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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians enter the offseason facing a concerning pattern that could undermine their 2026 aspirations: most of the potential outfielders on their roster have troubling injury histories. This reality, combined with questions about where top prospect Travis Bazzana fits into their future plans, created a lively debate on the latest Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. A podcast listener from Ohio highlighted the alarming trend: “Every one of the Guardians potential outfielders for next season has a history of injuries. Steven Kwan, C.J. Kayfus, Chase DeLauter, George Valera and Lane Thomas. Shouldn’t the front office target a proven, healthy MLB outfielder as their top priority?” Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter, responded by invoking wisdom from a former Cleveland executive: “Danny O’Dowd always used to say when he was the assistant GM in Cleveland that the best predictor for future injuries is past injuries. You know, DeLauter, Valera and Thomas, if they should bring him back, certainly have that.” The concern is legitimate. Steven Kwan has battled hamstring issues and played through a wrist problem in 2025. DeLauter’s injury history is particularly troubling — he missed significant development time with a broken foot before reaching the majors at the end of 2025. Valera, once the organization’s top outfield prospect, has seen his development repeatedly stalled by injuries. And Thomas, acquired at the trade deadline, ended the season needing foot surgery. This collective fragility raises an interesting question: should the Guardians consider moving their prized prospect, 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana, from second base to the outfield to provide additional depth and flexibility? More Guardians coverage Former Guardians coach hired as Twins manager ‘Without him, the game doesn’t go on’: Cleveland mourns ballpark legend Jack Efta Steven Kwan might not be the only player the Guardians consider extending this offseason “I think that’s a possibility,” Hoynes said when asked about giving Bazzana outfield reps. “But right now I’d like to see Bazzana just play second base and just see how he does there.” Joe Noga, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter, took an even stronger stance against moving Bazzana: “I think you want him to succeed and the best way to get him to succeed right now is to sort of eliminate all the different variables and have him focus on second base. Just because he’s not immediately going to be the greatest defensive second baseman in the world.” The podcast hosts anticipate Bazzana could debut sometime during the 2026 season if he stays healthy and develops as expected. Their concern is that adding outfield responsibilities might slow his progress defensively at second base, where he already has room for improvement. “They didn’t draft this guy, the number one pick overall in the 2024 draft to turn him into a utility guy,” Hoynes emphasized. The conversation reflects Cleveland’s typical development philosophy — patience and positional focus rather than rushing prospects or moving them around the diamond prematurely. For fans hoping to see the Guardians maintain their momentum from 2025’s AL Central title, the outfield injury situation creates legitimate concern. Will the front office seek external solutions through free agency or trades? Or will they gamble on the health of their existing options while keeping Bazzana focused solely on second base? As offseason decisions loom, the Guardians’ approach to these intertwined challenges could significantly impact their championship aspirations in 2026. Podcast transcript Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, right off the top some sad news. Former Cleveland ballpark legend, you know, a staple at Progressive Field, the guy who ran the umpires room for, for many years at the ballpark, Jack Efta. We recently learned that he passed away after a battle with cancer. Some sad news. Just, you know, what were your memories of Jack Efta and what kind of guy he was and who he, what he meant to the ball club? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he was just a great guy. 72 years old. The lymphoma that he had been battling had come back in March and he just passed away on Wednesday. Him and he, him and his dad, they kind of had a family business. Jack took care of the umpires locker room at Progressive Field from 95 through 2019 and his dad before him, and he did it all the way back to the old ballpark. They took care of the umpires. You know, they, they got their food, they washed the clothes, they did everything. And Jack was just one of those guys, Joe, that, that makes baseball work. Like the groundskeepers, the ushers, you know, guys that, you know, aren’t on the field, that don’t get paid a million bucks a game, but with, without him, the game doesn’t move. The game doesn’t, you know, the game doesn’t go on. And he just was one of the fixtures there and just, you know, really good guy. In spring training, he would, he would come out, he went down to Winter Haven. He went down to, he went out to Goodyear when they moved to Arizona and, you know, would be the one of the assistant PR guys. You know, he was always, he loved to him and Bart Swain would ride their bikes all over the place. Just, you know, just really an amazing guy. He would, and he was the, you know, the official scorer. He was, you know, he kept score in all those crazy spring training games when, you know, 30 guys would be playing for each team. He, you know, he kept a meticulous scorebook. Just was a sweetheart and really sad. I had no idea he was sick. So it was a shock to, to learn that he had passed on Wednesday night. So here’s prayers and good thoughts to his family and just sad, a sad moment. Joe Noga: Yeah, you talk about the, the essential people behind the scenes. He was sort of the definition of that. One of the jobs that he performed at Progressive Field every game, every single home game, 81 games a year. You know, their MLB rules stipulate what 12 dozen new baseballs need to be rubbed up with mud. It’s a specific kind of mud that, that they get. And you know, Jack, after was the guy who was in charge of making sure that the, the baseballs were prepared for each game. Twelve dozen baseballs had to be rubbed up with mud every game. And he was the guy who did that? