The Guardians have designated left-hander Logan Allen and first baseman Bobby Bradley for assignment. In another roster move, righty Anthony Castro was activated from the COVID-related injured list, and then optioned to Triple-A.
In the short term, the Guardians have reduced their roster from 28 to 26 players in advance of tomorrow’s roster reduction deadline. In the bigger picture, however, these moves could mark the organizational end of two players who (not long ago) were considered two possible building blocks. Both Allen and Bradley were former top-100 ranked prospects, but that promise didn’t translate into consistent MLB success. Allen and Bradley are both out of minor league options, so Cleveland had to expose them to the DFA wire in order to try and send either player to Triple-A.
Allen was an eighth-round pick for the Red Sox in 2015, and he has thus far been involved in two major trades in his young career. Allen was one of the four prospects Boston sent to the Padres for Craig Kimbrel in November 2015, and Allen was then one of the seven names involved in the huge three-team swap between San Diego, Cincinnati, and Cleveland prior to the 2019 trade deadline. That deal saw Cleveland end up with Franmil Reyes, Yasiel Puig, prospects Scott Moss and Victor Nova, plus Allen, who had made his Major League debut earlier that year with the Padres.
After the trade, Allen appeared in one game with his new team in 2019, then only three games in the shortened 2020 season. Last year was Allen’s first semi-extended look at the big league level, and he posted a 6.26 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate, and 7.7% walk rate over 50 1/3 innings. That walk rate was a positive sign considering some of the control problems Allen had faced in the minors, but as had been the case for Allen at Triple-A, his time in the majors was hampered by the long ball. The southpaw allowed 12 home runs over his 50 1/3 frames.
Between the lack of success in both the majors and at Triple-A Columbus, Allen became an expendable piece for a Guardians organization that is brimming with young talent. The same could be said of Bradley, as Owen Miller and Josh Naylor have emerged as the Guards’ preferred options at first base only about a season after Bradley was seen as a first baseman of the future.
A third-round pick in the 2014 draft, Bradley displayed plenty of power in the minor leagues, even if his batting averages and on-base numbers weren’t always as impressive. A big Triple-A season in 2019 earned him a call-up and a 15-game cup of coffee in Cleveland, but Bradley didn’t see any game action at all in 2020 — the minor league season was canceled, and the Guardians never promoted Bradley from their alternate training site.
Cleveland fans were notably impatient to see Bradley get a look in 2021, especially with Jake Bauers struggling as the team’s regular first baseman. Once Bradley finally got his chance, however, he hit a modest .208/.294/.445 with 16 home runs in 279 PA. His power was still apparent, but Bradley struck out 99 times, and particularly struggled against left-handed pitching. This season, Bradley had only two hits in 17 at-bats, striking out nine times.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either player taken via waiver claim, or for another club to work out a trade with the Guardians. Both players are still young (both have May birthdays, with Allen turning 25 this month and Bradley 26), and they have each shown enough flashes of promise that a new team might think the flaws can be fixed.
Never got the hype with Allen, I really wish minor leaguers wouldn’t be treated so differently because they were – good – against college players or just minor leaguers.
Yeah, wasn’t Logan Allen considered one of the top prospects for their pitching future? That sucks when prospect fails happen. Lord knows it’s happened more than once in the Yankee farms.
I don’t think he was looked at quite on the same level that some of their other pitching prospects were because he didn’t have the elite upside that guys like Triston McKenzie were seen as having. (Even Bieber was viewed as a mid to backend starter when he came up.) But he was definitely viewed as someone who would be in their rotation for a while.
They got him in the Trevor Bauer trade and it seemed like a great move to get him at the time because he had just made his major league debut and was still a top 100 prospect. It just seemed like whatever they tried with him didn’t seem to work — I almost wonder if it was mental because it didn’t really seem like he changed anything but the results just torpedoed.
It’s a shame because he really seemed like a great person through interviews and stories that I’d seen (like how his brother is a huge source of motivation for him). I’d want to take a chance on him if I was a fan of another team, but the results weren’t going to come in Cleveland.
