The Guardian appear to have mostly finalized their roster for opening day, though Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, noted to reporters (including MLB.com’s Mandy Bell) that “there’s some chance we’ll make an outside acquisition, and if we doing so will affect the make-up of our squad.”
Barring such a takeover, however, it seems likely that Cleveland will open the season with three catchers on their roster than both Cam Gallagher And Meibry’s Viloria seems ready to form the team and support the start catcher Mike Zunino. With multiple backup options, the Guardians are hoping Zunino will have a lighter workload in 2023 after missing the second half of the 2022 season due to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. However, this is at the expense of depth in the inner and outer field Gabriel arias figures of being the only infielder on the bench, with Will Brennan the only outfield player. On the other hand, this should help both youngsters get some extra playing time to further their development. That’s especially valuable for Arias, who played just 82 games between Triple-A and the majors last year after missing two months on the injury list last season.
More from the area around AL Central…
- clinging to the Guardianmanager Terry Francona told reporters, including bellthis right hander Triston McKenzie was struggling with a strain in his right arm that resulted in his being pulled from his start after just one inning today. McKenzie appears to be a key cog at the top of Cleveland’s rotation this year, having posted a 2.96 ERA in 191 1/3 innings last season so long as his current illness doesn’t prove more serious than initially thought. In the event McKenzie misses time, the club could be looking for a deep option Konnor Pilkington or Jason Bilus to fill McKenzie’s place in the rotation.
- Opening day pitching staff in Minnesota drew further focus today as the Twins optional Bailey Ober to triple A, per Dan Hayes of The Athleticafter their decision to reassign Jeff Hoffman, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ober expected to be pushed out of the rotation picture in Minnesota after the club took over Pablo Lopez from the Marlins earlier this offseason and will serve as a depth in triple-A after an 11-start show in 2022, where he posted a solid 3.21 ERA (120 ERA+) in 56 innings of work. Hoffman, meanwhile, signed a minor league contract with the Twins last month to compete for a long relief role in the Twins’ bullpen. Right-handed instead Cole Sands appears poised to take on that role, and Hoffman must decide whether or not to exercise his opt-out next Tuesday.
- Shortly after warning him that he would not make the opening day list, the White socks announced that they had released right-handers Bryan Shaw from his minor league deal with the club. The veteran Shaw carries a 3.92 career ERA in 714 2/3 innings of work and is now poised to seek another club interested in his service for his season at the age of 35. Shaw made a strong case for himself this spring, posting a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings during camp.