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he was, he was a character. Joe. On his desk in spring training, he had a picture of Winston Churchill. I was never quite sure what, what that was all about. But, you know, he was a history buff. He was very buff. You know, sometimes he’d come in wearing camo. You don’t know if he was going to charge a charge a machine gun nest or, you know, was going to go get the, the lineup. So he was, he was a beauty. You know, it, it hits home and it’s, that’s a tough one to lose. Joe Noga: Yeah. Sad, sad news from the, from the Guardians organization and like you said, prayers for Jack Efta and his family. All right, onto the business at hand. Some hey Hoinsies for this week. Love getting into it with our Subtext subscribers and those who, uh, contribute and questions and thoughts and stuff for us to ponder here and a good exchange as we’re getting into the offseason. Now, you can be part of. Hey Hoinsey. You can be a contributor here just by joining subtext. It’s 3.99amonth. To subscribe, go to cleveland.com subtext to sign up there and let’s, let’s get into it. Ted B. From Westlake Village, California writes. Hey Hoinsey, who were the most likely candidates for significant contract extensions? There’s a few that come to mind and maybe we can, we can uncover some, some less likely, but you know, maybe new names on that list after this past season. But I think the one that stands out the most, the, the number one candidate, the, the guy that is urgent front of the, the pack would be Stephen Kwan. Paul Hoynes: Doubt about it. You know, Quan is two years of control left. You know, if they’re going to get it done, I would imagine this is going to, this is the time to, you know, going. They usually do these things in spring training. So the spring of 2026 headed into that season. That’s going to be a key time to, to extend Quan or you probably, you know, you, you kind of resigned yourself that the club is going to trade him or they’re going to lose him to free agency. It’s almost now or never with Kwon. Joe Noga: Yeah. And, and that’s, that’s the feeling that we get, and we’ll get into what, you know, what that could look like in terms of an extension here in a minute. But sticking with the question of who are the most likely candidates, who would you, you slot in right behind Stephen Kwan as a number two priority for this, this young Guardians. And in trying to build maybe another core like carrying on the tradition that John Hart, you know, started way back when, how can they build a young core maybe with Stephen Kwan as one of those key pieces? And who would you add to that list of maybe a Quan and Tanner Bybey who’s already signed up? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, I, I think, you know, I, my thoughts go mostly to the pitching side of things, Joe. I, I would, you know, Gavin Williams jumps out at me. I don’t know if they’d have to see another, you know, you know, strong season from Gavin before they made a commitment to him along the lines of Tanner Bybee’s multi year deal that he signed last spring. But I think maybe at the top of the list, right behind Quan is Cade Smith. I think that’s a gu. I think they, they, you know, should, should pursue a multi year deal with, you know, he’s shown he can pitch in a lot of different situations. Last year he stepped in as closer. He had a couple bumps and bruises, but toward the end of the year, into the postseason, I thought he did a great job closing and he’s young, he’s strong, he’s the kind of guy that, that they might take a chance on a multi year deal with. Joe Noga: Yeah, that, that, that sounds like, you know, a real logical next step. Also you’ve got to, you know, start to worry about the wear and tear factor on a guy like Cade Smith because they haven’t shied away from using him and the usage is up there right along the lines of the way they used Emmanuel Classe for, for a stretch of years. So that’s got to be a factor as well. Any of the, the young position player core, a guy like, you know, maybe a Brian Rocchio or a Bone nailer. Guys like those who maybe need to show you a little more before you, you offer them any sort of contract. