The Cleveland Guardians keep adding more arms to their bullpen. They clearly have a big need for help on offense, yet the front office might feel differently.
Considering that, they’ve brought Pedro Avila back roughly one year after designating him for assignment. With that in mind, team insider Joe Noga revealed his potential role:
“Bringing back Avila would reunite Cleveland with an innings-eater who logged more than 70 frames in just 50 appearances out of the pen during his first go-round with the franchise. Avila will compete with an ever-growing list of right-handers who have signed with Cleveland this offseason in an effort to bolster the bullpen. Since the start of December, the Guardians have added Shawn Armstrong, Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon and Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette to their 40-man roster. They signed righty Codi Heuer to a minor-league contract last week and invited him to spring training,” Noga wrote.
Of course, you can never have too many reliable arms. And even though Avila’s underlying stats don’t pop out by any means, he’s clearly a durable player who can give Stephen Vogt’s team a consistent long reliever.
Still, it feelsl ike this team is taking a dangerously similar approach to the offseason to what they did last year. They’re pretty much ignoring all their glaring needs and struggles on offense.
That being said, they at least have some promising rookies to lean on this time. But as good as George Valera, Chase DeLauter, Juan Brito, and C.J. Kayfus might turn out to be, they’re rookies and unproven players nonetheless.
The Guardians rallied behind their strong bullpen and their timely hitting to make the playoffs last season, but their offensive flaws were just too much to ignore when it mattered the most. So, as much as signing players like Avila and revamping the bullpen is a positive thing, they have a much bigger need on the other side of the game.
They’re never going to spend big bucks to land one of the most prominent free agents. Still, it would be nice to watch them at least make a couple of marginal moves.
NEXT: Insider Names Something That Guardians Should Do, But Probably Won't
