The Cleveland Guardians haven’t had the season the fans hoped for, but not everything is lost.
More importantly, they still have a solid core to build around.
With that in mind, team insider Paul Hoynes shared his honest thoughts on the players they could and should look to keep in their lineup for the long run:
“I’d consider adding Angel Martinez to that group. He’s a switch-hitter who can run, and bounce between the infield and outfield,” Hoynes answered when asked who could be the long-term answers for the Guardians on top of Ramirez, Kwan, and Manzardo. “Offensively, the sample size has been small, but he’s shown occasional power and has had success against lefties. I’d put Daniel Schneemann in the group and save a spot for a healthy David Fry next year.”
The Guardians’ top priority should be acquiring another strong bat for the outfield.
They have two elite prospects in Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus, but the former has struggled to stay on the field ever since the Guardians took him in 2022.
Kayfus has been on an absolute roll all year in the minors, and he should be an obvious candidate to draw some consideration for a spot on the 40-man roster at some point in the second half of the season.
On top of that, they also have an elite prospect in Travis Bazzana, who was supposed to be called up at some point this season but also sustained an injury that will cost him around two months of his minor league campaign once he’s back to full strength.
This team isn’t that far behind, and they should’ve fared much better than they’ve fared so far.
That’s also why they shouldn’t even consider blowing up the roster and giving up on players like Steven Kwan or Emmanuel Clase before the July 31 trade deadline.
They just need to give the youngsters a chance to prove their worth and make a couple of tweaks in the offseason.
NEXT: Guardians' Top Prospect Named As Second-Half 'Breakout Candidate'