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, that’s, those are tough calls for me. You know, I think, you know, you know, where does, where does Rocchio fit? Is he a second baseman, is he a shortstop? You know, what is his future? So I think that kind of plays into that, I guess. You know, if they, if they would offer a guy like that a multi year deal, you know, obviously the commitment is there and I think you want him to settle into one position. You know, he’s shown he can play both of the middle infield spots. I kind of like him better at shortstop. Some people like him better at second base, but I don’t know, is he going to hit enough? I mean, they did this with Jimenez, and then when Jimenez cooled as a hitter, they traded him. So I don’t know. I mean, it’s really. That’s a good call. The guy that might, that kind of jumps out of me a little bit is Manzardo. Only because of his power, 27 home runs last year. Is he a guy that, that you would kind of commit to, you know, for, for more than three, four, five years? Something like that? Joe Noga: Yeah, I think. And again, it. It might be just a case of they need to see a little, a little bit of that consistency and growth. And like, like Stephen Vogt said at the. The end of the year press conference, you know, Manzardo kind of kind of wore down over the last month of the season and needs to sort of lock in and find that. That physical endurance for next season. So, you know, maybe, maybe if they see something like that next season, they push them up a contract extension on the table between the end of next, next season and 2027. And we see it there. The one question when we talk about contract extensions, you know, there was this, this big run a couple of years back on offering contract extensions to high prospects and draft picks and, you know, guys who hadn’t even stepped on the field and really played much in the big leagues. You know, I go back to like, Luis Robert signing a contract extension before he was really, you know, had a proven commodity there. Jackson, Cheerio. Another guy who, before he even made an impact really at the major league level was working on a big contract extension. And you can go back to Wander Franco, even, you know, making and not having a lot of time under their belts. So that leads me to believe, you know, would you consider Travis Pizzana a guy who could get an extension before he even plays in the big leagues? Paul Hoynes: Ability, you know, I don’t think they don’t have a track record of doing that, Joe. You know, that’s the only thing that would maybe steer me away from that, you know, and, you know, Bazzano, I’ve got to see more from Pizzano. I know he’s like the number one pick in the draft in 2024, but he’s been banged up the last year, handles its finances. There’s no need right now for that to happen to me. To, from, from my point of view. Joe Noga: And I just bring that up just because of, you know, that, that trend that, that happened for a while. But then you also got to consider that, you know, the sport is probably headed towards a lockout in 2027. So contract extensions like this, and even talking about things like this, clubs are going to be a little gun shy to, to be offering extensions just because there’s an uncertainty. You don’t want to be on the hook and owing guys all sorts of money for games that they’re never going to play. Paul Hoynes: And another thing, Joe, if they do, by some miracle, set, set a salary cap, all of a sudden you’re paying, you know, you’ve signed a guy to what, a $200 million contract for seven years and you don’t know what, you know, your salary cap is going to be with. Does that contract push you over, you know, into the, you know, over the, to the threshold and you’re paying extra because you’re over the, you know, the. Over your caps numbers? It’s really something that I think what kind of comes into play on that. Joe Noga: Do you ever see the Guardians going over a salary cap threshold? You’re living in fantasy land now. Paul Hoynes: I do not see that, no. Joe Noga: Chris Antonetti’s biggest fear is that he’s going to go over the salary cap threshold. Yeah, that’s what reality are we living in? Unbelievable. Okay, so that answers the question as best we can about contract extensions. Yes, they have a lot of candidates who, who could be considered, but right now there’s one that stands out more than anything. And that leads us to our next question from Carl in Las Vegas. He says, hey, Hoinsey, if the Guardians were looking to trade Stephen Kwon this offseason, what kind of return could they expect, mystically, if shot? If Kwon should sign an extension, what would it take to get that done? Five years, 75 million, something like that? Buy out two years of arbitration? Or has the market already gone way past that amount? So I guess I’d leave that up to you. First, the question of what a return for a Kwon trade would look like. But you’re probably talking a major league ready pitcher and some sort of high prospect, right? Paul Hoynes: Think so, yeah. It would have to be, you know, if you, it depends, I guess when you trade them as well, you trade them now, you know, and he’s. And the team that gets him has two years of control left. You know, you’re probably getting more if you, if you wait until the deadline in 2016 or after the 2016 season, the return probably goes down. You know, a comparable player. I mean do you, do you get another out outfielder? You know, Quan is a, a different kind of, you know, he’s, he, he does things that a lot of players don’t do, but he doesn’t do stuff that a lot of players do. He does, he’s not hitting a lot of home runs. You know, he’s not going to drive in runs, you know, so that has to factor into all the, the return and, and if they extend them as well. Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s, I mean if you’re a team that’s trading for Stephen Kwan, you’re trading to fill a need on your, your club. You’re trading because you need an elite lead off hitter, a guy who puts the bat on the ball and maybe you have defensive questions that you want to have shoring up and that’s something that he can take care of as well. So yeah, I don’t know as far as what the return on a quant trade might look like. You know, it’s going to involve somebody that can help you at the major league level immediately. And then, you know, one or two, maybe at least one top 100 draft or top 100 minor league prospect, at least one. And then, you know, possibly somebody that’s, that’s also really highly regarded in an organization. The Guardians have a whole network of guys out there that they, that they like and we’ve seen that guys that they even passed on or didn’t have an opportunity to take in the last couple of drafts when they were working overtime and the draft that resulted in Travis Bazzano, we saw Cal, Stephen, the right hander that they, they got in the Shane Bieber trade from Toronto was a guy that they had had sort of really coveted during that 2024 draft process. And when the opportunity came, came around to acquire him, that’s the guy that they went for. Paul Hoynes: And you know, the, he’s making, he made just over 4 million this year. Joe. Arbitration will be eligible for arbitration again. This, you know, this coming before the 2026 season. So you know, this is, it’s really kind of an interesting case when you try to, you know, plot his future, what he’s worth and what the return would be. Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s, it’s tough. And we know he’s, he’s due to make about a little over 8 million according to projections from MLB trade rumors. Quan looking at about an 800, I’m sorry, an $8 million payday when it comes around for arbitration. So we’ll see what that. What. So tough question, tough to sort of evaluate, but we know one thing and we’ve heard Chris Antonetti say it over and over again when it, when the subject of Stephen Kwan comes up. The Guardians value him very highly. He’s a priority. And it seems that every other team in Major League Baseball also stink. Also thinks very highly of Stephen Kwon and, and how he plays the game as well. Uh, there will be no lack of suitors for him if that becomes the case. Next question from Roger Amoroso in Macedonia. He says, hey, Hoinsey, after an 18 innings, six hour World Series game, will the Ghost Runner ever be used in the playoffs? It’s almost, almost forced starters to pitch out a turn. You remember they had Yamamoto and, and Shane Bieber was in the, the bullpen at the, the top of the 18th inning. It almost forced guys to pitch out a turn which could have led to an injury. So Roger wants to know, are we, we going to see the Ghost Runner make an appearance at some point in the postseason? Paul Hoynes: You know, I do not think so, Joe. I mean, when the Ghost Runner was introduced in 2020 during the pandemic season, you know, it was met with, you know, a lot of derision. A lot of, you know, the purist, you know, really hated it. And they, a lot of people still hate it. A lot of people, you know, really can’t stand it. But so the, you know, not having a Ghost Runner in the postseason was kind of a, you know, kind of a hat tip to those traditionalists that, you know, they’re still going to play real baseball when everything is on the line. And so I think that that’s the way it’s going to stand. I mean, it, you know, baseball, you know, has kind of likes to do this. I think. We had the DH in one league for years and the other league didn’t have the dh. You know, it drove me crazy. But this, not so much. I mean, this is, this is really, you know, I kind of like that. What the game three, that 18 inning, you know, marathon, it really tests players. But, you know, from an injury point of view, you know, you’re right, it does, you know, really, you know, puts pitchers, you know, kind of, you know, in, in, you know, kind of the danger zone. You remember 2016, when the, you know, when the Guardians reached the World Series and Terry Francona had to manipulate the bullpen so much. Guys like Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, who carried such a big load in that bullpen, were never the same after that. They, you know, they, they they, that, that hurt them the amount of work they had to do, the high 10 intensity innings. The only guy that didn’t bother was Brian Shaw who could probably, who’s still pitching today I think somewhere. But, but you know, it is, there is a risk involved. Joe Noga: Yeah, the injury situation I guess that Roger brings up here, it’s significant but you know, there might be ways to manipulate that. Maybe if a game appears like it’s headed towards a, you know, an 18 inning marathon sort of situation, maybe you say we’ll play the 10th inning through the 12th or the 13th inning as you know, with no ghost runner. And then maybe after the 13th inning you started to institution institute that. You know, you set a limit far out there where you won’t see the Ghostrunner unless they get to a certain extension of the game. Sort of like what they do with, with hockey overtimes. Very famous situation a few years back where St Ignatius and a team from Toledo in the state championship hockey game went to multiple overtimes, three, four, you know, however many overtimes they went. And in retrospect afterwards they. Well, you know, if there were a rule in place where we could start pulling skaters off the ice would have it down to like a 4 on 4 or 3 on 3, the, the scoring would happen, you know, a lot quicker. And they actually did institute that, that following that season in, in the, the high school ranks for hockey. Maybe you, you do that sort of just to prevent the game from continuing to go on like that because you’re exposing your, your bullpens and your, your pitchers that are out there. Again, your rosters are limited. It’s not like you, you have an unlimited roster at that, at that point in the season. It’s not like you’re making a call to AAA to get a fresh arm up there for the next day. You know, maybe you, you change the roster rules so that if a game does go past the 12th inning or so they can make, each team can make one roster move related to the bullpen to make sure there’s somebody available on your taxi squad who can, you know, supplement your bullpen that way. But that’s going to take maybe a conversation with the competition committee for sure. