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Cleveland Guardians Promote Top Prospect, Drop Expensive Veteran

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Mandy Bell of MLB reports that the Cleveland Guardians informed a mix of top prospects, veterans, and an old friend about their status on the Opening Day roster. The roster decisions also saw the team move away from a veteran with three years and just under $20 million left on his contract.

First, the Guardians announced that Carlos Carrasco will open the year as the team’s fifth starter. Another veteran arm, Tyler Beede, also made the team and will pitch out of the bullpen.

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On the position player side, Cleveland rewarded roster spots to David Fry and infielders Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and Tyler Freeman. Fry provides depth at catcher, first base, and in the corner outfield. Arias and Freeman are former top prospects who have yet to establish themselves in the majors. They will get another chance in utility roles as current prospect Rocchio will serve as the primary shortstop.

Jettisoned from the roster is Myles Straw and his golden center field glove. Despite the elite defense, the Guardians are desperate for offense, and Straw continuously provides awful production. Cleveland wants to reclaim the American League Central this year, and this move shows their aggression toward achieving that goal no matter a player’s contract status.

Cleveland Guardians Roster Moves

Carlos Carrasco

Leading off this slate of Cleveland Guardians roster moves is the retention of Carlos Carrasco in the rotation. Carrasco is a fan favorite and clubhouse leader who spent his prime years in Cleveland. The team dealt him to the New York Mets in the Francisco Lindor trade, and his production in Queens was rocky. The Venezuelan native followed up a solid 2022 with a disastrous 2023. In 90 innings across 20 starts, he produced a 6.80 ERA (62 ERA+) with an awful strikeout rate. He looked either finished or like he failed to adapt to the pitch clock.

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However, the veteran made the 2024 Guardians roster party due to a solid spring. In 14 innings, Carrasco has a 2.57 ERA with eight punch-outs. It’s possible he could have made the team as a reliever, but he joins the rotation due to a Gavin Williams elbow injury. Carrasco will likely receive a few starts to show he deserves to remain in majors as Williams rehabs. If he struggles, Cleveland can cut him pretty easily.

Tyler Beede

Beede is a former top San Francisco Giants prospect who struggled in the majors before and after Tommy John surgery. The former first-round pick flamed out in America and left to play in Japan last season. Like many Americans that go overseas, Beede returns after pitching great in 49 2/3 relief innings for the Yomiuri Giants. His rebound earned him a minor-league deal with Cleveland this winter.

The 31-year-old turned a solid spring (1.69 ERA) into a spot in the Guardians bullpen after Trevor Stephan‘s season-ending elbow injury. His first outing this season will be his first in the majors in two years. Beede lacks minor league options, so he must continue pitching well if he wants to stay in the bigs. Like Carrasco, the Guardians made a small commitment to Beede and can drop him from the roster easily.

Brayan Rocchio

The Guardians roster lacks the star power it had at the end of last decade. A plethora of young infield prospects have not developed as hoped, but Rocchio will be the latest to try. Currently ranked as the organization’s third-best prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Rocchio will see plenty of time at shortstop to start the year.

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Evaluators like his solid baseball IQ and disciplined approach at the plate that produces line drives. Although he struggled in a brief MLB debut last season (.247/.279/.321), the Guardians expect him to play solid defense and improve offensively as he gets more comfortable.

The Guardians roster seems to be full of young players with decent upside. If they play well, the team will likely seriously compete for the division. But if they struggle, like young players tend to do, Cleveland’s offense could leave much to desire. Rocchio seems like the poster child for this complex.

Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman

In 2022, MLB Pipeline ranked Arias as the third-best prospect in Cleveland’s system while Freeman ranked fifth. Now, both will serve as utility players while Rocchio attempts to fill Lindor-sized shoes at shortstop.

As a prospect, Arias showed great bat speed and power, but lacked discipline at the plate to get the most out of his potential. Since his prospect days, Arias has failed to make necessary adjustments and has struggled in the majors. In 138 games (402 plate appearances), he has hit .207/.282/.348 with big strikeout numbers. Arias competed with Rocchio this spring to earn the everyday shortstop job, but struggled and lost it.

To his credit, the 24-year-old produced solid hard hit rates and ran the bases well last year in a relatively full season (122 games). Cleveland likely projects that if he continues to hit the ball hard – and walk at around league-average rates – his numbers should improve as a result.

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Like Arias, Freeman has provided well below-average offensive production since debuting in 2022. Additionally, advanced metrics don’t love his defense at third base, but say he is closer to average at shortstop and second. Even as a prospect, Freeman’s career was going to rely on his bat.

He came up as a contact-first, line-drive hitter with little power and low walk rates. In the majors, he has carried over his poor walk rate, but has posted solid strikeout rates and Whiff percentages. To stick in the majors, he will need to get on base more often, either by walking more or hitting the ball harder.

Arias and Freeman both have one minor league option remaining. If they struggle, Cleveland can just send them down while keeping them on the 40-man roster. However, this might be their last chance to stick in the majors.

Myles Straw

Straw came to Cleveland in a 2021 deadline deal with the Houston Astros. In the final two months of that year, Straw impressed with a career-best offensive stretch (.285/.362/.377). He coupled this with his signature excellent defense and looked as if he was developing into one of the best center fielders in the game. It even led the Guardians to give him a five-year extension that guaranteed him $25 million.

That might not be a lot for most clubs, but every penny counts for low-revenue organizations. Straw continued to field and run well, but just couldn’t hit enough to save his spot on the Guardians roster. Since 2022, Straw’s offensive production, per wRC+, measures out to be 32 percent worse than the league average. This offense has been among the worst in the sport, and even elite defense and base running couldn’t save him.

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If a team claims him on waivers, they will absorb his contract. But, this is unlikely, and Straw is expected to clear waivers and stay in the organization. While he has the right to reject the minors assignment and become a free agent, he would forfeit his contract by doing so. Odds are, he stays in the organization and has a chance at being recalled if he hits in Triple-A.

David Fry

Despite experience at multiple positions, Cleveland wanted Fry to focus solely on catching this spring. That’s interesting considering he is behind Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges on the depth chart. Naylor should get most of the reps behind the plate due to his offensive potential, while Hedges will see plenty of time due to his elite defense.

It appears that Cleveland will carry Fry as a third catcher and primary pinch hitter late in games against southpaws. Fry made his debut last season after being acquired from Milwaukee and held his own. He produced a 104 OPS+ in 113 at-bats.

The 28-year-old likely earned this spot due to a solid spring (.854 OPS and two homers in 12 games). The Guardians roster lacks power (and guaranteed offense in general), and that likely factored in the decision to keep Fry on the roster.

Perhaps the decisions on Fry and Straw show that Cleveland’s priorities will slightly shy away from run prevention and focus more on run production. The old thinking allowed the club to get the most out of a little, but it seems that strategy has gone stale. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in a weak AL Central.

 

Photo Credit: © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

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