April 17: The teams announced that Avila has been traded from San Diego to Cleveland in exchange for cash. In a corresponding 40-man move, the Guards transferred infielder Angel Martinez from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
April 16: The Guardians are acquiring right-hander Pedro Avila from the Padres, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (on X). San Diego had designated Avila for assignment last week.
Avila has had a tough start to the 2024 campaign. The Venezuelan-born pitcher has allowed eight runs in as many innings over his first four appearances. Avila has fanned nine but issued six walks and tossed three wild pitches. Inconsistent command has been an issue throughout the 27-year-old’s big league tenure. Avila has walked nearly 12% of batters faced over his 71 2/3 career innings.
While he has yet to find sustained success, Avila has shown the ability to miss bats at the highest level. He has punched out nearly a quarter of opponents in his career behind a solid 11.7% swinging strike rate. Avila’s fastball velocity is more solid than standout (typically 93-94 MPH) but his changeup has been a reliably excellent swing-and-miss offering.
Avila has come out of the bullpen for 14 of his 22 major league outings. He’s been a starter in the minors, although his recent rotation work was not effective. He was tagged for an unsightly 8.57 ERA over 19 appearances (15 of them starts) in the Pacific Coast League last season. That pushed his career Triple-A earned run average to 5.59 in 190 innings. Avila has a solid 23.2% strikeout rate at that level, where he has handed out free passes at a lofty 11.2% clip.
Since he’s out of options, Avila can’t be sent to the minors without going through waivers. The Guardians figure to give him a look in the MLB bullpen as a long reliever. Cleveland has a fair bit of roster flexibility in that regard. Of their current middle innings group, only Tyler Beede can’t be optioned.
Despite their inexperience, the Guards’ bullpen has been excellent in the early going. They went into play Wednesday with an MLB-best 1.76 ERA and the league’s fourth-highest strikeout rate (27.6%). Cleveland has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move once Avila’s acquisition is finalized.
So long, Avila…
We voted for Pedro… to leave the island! All jokes aside, best wishes Avila.
“Pedro offers you his protection”
Chit bucket pickup
FRA of 4.50 isn’t great but not too far off his SIERA of 4.20 this year. I guess wroth a flyer in the pen and see what happens, given the cheap salary.
I thought he was pretty good down the stretch last year, but there’s not a lot of leash at the bottom of the bullpen pecking order. Hopefully, Brito, Morejon, Vasquez, etc., can fill the inning eater role.
The bullpen has been the one solid for Cleveland this year, so this reads as a bit puzzling. None of those relievers should be going down for this guy.
Somebody on the Guards roster has to be optioned to make room for the spot starter (Lively) today. My guess is that Beede will be DFAd. Then after today’s game, Lively will be sent back down, and Avila will be added.
Lively can’t be sent back down. He’s out of options.
Angel Martinez put on 60 man dl surgery on hamate bone. Alvia not active for tonight. Someone will have to send down to night for lively spot tonight. Hopefully Eli Morgan going down to columbus. Maybe Tristan going on 60 dl this weekend.
My guess is that they are finally admitting that McKenzie isn’t pitching well because he is hurt. He goes on the 60 Day IL. I’m also guessing that someone who pitched in yesterday’s game got hurt, as well. They go in the 15 Day IL and Avila takes their place.
I’d be surprised if they gave up on Beede so soon, unless there is some behind the scenes thing going on where the is resisting their coaching.
Agreed. Beede looked great this spring as well. But in last 2.1 IP he’s given up 7R.
No more options on beede. Lot of teams wanted him this pass winter. Build him up to start. Sad no cleveland starter has pitched pass 6 innings. Will burn out bullpen by June 1 the rate there going.
I forgot that Lively is starting today. They will have to move McKenzie to the 60 to fit him in. That means, as was suggested above, if Avila is on the active roster that someone in the bullpen is gone.
I suppose they could immediately try to DFA Avila and and hope no one takes him, but that seems less likely than dumping someone from the existing bullpen.
The Guards have done well in the past from these kinds of acquisitions, but I, for one, am not ready to give up on anybody from the pen.
I’m not ready to give up on Barlow, but every time he takes the mound it’s an adventure. He reminds me a lot of Craig Kimbrel’s drunken baby on a tightrope act. Beede is my pick to DFA, but Avila isn’t in any way an improvement.
Maybe we will get a PTBNL and he’s a similar talent to our last one from Cleveland, Mr. Matt Waldren.
Waldron is the perfect example of why you can’t “grade” a trade in the moment. So many Preller bashers – come on Towinagain – criticized the “losing the trade” mantra. Waldron isn’t a CY candidate but every good start balances the scales.
The Soto trade (both of them) – just can’t know until we see what Woods and Hassell and other pieces do or don’t do; then compared to Cease, Brito, King, Vasquez etc.
King has a no-no through 6 innings in Milw.
and want to use this space to whine about Bogey. He’s arrived in 2024 with a chop down cut on his swing, and cant get out of it. Until he alters his swing and timing, this could evolve into the worst slump of his life: worst case: Ks are up, best case constant ground-outs. Yikes. OPS 0.600
I’d be keen on Roki… I mean International money.
I would be very good with that.
Thank you for this move Padres. No offense to Pedro.
Martinez to the 60. Didn’t see that coming.
They will still have to remove someone from the 26 man roster. This is also happening at the same time they have to move Lively to the 26. The Martinez move allows Avila to stay on the 40, but doesn’t address the active roster questions.
They can actually afford to keep Martinez on the IL indefinitely because it helps to alleviate the middle infield logjam. And if they take yet another SS with the #1 overall pick in June every member of that FO needs to be drug tested.