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I would think we’re not going to, but we’re not going to go down to the like the All Star game, Joe, when they end in a tie, then they have a home run hitting contest. We’re not going to do that in game seven of the World Series, are we? Joe Noga: No, that’s be like having a free throw shooting competition. Inside game seven of the NBA Finals. You can’t have that. But again, would it be exciting? Would it be a TV sort of moment? Yeah, that would be, that would be fun. But, but again, look at what happened in the All Star Game when they had it decided by the Home Run Derby. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were, were nowhere to be seen. Right. So if you were going to have that, the swing off or whatever to decide playoff game, you would want to guarantee that your marquee players were the ones taking those swings. Paul Hoynes: We can put the golden, the golden batter rule, bring back Manfred’s golden batter rule and just be able to get your best hitter at the key part of the game. Joe Noga: See, this is the result of what happens when you get the one anomaly, the one 18 inning game. And now, now everybody wants to bring in all the crazy rules to, to make sure it doesn’t happen again when, let’s be honest, it’s all anybody was talking about the next day was, you know, how crazy that was and how much, how exciting it was and how much fun it was. I’ll tell you one person who doesn’t want to, you know, see that, see any of the rules changed. You know, Freddie Freeman seems to be the guy you want up there in all those situations. He seems to be hitting, walk off hits all over the place in, in the World Series and it really kind. Paul Hoynes: Of taxes the manager. I mean he’s got to make the right calls. You’ve got to have really puts an emphasis on who you pick for your Postseason roster. Your 26 guys. You really have to, you know that you have to take a deep dive into that and you know, just make sure you’ve got the right, what, you know, 12 or 13 pitchers out there to make sure you can cover that many innings. And it’s a grind right now. It’s a hell of a series. But it, that, that 18 game, that 18 inning game kind of changed the face of the series to me, Joe. You know, because Toronto has come back here. Yeah. Joe Noga: And it’s given the team with maybe not the, the level of dominant pitching, but a better opportunity to go out there and be competitive. So we’ll see how it goes. All right, next question comes from, from Nelson Aguiar, Bronx, New York. And he says, hey Hoinsey, I’d like to see Bazana get some reps in left field because at some point the Guardians are going to trade Stephen Kwan hopefully for a right handed bat and another reliever. I also feel there are better options on the, infield with Juan Brito, angel and you know, I got to throw Brian Rocchio in there as well. You know. What do you think of the, the idea that the Guardians might look at Travis Bazan in this upcoming season and maybe try to instill some versatility there? Paul Hoynes: I think that’s a possibility, Joe, but right now I’d like to see Bazana just play second base and just see how he does at second base. I think he’ll, you know, I think we’re both of the opinion at some point in the 2026 season if he can stay healthy, he’ll make his big league debut. Let’s see him there. And then, then if that, if that doesn’t work, then you maybe look for some flexibility or maybe you do that. Maybe he spends the first half of next season at AAA and they, they give him a shot in left field, they give him a shot in right field, but, you know, his main focus would remain in second base. Joe Noga: Yeah, I think you want him to succeed and I think the best way to get him to succeed right now is to sort of eliminate all the different variables and have him focus on second base. Just because he’s, he’s not the greatest defensive second baseman in the world. He has probably potential to be a decent defensive second baseman, one that’ll be passable in the majors, but it’s not like he’s a glove first guy. You’re bringing him up for his impact on offense for certain. So I think you, you leave him there at second base, maybe try to get him to work. If they’re holding him down and keeping him in AAA to manipulate service time by, by may there, maybe if he’s proven everything he can at the plate, then maybe you start looking at left field as an option just to give him a taste out there. But you’re not going to be putting them out there in major league games as a rookie in left field, I really don’t think that’s going to be an option for him. So, yeah, I can see them. It’s hard to develop there in left field and sort of introduce that. You know, we saw that with Jason Kipnis when they tried to put him out there in center field in 2017, 2018. You know, as a guy who played all of his, his professional career at second base and, and now you’re telling him to go back into the outfield where he played in college. I just didn’t see it as, you know, a logical moves. Let’s, let’s just be patient with Bazano, see Let’s see him, you know, get through a season healthy and let’s see what he can do at second base. I agree in that regard. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it, Joe. I mean, they didn’t draft this guy, the number one pick overall in the 2024 draft to turn him into a utility guy. Joe Noga: All right, next question. Pat Gritchick and Garfield Heights. Hey, Hoinsey, does Emmanuel Clase’s case have anything to do with him signing up last year for the that online service where investors could buy a share of his future earnings for a certain amount based on his performance? I seem to recall something about this. This was. He was signed up. This was an online thing where investors could put money down now and they would own a share of his athletes contracts or future contracts that he would sign. I don’t know if that went anywhere, if that was deemed troublesome by Major League Baseball or if it even pointed them in the direction of things for this, this investigation. And what are your thoughts on Manuel Class A and signing up for that, that service? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, the last time I checked, he was no longer listed on that site. It kind of creeps me out a little bit that, that kind of thing. So. But I don’t think it had anything. Class A being involved in this gambling investigation by mlb. This is from everything I’ve heard, this has to do with prop bets and Class A and Luis Ortiz allegedly influencing those prop bets by the way they pitched on the field. Now, I talked to a Class A’s agent earlier this week. He said his client is innocent, he didn’t do anything wrong, he doesn’t bet. But we’re going to see how this thing shakes out. But I don’t think selling a share of Class A had anything to do with the current, the current situation. Joe Noga: The, the service that Pat was referring to is a crowdfunding platform known as Finley and it was set up to sell shares of his future MLB earnings to investors. The investment, it was a structure. It’s structured as a preferred stock with investors purchasing shares of Class A’s future earnings through the service. Finley and the investors would receive a percentage of his salary as a dividend. The deal was based on his baseball earnings only and did not include money from endorsements. Obviously there were risks involved for anybody who signed up for it. But while Classe is currently on paid leave or was on paid leave now on the restricted list due to a gambling investigation, Finley came out and said that his salary payments continued and investors would continue to receive their entitled percentage based on his baseball earnings. And that’s according to a report by Front Office Sports. So I guess, you know, the. The other side of that is that he would continue to have to be paying these investors out of what he made, even though he wasn’t pitching. Basically, it’s like the Guardians paying the investors for work that Class A didn’t do. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, yeah, because up until the last game of the regular season, he was getting paid. Now is. I think his salary’s in limbo. Maybe that’s why he wants. Wants to pitch winter ball. Joe. He’s got. He’s got times to pay off so many investors to pay off. Joe Noga: It’s definitely a weird situation. All right, next question. Hey, Hoinsey, this from Bill in Tennessee. I know most fans are frustrated with seeing so many ex guardians on the Blue Jays, but none of them would have helped put Cleveland over the top. This is in Bill’s opinion. They’re all good support players for sure. But don’t you think that the Guardians still need a veteran bat? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, you know, well, you look at Ernie Clement, you know, he’s hitting.318 in the World Series. Ennis is hitting.158. You know, Nathan Lucas is hitting.250. You know, Bieber is, you know, one and oh. In the World Series and has pitched well, you know, what, in three different postseason starts, you know, so. Yeah, I think. I think to a degree that’s right. You know, you know, the Guardians have a roster full of utility guys like Clement. We’ve seen Jimenez and we’ve seen the good Jimenez, the bad Jimenez. Is he. Is he. Does he give you more than. Than Rocchio at second base going head to head this season? I’m not sure. I don’t. You know, I think that’s probably kind of a wash almost, but. Yeah, I still think, you know, out of all that, they definitely need to add a hitter to this lineup. And, you know, an experienced hitter, I think would certainly help. Joe Noga: Yeah, somebody who you could put in the middle of the lineup and, you know, not even necessarily hit right behind Jose, but can lengthen the. The threat of a scoring opportunity when. When the top three or four guys in the lineup are so adept at getting on base and putting themselves in position. You know, we’re talking Kwon and Ramirez. You need somebody who is at least a threat to put the bat on the ball and drive them in at a veteran bat. Would. Would definitely do that. I just go back to the question of why these. These former Guardian. It. It’s going to blow my mind if the Blue Jays are able to come back to. To come through and win in one of these final two games that Ernie Clement and Miles Straw are going to have World Series rings and Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan are not. The Guardians made their choices. The Guardians made their decisions, and they were obvious ones. You’re obviously choosing Jose Ramirez over Ernie Clement. You’re obviously choosing Stephen Kwan over Miles Straw, but you made those decisions and you let those other guys go. And, and now they fit differently in, and they fit perfectly in for Toronto. And they’re going to be the, basically the reasons why the Blue Jays are going to win a World Series. I just blows my mind that that’s the situation. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, you know, if you really look at the way the Blue Jays, you know, play baseball or play offense especially, they swing the bat, they play a lot like Clevel does, they hit more home runs. But, you know, they, they put the ball in play, they bunt, they go first to third, they make contact, they put pressure on. On the other team, they run the bases well, you know, so. And I think a lot of that has to do with all those guys from Cleveland. So it’s not. And, you know, you’ve got to remember who’s running the ball club. Shapiro and Ross Atkins. I mean, you know, so I don’t think the acorn falls very far from the tree here. So, you know, and I think it’s fun to watch. You know, even Nathan Lucas, a guy they traded in 2016, is having a good series, a good postseason for the Blue Jays. So you’re right. All those pieces have fit exactly right for, for this club. Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s. And, and you can’t explain it. That’s baseball. That’s. That’s sort of the way that is. All right, next question. This comes from John Kyle in Westfield Center, Ohio. Hey, Hoinsey. Every one of our potential outfielders for next season, talking about the Guardians, every one of the Guardians potential outfielders for next season has a history of injuries. Stephen Kwan, CJ Kaifas, Chase Delaude, George Valera Lane Thomas. Shouldn’t the front office target a proven, healthy MLB outfielder as their top priority? And I guess the question is, how do you. How do you predict whether a guy’s going to be healthy or not? Paul Hoynes: Was Kaifus injured? I can’t remember. Joe Noga: I don’t necessarily know that he, he had a. Has a history of injuries. He might have missed some time, maybe during the season or whatever, but I don’t think he has a long history of injuries. No. Paul Hoynes: You know what Danny o’ Dowd always used to say when he was the assistant GM in Cleveland, the best predictor for future injuries is past injuries. You know, Dalada, Valera and Thomas, if they should bring him back, certainly have that. You know, Kwon has a history of hamstring injuries, but, you know, they really didn’t slow him down that much this last season. We’ve seen him miss time before. You know, two seasons ago, he missed a significant amount of time. I don’t know how you get around that. But yeah, you know, they, I think the training staff does a pretty good job at keeping these guys healthy. We, we haven’t seen Dilaudor or Valero very much or Kaifus that much at the big league level. So we don’t know what their availability would be during the course of 160 game season. Your outfielders can stay, all your players can stay. The better off you’re going to be. Joe Noga: Yeah, you know, Quan did battle the, the wrist injury all year. Yeah, you know, that was sort of a nagging thing and I think that did impact his performance to a degree. But if you’re playing the game the right way, if you’re playing it, you know, all out and, you know, the way Grady Sizemore used to play, you know, 110% on every ball hit his way, injuries are going to happen. Bumps and bruises are going to happen. Nobody is healthy at the end of the season. Nobody should be healthy at the end of the season. Everybody’s got, got something they’re battling through because it’s 162 games and you’re putting your body on the line every time. You know, we’re talking about guys. Some guys are just more prone to it. Chase, the Lauder situation is inexplicable. I mean, he’s out there. He runs into the, the outfield wall and bruises his toe and misses a significant amount of time. I mean, these are things that it just, it drives you nuts that it’s able to happen. But, but when he’s on the field and you see what the potential is there, it’s tremendous and it gives you a lot of hope for next season. So, you know, I hope that he stays healthy. The one that stands out there is Lane Thomas and you know, talking about, you know, would they try to re sign him, would they try to include him? I just get a strong feeling that, that the Guardians are going to move on from Elaine, Thom, Thomas this offseason. I think he either finds us a better fit for him somewhere or, you know, the Guardians just Just say, hey, it’s not going to work out. You’re coming off of the, the foot surgery. Who knows how long it’s going to take him to recover? So, yeah, I don’t necessarily see a reunion, a reunion with Thomas as being a strong likelihood. Next question comes to us from Andy Meese in Sandusky. Andy says the. The Blue Jays moved Andres Jimenez back to his natural shortstop position over the course of the regular season, and he’s been nothing short of spectacular in their World Series run. The question is, what was the Guardians thinking in keeping Jimenez at second base in favor of Ahmed Rosario and Brian Rocchio, who played shortstop during Jimenez’s tenure in Cleveland? Paul Hoynes: You know, no, that there’s, that’s kind of a misconception. I think when you look at Jimenez’s career at, you know, with Cleveland, I mean, he was the opening day shortstop for Cleveland in 2021 and 2022. The reason he’s playing shortstop now with Toronto is Boba shit got hurt late in the season. Everyone knew in Cleveland knew he could play shortstop, but they felt their better chance to win games was to have Rocchio, I mean, Rosario play short and Jimenez at second base. I mean, Jimenez won three Gold Gloves at second base. He had his best years offensively at second base. So. But that does, but that still doesn’t mean they didn’t think he could play shortstop. They let him play shortstop