him up last season.
What is it with the Oscar Gonzalez myth? He’s a worse fielder than Harold Ramirez and is OBP in AAA was .305….what do you think major league breaking stuff will do to him? He’s a DH with a swing and miss profile that’s no better than Bobby Bradley…do we really need another guy like that? Hey, if he was in such demand, why didn’t he sign elsewhere? Let’s see if he gets by the Rule V draft before we moan and groan about his loss.
Geez, who pissed on your Corn Flakes?
I’m very disappointed to see Daniel Johnson was designated for assignment. He has speed, defense, and some pop in his bat. For a team notably weak in the outfield, this decision, as well as designating Harold Ramirez, amounts to throwing talent away.
Losing DJ, yes, a disappointment, Harold, no. Which means, Johnson had something else about him that made him a casualty. He had all the tools, ones Harold lacked. If you could have combined the two, what a player you’d have.
Who knows maybe Johnson slips through waivers and no one takes him in the Rule V. Stranger things have happened.
Really seems that the team evaluators didn’t like Johnson. They passed over him a number of times for other options. That he only got 81 plate appearances in a year where the outfield was a revolving door probably said what they felt about him.
his swing path seemed rushed and odd. although I figured they’d keep him and give him some more time to figure it out. oh well I bet he gets claimed tho.
Is Johnson regarded as a good fielder? From the little > saw of him in Cleveland, he looked pretty bad.
He has tools, plus speed and a plus-plus arm (one of the strongest in the game) but his route running needs work and his instincts are nothing to write home about. He has the speed to make up for mistakes. He grades out as a neutral defender (“0” in defensive runs saved this year; as a comparison, Mercado was a +5, Straw +4, Zimmer +3, and Harold Ramirez -8).
Cleveland baseball team (since that’s better than guardians) is not getting got in the rule 5 draft
Not a great start for the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians.
The team store was putting up it’s new sign earlier today and it came crashing down, shattered on the sidewalk. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come for them.
Cleveland should make a big splash to get fans interested like signing Pooh Shiesty or Spottem Gottem to play OF
Can you make a poll that decides if the name or the logo is the worst part of the change?
It’s definitely the logo. A good logo could have salvaged the name change… No name could make that logo acceptable for a professional sports team.
Both are equally horrible.
Personally, I don’t mind the name.. but the logo is just awful. Maybe it’ll grow on me eventually though.
The sole virtue of the name “Guardians” is that it’s not “Spiders.”
But the logo? There’s nothing kind that can be said of it at all.
Weird hearing guardians instead of Indians
Really hope the Pirates claim Ramirez or Clint Frazier
Jkuch-I say amen to that but maybe both.Ponce and Oliva gone.
Kings of the roller derby rink!
nice pickup there in Myers
Worth noting: with these 11 additions along with Gabriel Arias, Nolan Jones, and Carlos Vargas already on the roster, there are only 26 players on the 40 with major league experience. Meaning most likely someone will be debuting on opening day. Otherwise the other 26 would be:
SP: Bieber, Civale, Plesac, Quantrill, McKenzie
RP: Clase, Karinchak, L. Allen*, Gose, Hentges*, Morgan, Sandlin, Stephen
(* = has been a starter)
C: Hedges
IF: Bradley, Ramirez, Gimenez, Rosario, Chang, Miller, Clement
OF: Straw, Zimmer, Mercado, Naylor, Reyes
Pretty obviously they’ll need a catcher to backup, and likely some veteran bullpen help. But to do so means committing to any of these young rookies an opening day spot.
I don’t see McKenzie making the last spot
Who else is the 5th starter? McKenzie absolutely makes it, and Eli is #6 or #7 depending on whether you think Cody Morris is ready.
McKenzie is probably the highest upside pitcher in their rotation aside from Bieber. His first two months… something weird happened where he couldn’t find the strike zone. But he’s never had that issue in his minor league career or any other time in the majors, so when he was called back up and seemingly had it fixed… I would believe that’s the real McKenzie. He’s their #2.
The guy I’m less sold on is Plesac. He probably starts next year in the rotation but I’m not convinced he’s better than Eli Morgan. Or that Cody Morris isn’t taking that spot by mid-season next year.
