DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum The Guardians 2.0

And, Bell is a switch hitter, so that limits the disadvantage the Guardians had with Naylor in the lineup against a lefty and Owen Miller can take a hike.

Owen Miller always reminded me of a player like Jody Gerut. Only a place holder while the offense retools, then gone once a better option comes around.

Not terrible, but nothing special. And certainly not in the long-term planning.

j/c:

Good reference on Jody Gerut. I had Shelley Duncan in mind.

Bell was a well-liked player in Pittsburgh where he started his career. I was sad when he went to the Red Sox, but the Pirates are stuck in mediocrity forever. Hope he does great for the Guardians!

Josh Bell is a nice signing. He’ll fit in here

That's a good one too!

Why would we trade for a 35yo catcher. I think they would start Bo Naylor, or sign Hedges or Perez back before that.

Dont know who it will be but here is who the A’s wanted from the Cardinals for Murphy:

The Bell signing is an excellent move for all the reasons Memphis/Milk stated.

I think I read somewhere Contreras isn't the best "team" player and was one of the reasons teams didn't go out of their way to trade for him.

I agree. I tend to think we will go with Hedges or Perez since both know the staff. If Naylor isn't ready, then they might look for a trade.

The good thing is if Naylor can play the position, a team can give him time to find his bat since catchers can be an offensive throw away position if the D is good.

I am not saying that is what we want, but the majors are full of light hitting catchers. You don't find many hot hitting catchers who can't catch. They get moved to some other position pretty quickly.

For those that don’t follow so closely, I am sharing a couple pieces from an article I was reading on the Athletic. This shows how damn good they are at identifying and teaching/growing their starting pitching prospects through drafting and trades.







The bolded part of the second quote….wow, I didn’t realize it’s been eight years since a free agent pitcher has cracked the rotation! That’s unbelievable.

Pitching prospects are always a hot commodity, and as your list shows, we have plenty. A team can usually leverage them to get good major leaguers or other top prospects you might need.

We are in a good position on the trade front, either to trade one of the young guys, or one of our current starters.

Cleveland is in one of the best situations when it comes to their farm system. Lots to work with as you said

And when you are small market, you need to have a vibrant farm system.

If you are referring to Murphy, he isn't 35. He's 28 with a couple more years' control.

And I think it is pretty clear the Guardians don't think Naylor is ready. I don't think they want Hedges back as a starter....maybe a backup. But he is terrible offensively.

No doubt. It’s the only way

I was talking about Pena being 35, I knew Murphy was 20 something.

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The storage containers will finally be gone! $435M renovation.

I am hoping the Guardians trade for P Pablo Lolez from the Miami Marlins. He’s 26, under control for a few more years, and they are shopping him. Should be able to give up one or more of our middle infield prospects for him.

Seven Guardians prospects named to Baseball America’s latest top-100 rankings
Updated: Jan. 19, 2023, 1:56 p.m.|Published: Jan. 19, 2023, 1:56 p.m.


By Joe Noga, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Right-handed pitchers Daniel Espino and Gavin Williams lead a group of seven Guardians prospects that rank among the latest top-100 list published this week by Baseball America.

Only the Baltimore Orioles, led by top overall prospect Gunnar Henderson, have more players (8) in the top 100 than Cleveland. The Guardians’ farm system ranks No. 3 according to Baseball America, behind the Orioles and Dodgers.

Espino, ranked No. 19 overall, and Williams (No. 20), are among four ranked Guardians pitchers. The others are lefties Logan Allen (No. 85) and Tanner Bibee (No. 86).

Espino, the club’s top overall draft pick in 2019, missed most of last season with a knee injury, dropping three spots from his previous ranking in 2022. Williams moved up 34 spots after a stellar campaign that saw him go 5-4 with a 1.96 ERA and 149 strikeouts and a 0.95 WHIP in 115 innings.

Top catching prospect Bo Naylor checks in at No. 68 after getting just a taste of the majors at the end of last season. Naylor hit .263 in 415 minor league at-bats last season with 21 home runs and 68 RBI to go along with a .888 OPS.

Outfielder George Valera dropped from No. 42 last year to No. 72 entering 2023, and shortstop Brayan Rocchio slid from No. 69 last year to No. 77, but both could earn a chance to impact the major league club at some point this season after starting off at Triple-A Columbus.

Allen and Bibee come in at Nos. 85 and 86 respectively. Allen went 9-7 with a 4.75 ERA between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last season with 177 strikeouts in 132 2/3 innings, while Bibee added 3-4 mph to his fastball and mowed through opponents at Akron with an 8-2 record and a 2.17 ERA with 167 punchouts in 132 2/3 innings.

Shortstop Angel Martinez, who was added to the 40-man roster in November, slipped off the top-100 list after ranking No. 99 last year. But that’s not indicative of Martinez’s season, where he hit .278 with an .849 OPS and 13 home runs in 363 at-bats before moving on to represent Cleveland in the Arizona Fall League.




https://www.cleveland.com/guardians...ll-americas-latest-top-100-rankings.html

Luckily for us, the Guards are committed and good at investing in pitching prospects through the entry draft. If you can overload there, you can always trade for prospects or established players at other positions.

It also gives you the ability to them trade off a few of them who establish at the major league level once it becomes clear you might not be able to afford them down the road. Clevenger is a good recent example. Of the 6 players we got in return, at least 3 of them have been solid additions.

We have figured it out: If we aren't rich in money to spend, be rich in pitching prospects.

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It was Slider. We all know it was Slider.

I just hope he doesn't turf the field with it.

Mostly for Bone, thought you would enjoy this per our conversations about Greg Maddux.

Saw some 1987 Dunruss wax packs in a vintage store. I'm always hesitant because so many people would carefully open the wax, pull the stars, and reseal them for sale. Grabbed three packs... then put them back. Almost walked away. Then I said screw it, $10 was nothing for the thrill alone of opening old wax packs.

Opened tons back in the day. Could never pull a Maddux. Have a couple Bo Jackson, McGwire and Bonds. No Maddux. Said to my wife on the way out of the store, "maybe I'll finally pull my Maddux!"

First two packs were scrap (two checklists in the second pack ). Figured I had been taken...

Lo and behold, third pack had my Greg Maddux!

Yoooo, hell ya Fate!

Man, your story got me thinking. As many packs I opened as a kid, I don’t remember getting that card. I definitely remember that rhino card behind it though.

Lol. Yep. Also one of my favorite players. The Maddux card was about two or three later, my mind still thinking "at least I got a Sandberg". Then I yell out "you gotta be s#**ing me!".

RIP John.

Man, that's a bummer.

Glad he was at least able to bang the drum once last time for the playoff game(s) this past season, albeit pre-recorded from his nursing facility.