in winter ball for the ubc, for Venezuela, so they knew that. But they felt they were better aligned to win ball game with him at him at second in either Rosario or Rocio at short. So it’s not like they didn’t know he could play shortstop. That, you know, I’ve, I’ve had that question a couple times, and it kind of irks me. Joe Noga: Yeah. And, and also you got to take into account Ahmed Rosario factors into that as well. You know, Ahmed Rosario seemed to only be effective. Maybe it was in between his own ears, but he’s, he only seemed to be effective when he was batting second and playing shortstop for the Guardians. You try to put him anywhere else in the field, you try to put him anywhere else in the, the batting order, and he just wasn’t as effective as, as he, as he was when he was batting second and playing short. And there’s a, there’s a. Honestly, he was a little bit more of a veteran player at the time, so you kind of had to give him his, his due in, in that regard. And it’s not like they didn’t win ball games with that as the combination up the middle and in the batting order. So y. I think everybody knew that Jimenez’s best position was probably shortstop, but you can’t argue with the results of a three goal gloves and probably the best defensive second baseman at the time they traded him, you know, in all of baseball. Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And Rosario hit when. You were right. Joe Rosario hit when he played shortstop, what one year. I think he had 188 hits. Led the team in hits, maybe. You know, so he was productive when in at shortstop up and hitting second. He, you know, that was kind of, you know, he had some problems defensively, especially in the second year when he was a starter. Yeah. Joe Noga: And I don’t know that, you know, Jimenez would still be in Cleveland if he had moved over to shortstop as a guardian and played there. I don’t know if that would have kept him there and made them make different decisions at second base. You almost just feel like they had to trade him for him to, to get back to shortstop as his natural position. All right, last question for, for this episode. This comes from Cindy Leach in Strongsville. Sort of a warm and fuzzy question. Hey, Hoinsey, are there any rules about players contacting former teammates or coaches during the postseason? For example, once Bieber was traded, once Shane Bieber was traded to the, the Blue Jays, is he not allowed to contact the people who were helping him rehab? You know, he, he rehabbed basically all season long under the guardian’s medical staff and people that he had, he had, who had helped him through injuries in the past and he was comfortable with and you know. Right. Was as he was just about beginning, ready to, to begin getting back on the major league mound? You know, he goes over to the, the Blue Jays organization. My question here is, you know, do you do the Guardians trainers that, that helped Shane Bieber get back to where he is now get a share of his playoff share if they win the World Series? Paul Hoynes: Yeah, let’s see. I think if Biebs is a pretty generous guy, I would think he’d, you know. Joe Noga: It’S got to be like tipping the clubbies on the way out right on the road. I mean, these are guys that, these are people who, who helped him basically get Back to effect. He’s 20 in the world Series or in, in the postseason right now. Hoynsy. He’s pitched in some of the biggest games of his entire career, and he wouldn’t be doing that without the, the help of the training staff that, that the Guardians put together to help him get there. Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I’m sure He took care of those guys before he left. From what I heard, the relationship between the Blue Jays trainers and the Guardians trainers is really solid. Think if, I don’t think there would be any trouble if Bieber, you know, wanted to talk to one of his old trainers in Cleveland or, you know, the trainer training staffs, I think would definitely communicate, you know, what to do, what, what Bieber wanted or any questions that Bieber had. And, you know, and as for just players contacting former teammates during the postseason, I mean, that happens all the time. I mean, all these guys are texting each other, you know. You know, I don’t think they’re doing any trade secrets. They’re just, you know, saying either they’re. They’re, you know, busting chops or they’re congratulating guys or, you know, I think all those guys are, you know, their cell phones are pinging all the time. Joe Noga: Yeah, there’s. I’m sure Ernie Clement is gotten his fair share of congratulations and big ups after, after the games that he’s put together for Toronto and, and seeing him perform on the big stage has got to be. His former teammates in Cleveland have to be getting a kick out of it, for sure. Yeah, My, you know, my thing is there’s probably not a lot of communication going on because, as you know, in a, in a playoff run, when you’re in the World Series, you know, time is, is essential. You’ve got, you know, it’s at a premium, especially for a guy preparing for a start like Shane Bieber. If his cell phone is blowing up with people from his past, I’m sure he’ll get to them after the World Series is over. Plus, you got to think about it. He’s got a, an infant son that he’s taking care of as well at some point in his wife, Kara, giving birth back in February. So it’s probably a pretty wild time to be Shane Beamer and to be answering your text messages. Probably a tall order. All right, Hoynsie, that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. We will check back in with you again next week.