I wouldn’t worry about Plesac one bit. Provided he’s not dealt, he’ll have plenty of rope in the rotation. He’s wildly underrated. When he’s right, he has excellent command, spots his breaking ball effectively, fields his position beautifully, and controls the running game. He’s also proven he can go deep in games, something Eli Morgan isn’t trusted to do. And don’t get me wrong, I like Eli. It’s just that pure athletes with durable arms like Plesac’s just don’t grow on trees.
Disagree. If you look at his fan graphs stats he took a huge step back last year. He’s no more than a 4-5 starter. That being said, you don’t trade him because we need all the depth we can get.
I think it’s irrelevant where he slots, and who says there’s anything wrong with Plesac being a 4-5 starter? Especially in the Tribe’s rotation? Trust me, Plesac has plenty of value, and I wouldn’t judge him from his tumultuous 2020 and 2021 seasons. This is one guy who is only going to get better as he matures. He already has a good feel about the craft of pitching, and those instincts, combined with his excellent control and athleticism, make him a solid major league starter. I find it amazing how easily we dismiss certain pitchers because we figure they no longer can be projected as a top of the rotation guy. It’s like people becoming disinterested in a once hot stock because it’s now boring…all it does is pay a solid, dependable dividend instead of rocketing to the moon..
I see Lavastida being the backup catcher, unless they do like always and sign some scrub journeyman again.
No way they stunt Lavastida’s growth by making him a backup. He has to play every day.
As many balls as Hedges takes to the head, that should happen soon.
I would imagine they bring back Perez at a lower cost and eventually promote Lavistida as hedges and Perez will get hurt, no doubt.
I suspect Lava will be in AAA Columbus splitting time with Bo Naylor to start the year. They’ll move someone to the 60 day IL (Josh Naylor or Carlos Vargas being strong candidates) for the first part of next year to buy themselves a roster spot for a veteran catcher on a minor league deal (perhaps Roberto Perez). By mid-season, past the Super 2 cutoff (assuming thats still a thing), he might get called up to replace said veteran. It will at least be nice to have an option available in AAA next year instead of having to play the street free agent roulette with Rivera/Lavarnaway/Ramos like they have the last 2 years.
I’m more than a little surprised Hentges and Allen are still with the team as terrible as they have been
I would have kept Cantillo over both of them. But the fact they didn’t tells you they don’t think his upside is any more apparent than Allen or Hentges.
Allen shocked me. He’s out of options and they’ve got other lefty relievers with much better upside. And he’s clearly not going to be in their rotation. JC Mejia likely qualifies for a 4th option year and I thought they’d keep him over Allen simply because he has better pitches (+ slider, 95+ fastball) to be a good relief option.
Hentges… has a plus breaking ball and throws 97 from the left side. You don’t tend to give up on guys like that. Allen only sits low 90s so he’s less intriguing as a reliever.
Harold Ramirez, the guy teams keep touting as the next big thing when they acquire him, only to quietly push him out the door when they realize that he absolutely isn’t the next big thing.
Nobody EVER said he was the “next big thing” ever. You made that up in your head and in the end, he disappointed YOU.
He was a worthwhile pickup, but his sole virtue–being fearless at the plate–wasn’t enough to save him from the chopping block. Justifiably.
I can’t speak for what other teams said when they acquired him. But I do remember reading a few articles during the middle of the season (in The Athletic and elsewhere) about how Harold was some sort of middle of the order savior.
When the Tribe was desperate for someone to fill in when Reyes was out, yes, he was helpful. But no one, NO ONE, considered Harold Ramirez a magic potion. He has too many glaring weaknesses that were well known before he got to Cleveland. He does have decent bat-to-ball skills, but his lousy approach (he often makes up his mind to swing or not before the pitch is thrown, and it doesn’t matter if it’s in the dirt or over his head, he swings!) and his poor launch angle doom him to role player status. That’s not even taking into account what a poor defensive outfielder he is and his weak arm.
It would be funny to calm them the Guardians while giving all of their players an Indian name, swings with stick, catching leather, throwing flames…
What a completely dumb name.
Can someone explain why the Cleveland what Evers signed Oscar Gonzales to a minor league contact if he wasn’t going to be protected? In case he is not claimed?