Wow, that’s a really cool backstory to him too. Yeah, you never know, man, some team gets ahold of him and the right pitching coach or player gets in his ear & he could very well succeed.
It happens with every team, it’s part of the game. Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don’t
Cleveland can handle the miss on a pitcher since they breed quality pitchers. Surprised about Bradley, but it’s a numbers game.
L99: Yankees aren’t doing too shabby so far. I really like the base-to-base offense they’ve seem to have adopted in lieu of the constant HR attempt too. Moving runners, scoring runs! I know Baltimore & KC aren’t really they measures for success for scoring a lot of runs against an opponent, but it’s nice to see them putting the ball in play nonetheless.
Rizzo, Nestor, Trevino & Rojas have been awesome – yes, Rojas, the unheralded hero so far for not getting runners thrown out at home plate…
Trevino has been tremendous behind the plate. His framing is pretty insane. I almost don’t mind his girl-like hitting because of his defense – almost.
Collectively, it’s a much stronger team than recent additions. Haven’t seen Ducky around lately. Hopefully he’s gotten over his early concerns and is enjoying the early season!
Yeah, man, I hope so. Maybe he’s just smarter than the rest of us and doing something he loves while enjoying peace & quiet!
@Clip, IIRC from a convo I had with him back on RAB, he runs a very good business but it’s heavily seasonal. More business in the warm weather than cold. His work schedule can really get crazy beginning in April, so that could partially explain it.
Just for clarity: Logan S Allen was designated (& is out of options). Logan T Allen (another LHP btw) was considered a top prospect for CLE entering 2022
@MadThinker, seems like Cleveland collects Logan Allen’s like the Rays collect players named Lowe!
Thank you! Apparently they still have their good Logan Allen. That should be a rule or something, no players of the same name…
Anyway, I guess if you name your kid Logan Allen he will get a chance on a roster.
You’re mistaking Logan S Allen with Logan T Allen. Both are lefties.. S. Allen or Allen Sr is older & not nearly as competent or polished..
Logan T Allen.. is and remains a top prospect for the Guardians future pitching staff…
yw..
I think Cleveland fans aren’t being totally honest here. The team and thus fans cared about both Logan Allen’s as prospects.
I really wanted Logan Allen to succeed, but it just didn’t work out for him with the Guardians and it was pretty clear he was one of the odd men out because he’s out of options. He’s still really young and isn’t far removed from being a top 100 prospect, so someone will take a chance on him rebounding with a change of scenery. Maybe that helps him out.
Bobby Bradley, on the other hand, is just objectively a bad baseball player. He’s a three true outcomes player in theory, but he doesn’t walk as much as you’d expect for a guy like that, and he doesn’t make nearly enough contact to tap into his power. Other than the power, every other tool is well below average. He’s young and someone might be tempted by the power, but he lost playing time to guys like Chang and Miller that have basically learned how to play first on the fly. He is what he is: a AAAA hitter. Good riddance.
I still think the concept of TTO is going to continue to be exploited for what it is: guys who have decent plate discipline & lots of power, but not much else. It’s always been around, & they were limited, not desired. Guys who maximize contact & can play positions, like Kwan, Miller, etc, will always be a better option, imo, because they’re more consistent, they put more pressure on opposing defenses, & those types can hit w/RISP.
Yeah it seems like they tried to get cute for a short time and drafted players like Bradley and Will Benson who had mammoth power but a complete lack of contact ability. They realized that didn’t work for them so they’ve gone back to guys who put the ball in play at an elite level, and it seems like it’s working much better.
Smart, they’ve got a good, young team now. You can see the young guys coming up and things starting to come together for them in the future. They’ve locked in Ramirez at a really reasonable price (a super deal, imo) & that young group can play. Gonna be a fun team to watch.
I’d argue Bradley has one other tool: defense. At 1B he’s a big target who is actually pretty good a picking bad throws. Athletic enough to do the splits to get a throw too. That still isn’t enough for him to be considered an MLB option with as little as he walks and as much as he strikes out.
