Cleveland Guardians Stand Pat And Will Continue Their Youth Movement

The Cleveland Guardians were very quiet at the MLB August 2 trade deadline.

Much to the chagrin of a fan base that had hoped the team would add a power hitter, or maybe bolster the rotation or the bullpen, Cleveland made just one minor trade.

Cleveland sent veteran catcher Sandy Leon, 33, to American League Central rival Minnesota for right-handed reliever, Ian Hamilton. Hamilton, 23, could be used in early innings.

Hamilton was pitching at Triple-A before the trade. He relies on a slider at 85-90 miles per hour, with a 90 miles per hour fastball as a second pitch.

Since trades are not permitted after the August 2 deadline, until the end of the season, the Guardians would have to rely upon waiver claims to bolster their roster.

Youth Will Be Served:

Cleveland churned their 40-man roster this offseason, adding young players that could have potentially been lost in the December 2021 Rule-5 Draft. However, the draft was canceled due to the pandemic.

As the season progressed, the front office has sprinkled a number of young, first-year players into their active roster.

Cleveland has the youngest team in major league baseball. Both their pitching staff and position players average only 26-years-old.

As of this date, the offense features four players who made their major league debut this year. They include:

Steven Kwan-OF-Age 24

Steven Kwan was a 5th round draft pick of the Guardians out of Oregon State University in 2018.

To this scout, the left-handed hitting Kwan has mastered the art of plate discipline. His eye-hand coordination, his plate coverage, his pitch recognition and his patience at the plate belie his youth and inexperience.

Kwan makes tremendous contact. As of this writing, Kwan has struck out only 34 times in 381 plate appearances, a remarkable statistic.

Now elevated to the leadoff position in manager Terry Francona’s lineup, Kwan is hitting .298/.371/.384/.755. He isn’t a power hitter. In fact, he has only 2 home runs. But his superb speed have been seen in his 17 doubles, and 3 triples. Kwan has stolen 9 bases in 11 attempts. Kwan has quickly established himself as one of the most effective, efficient, and reliable hitters in the game.

Oscar Gonzalez-Of-Age 24

Right-handed hitting Oscar Gonzalez has taken a bit of a circuitous route to his role on the parent Guardians.

An international free-agent from the Dominican Republic, Gonzales spent parts of 7 seasons in the club’s minor league development program.

After he became a 6-year minor league free-agent, Gonzalez signed back with Cleveland. However, he wasn’t protected on the team’s 40-man roster heading into the scheduled Rule-5 draft. In essence, the team risked losing the slugger to another MLB club.

The Guardians were fortunate the Rule-5 draft was canceled, because Gonzalez remained in the organization, starting this season at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus.

Promoted to the major league club, Gonzalez made his big league debut May 26. He got 2 hits in his 4 plate appearances, and established himself as a credible major league quality offensive and defensive player.

Gonzalez had claimed the right-field role and was rolling along nicely, when he had to be placed on the Injured List with an abdominal strain. He returned to the club on August 2.

Gonzalez flashed power in his development, but his success so far at the big league level has come more from using the entire field and not trying to power the ball over the fence.

As a unit, Cleveland has relied upon good contact hitting, taking pitches where they are thrown, and using the entire landscape to pound out base hits. The team is aggressive on the bases, trying to force the opposition into making hasty mistakes.

Gonzalez is among those players that has adapted well to that formula of using sound, time proven fundamentals to score runs.

Gonzalez will assume a role in right field or as a designated hitter going forward.

So far this season, in 134 plate appearances, Gonzales is hitting .284/.313/.425/.739 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.

Nolan Jones-OF-Age 24

Big things have been expected of left-handed hitting Nolan Jones.

A 2016, 2nd round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians from Holy Ghost Prep in Philadelphia, the left-handed hitting Jones has dealt with injuries that slowed his development.

This scout evaluated Jones during the 2019 Arizona Fall League. At that time, he looked overmatched by the league’s pitching staff, hitting .200 with 4 homers and 8 RBIs. He showed some power, but he also struck out 31 times in 68 plate appearances.

Among the phrases in this scout’s notebook about Jones were the following observations: “Well-proportioned, 6-4 frame, bat seems slow against high-velocity, swing is long, hunting homers. Upside in power is obvious. Time and patience required.”

Promoted to the parent club after showing he is healthy and capable of adding offense to a club needing his bat, Jones made his big league debut July 8 against Kansas City.

Starting out strong, Jones has cooled a bit and is now hitting .286 in 64 plate appearances against right-handed pitching. He has not gotten a hit yet in 4 plate appearances against lefties. Jones has hit 2 home runs and has driven in 13 runs. He has struck out 20 times, which is an issue. He has accepted 8 walks.

Will Benson-OF/1B-Age 24

The most recent offensive addition to the Guardians is 6-5, 230 pound left-handed hitting Will Benson.

Benson made his debut August 1, and he scored a run.

Benson played all the outfield positions in parts of 6 minor league seasons. Most recently, however, Cleveland used Benson for 3 games at first base at Triple-A Columbus. His future may be in the outfield and at first base, depending on the team’s needs.

Big and strong, Benson has an outstanding combination of power and speed. His speed is rare for a player his size, but he is very capable of chasing down fly balls in the outfield and bringing havoc on the bases. He is capable of stretching a single to a double or stealing bases.

A 1st round Cleveland Indians draft selection in 2016, Benson struggled a bit to find his comfort level in parts of 6 minor league seasons.

This year was his best. At the time of his graduation to the parent Guardians, Benson’s career minor league statistics included a .222 batting average with 94 homers in 2278 plate appearances.

However, while at Columbus this season, Benson hit 17 homers and stole 16 bases in 20 attempts.

Benson’s production this season has clearly increased his profile and has placed him in the center of the team’s future.

The Future:

Cleveland has decided their youth movement, and the resulting chemistry it has provided, will be their operating procedure for the immediate future.

They will have important decisions to make about their current 40-man roster as November approaches. That’s the time team’s form their plans for the annual Rule-5 draft, which is usually held at the December Winter Meetings.

Fans may not be happy with the lack of trade activity by the Guardians. However, the front office is satisfied they have the team necessary to compete in the future.

President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti had this to say to MLB.com about the Guardians lack of trade deadline activity, “The overwhelming feeling continues to be excitement about the group of players that we have here.”

Cleveland will be faced with players newly eligible for protection on the 40-man roster, or face the risk of losing them in the Rule-5 draft. Difficult decisions will be required.

For now, the Guardians like the hand they had dealt themselves.

Update: Since the story was initially published, the Guardians have promoted infielder Tyler Freeman from Triple-A Columbus and optioned infielder Ernie Clement to Columbus.