The Cleveland Guardians beat the odds this season.
A team with so many issues at the plate shouldn’t have made the playoffs, and 99 out of 100 times, chances are they wouldn’t have.
Of course, the fact that they still were able to weather the storm and get it done should be encouraging, as their flaws are more than evident, and addressing them in free agency would certainly make them a contender.
Unfortunately, it sounds like that’s not going to be the case.
Judging by general manager Mike Chernoff’s latest words, it seems like they have no intention whatsoever of making any big moves in the offseason.
If anything, reinforcements may come from inside the building:
“We know how we have to build teams, and that’s from within,” Chernoff said. “We saw a lot of young players emerge towards the end of the year to take really quality at-bats. … We know we’re going to have to rely on young guys to fill a lot of those holes, and then we’ll have to see what opportunities are out there to potentially complement the team [externally].”
Granted, people should never complain about having an elite farm system and multiple potential young stars.
George Valera, C.J. Kayfus, and Chase DeLauter – albeit in limited opportunities – all looked like they belonged in the majors, and they could even wind up being superstars.
Former No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana should also join the mix.
Nevertheless, not many teams have been able to compete at the highest level relying solely on young players.
The Guardians should absolutely give the youngsters as many opportunities as they need to grow through their mistakes and fulfill their potential, so long as they also have reliable veterans to teach them the ropes of the game and take care of business in big moments.
The front office might be wasting Jose Ramirez’s career, and at one point, just making the playoffs might not be good enough.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Address Major Offensive Concern