Incidentally Bradley is probably exhibit 1 in why the Guardians aren’t going to call up either Will Benson or Oscar Gonzalez even if both had impressive AA campaigns last year. Benson has power and defense but Ks way too much. Gonzalez has power and doesn’t K much but also almost never walks and can’t play defense. I quite like the approach they have with Kwan, Miller, Palacios, and Gimenez – high contact rates and speed.
*SPIDERS
*Pedantic
2 Logan Allen’s in the system. This wasn’t the one we care about.
Someone cares about this Logan Allen!
Before you can hit for power, you have to be able to hit. The Guardians, nee Indians, spent a lot of draft picks on prospects with big power potential, but the inability to hit.
Bradley, Zimmer, Benson, Frazier, Chang. Only Chang is left, along with Nolan Jones.
About six years ago, the org changed its philosophy, and began stockpiling…thru draft, trade, and international signing…as many high contact, plate discipline hitters that also usually play middle infield as they could get their hands on. Many are switch hitters.
Those kids began arriving last year, and several have been added this season.
Gimenez, Miller, Kwan, Palacios, Straw, even Naylor, who makes consistent contact.
Someone somewhere on this site proposed a trade package to the As for Olson centered around Bobby Bradley. Where are they now ?
I suggested several packages, but none of them were “centered on” Bradley. Just Bradley was included because if the Guards were getting Olson he would obviously be set loose. The main components of those trades were either Plesac, Nolan Jones, or Gabriel Arias (and admittedly could have also been Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, or George Valera… the Guardians have a lot of prospects).
The A’s will claim both!
Should’ve claimed Greg deichmann last week although no teams did and was outrighted. Time to dump billy McKinney, he’ll be gone in a week anyways when Ramon laureano is off suspension
Don’t let the doggy door hit ya in the backside, Logan! Jk bro, thanks for introducing me to John Cena. Both Logan and Bradley should find new squads fairly quick. I’d take both on a Minors deal. Good luck!
Jacob Nix not LA was the doggy door story.
Long story but in a truly funny moment the Peoria Times sportsperson thought Nix and LA were the same player that was able to throw with both hands.
It was inevitable that this was going to happen,but you can only wait so long. We all remember what happened with Jesus Aguilar. I hope that doesn’t repeat itself. You can’t keep them all and it comes down that no matter what,some guys are not going to get it done in Cleveland.
David Ortiz is the poster child for cautionary tales.
Aguilar had shown patience in the minors. Just never got a shot in CLE. Bradley really wasn’t the same.
But… Logan Allen has a 3.05 FIP. According to Fangraphs, that is Excellent.
A team that puts the ball in play and gives max effort is much more fun to watch than a team that strikes out half the time.
No surprises here, i’m sure Allen will draw a little bit of interest, Bradley will probably be outrighted to Columbus
The Nats could use either Allen or Bradley.
If he keeps hitting, Josh Bell will undoubtedly be traded at the deadline and their only 1B prospects are at AA (KJ Harrison) or A-ball (Boiserrie and Drew Mendoza.). Bradley would be a cheap stopgap for the remainder of 2022.
The Nats only LHP in the bullpen is Doolittle and he’s on the IL with a sprained elbow. As usual, the pen’s awful and the starters don’t go deep into games so Davey Martinez needs as many arms he can shuffle up and down from the minors as he can get.
I remember when Logan Allen was a highly touted young hurler.
The Orioles should be all over Logan Allen but I don’t think they will. Elias usually goes for big fastball guys. He hasn’t really claimed any finesse pitchers. But this guy is way better than Travis Lakins.
Lakins is brrrrrutal
I pitcher that’s gives up the long ball a lot should not be considered by Baltimore….his era would quadruple in the east
Since they pushed the fence back at Camden Yards—it’s not so bad there anymore.
Example of why both the 26 man MLB Roster and the Team 40 man roster are antiquated and obsolete for today’s game.
How so?
Wouldn’t mind Mets taking Allen for depth.