Pretty much. If he doesn’t get drafted, they’ll still have his rights.
If Oscar Gonzalez had interest from an MLB team and signed that contract, he should fire his agent. Any MLB would surely rather have signed him and added him to their 40, giving themselves the option of freely optioning him up and down instead of being handcuffed by Rule V restrictions. So if he re signed with the Guardians without having fully checked in with other prospective teams, that’s just malpractice.
C’mon, you know that didn’t happen. Cleveland’s offer was the best he could get and he was comfortable in the system and the opportunity it may afford. If someone drafts him in the Rule V, guaranteeing him a major league roster spot for next year, he’ll be thrilled.
He will be, but I’m suggesting that if Cleveland’s offer is the best he could do, he’s not getting drafted. If you were, say, the Athletics with your 6 open roster spots… why wouldn’t you sign him as a free agent and add him to the 40 before if you wanted him? Being able to shuttle him up and down to AAA is a lot better than having to nail him to the end of your bench because of rule V restrictions. Better for his development and for roster flexibility.
Either his agent didn’t check or there isn’t interest.
CLE seems to value it’s farm.
They have zero power in the outfield, yet don’t protect a guy with more power than the 3 regular major leaguers posses together?
Head scratcher…
Hardly. He was a free agent…who rushed to sign him? Anyone?
You’re obviously talking about somebody other than the OP.
Isn’t this about Oscar Gonzalez? I can’t imagine who else possesses all this power…
“Outfielder Oscar Gonzalez, who led Cleveland’s minor-league system with 31 homers, was left off the 40-man roster. The Guardians did re-sign him to a minor-league contract after he became a free agent following the World Series. If he makes it through the Rule 5 Draft unclaimed, he has an invitation to big-league camp in his contract.”
Oscar Gonzalez is 100% guaranteed to make it through the Rule 5 draft. If another team wanted to carry him on their major league roster they would have just signed him when the Guardians released him.
Put a claim in for Clint Frazier, an escape from New York will do him good.
He’s struggling mightily with vertigo. I wouldn’t waste a roster spot on him.
Brock Holt was for a bit as well and came back to help Boston win another WS.
Concussion history plus vertigo on top of being a poor defensive outfielder in the first place? Too much a of a gamble for me. I remember well Nick Esasky and his struggles…just wouldn’t take the chance, especially since CLE is already struggling with roster space.
Jhonkensy!
Noel’s numbers in Low-A this year were videogame-like, but at such a fresh 20, what’s the chances he really would have stuck somewhere in 2022?
Everyone I have read and listened to said the Noel should be left off because no one has claimed a player like him in years. Maybe they should have used that spot to lock in Cantillo?
Tribe has more pitchers than bats, simple as that. And they’ve proven they can produce pitchers more easily than find bats. Cantillo MAY be the better bet to have a long major league career, but the Tribe figures there’s a better chance they’ll need a guy like Noel more.
The Orioles drafted Santander from Cleveland in a pretty similar scenario and the Padres took Allen Cordoba. It’s definitely possible that a team (likely a rebuilding one) could take him and wait out his development if they felt the payoff was worth it.
Seemed like it ruined the development of the player in Cordoba’s case.
He looked to have a pretty good year at AAA this year
How on earth does Ernie Clement claim a roster spot over any of the guys dfa’d? Terrible.
Ernie Clement will likely have a career as long as John McDonald. I’m glad they protected him.
Clement has a high contact, high OBP approach that they’ve been targeting the last few years. Both Yu Chang and Owen Miller were more likely to get DFA’d than him. He’s also got good versatility, having played OF and every infield spot aside from 1B.
The high contact thing is also why they haven’t given many opportunities to Daniel Johnson (who just got DFA’d) and why they dragged their feet so long on promoting Bobby Bradley. Also why they likely didn’t protect Oscar Gonzalez or Will Benson.
Wow the Indians optioned 7 players.
Why are Mercado and Zimmer still on this team?
Name a playoff team that carried a player because he “makes contact” he’s a fine utility player i’m sure
“SPIDERS” designate seven players for assignment. Guardians is already taken in Cleveland.