CLEVELAND, Ohio — Do you have a Guardians question that you’d like to have answered in Hey, Hoynsie? You can subscribe to Subtext here, text Hoynsie at 216-208-4346 for a two-week free trial or email him at phoynes@cleveland.com.
Hey, Hoynsie: Is there any Guardians minor leaguer you definitely would not trade? — Darren Donato, Reading, Pennsylvania.
Hey, Darren: If you’re running the baseball operations of a big league ballclub, you take every phone and listen to every potential deal. No one is untouchable.
Still, there are certain players more available than others. From what I saw of Chase DeLauter in spring training, I would have a hard time parting with him. I know he’s been hurt. I know he’s had trouble staying on the field, but it would take a lot to convince me to let him go.
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Hey, Hoynsie: With the trade deadline looming in a sellers market, how aggressive do you expect the Guards will be? — Jim Z., Durham, New Hampshire.
Hey, Jim: I expect them to be as aggressive as they need to be. They’re in an interesting position, especially concerning the rotation. Do they wait to see if/when Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen can find themselves at Class AAA Columbus? Or do they try to upgrade the rotation before the July 30 deadline? Stay tuned.
Hey, Hoynsie: The G’s position players who may be shopped fall into two groups. Gabriel Arias, Will Brennan, and Tyler Freeman each have over 500 career plate appearances. Five prospects in Jhonkensy Noel, Johnathan Rodriguez, Angel Martinez, Daniel Schneemann and Kyle Manzardo have each flashed promise. Where will the greatest trade interest be? — David England, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Hey, David: I think the biggest trade interest is in prospects. And I still think Arias, Brennan and Freeman are young enough and untested enough to fall into that category.
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Hey, Hoynsie: Why wasn’t Andres Gimenez shifted to shortstop in spring training to allow Brayan Rocchio to learn second base? — Bud, Arizona
Hey, Bud: I think Gimenez has stayed at second for the same reason Steven Kwan has stayed in left field instead of moving to center field. They dominate their position defensively.
The Guardians felt Rocchio could handle shortstop coming out of spring training. I’m sure he could play second as well, but there would have to be a learning curve. So why weaken your defense in the middle of the diamond, when you’re getting above-average defense at short and Gold/Platinum Glove defense at second?
Hey, Hoynsie: What is the average number of years for a first round pick to get to the big leagues? Can Travis Bazzana beat that timetable? — Marv, Phoenix.
Hey, Marv: A story in FanGraphs, written in 2015, calculated that it takes the first overall pick in the draft an average of 3.6 years to reach the big leagues.
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A story in Baseball America, following the 2023 draft, calculated that 81.3% of the pitchers taken in the first round will record at least one strikeout in the big leagues. But only 14.3% will strike out 1,000 batters in their careers.
Regarding hitters, 81% of the hitters taken in the first round will get at least one big league hit. But only 22.5% will reach 1,000 hits.
The Guardians are starting Bazzana at High A (Class A Lake County). We’ll have to see where this takes us. But this is not an organization that pushes its prospects.
The American League’s Jarren Duran, of the Boston Red Sox, holds the award for the Most Valuable Player in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. AP
Hey, Hoynsie: Those Walmart-style All-Star uniforms for the American and National League were an embarrassment. Can’t they just go back to players wearing their individual team uniforms? — Tom Koch.
Hey, Tom: I didn’t mind the NL uniforms, but the AL unis looked washed out and see through. I think they can do better.
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Hey, Hoynsie: Every time I see Jose Ramirez being interviewed on TV or read about him, he uses an interpreter. Does Jose speak English? Is he just not comfortable being interviewed on camera or in English? — Ed Wittenberg, Cleveland Heights.
Hey, Ed: Ramirez speaks English. He uses an interpreter so nothing is lost in translation. But with his teammates in the clubhouse, his conversations flow between Spanish and English.
Hey, Hoynsie: Why do people say it would be hard for the Guardians to make a trade with the White Sox because they’re in the same division and it would cost more? I understand that if the White Sox traded a front-line player to Cleveland that they may have to face him for an extended period of time. But wouldn’t the Guardians run the same risk with the prospects they send the White Sox? — Matt Kasza.
Hey, Matt: I see your point, but prospects are prospects for a reason. Some make it, some of them don’t.
If the Guardians acquired Erick Fende or Luis Robert Jr. from Chicago, they are both signed through 2025. Robert has club options for 2026 and 2027. Let’s say Fende continues his career revival and signs an extension with Cleveland. Or Robert stays healthy, rediscovers his power stroke and the Guardians exercise his club options. Meanwhile, all the White Sox have to show for the deal is a handful of magic beans/prospects.
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All executives make bad trades, but it’s worse when they’re reminded of them 13 times a year. That’s why it’s hard to make big trades within any division and that’s why the team selling assets always asks for more.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Guardians return from the MLB All-Star Break on Friday night as they open a three-game series at home vs. the San Diego Padres. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. Eastern.
The game will be broadcast exclusively on Apple TV+, which offers a free trial. After the seven-day free trial, you can cancel or stay subscribed to Apple TV+ for $9.99 per month.
The Guardians-Padres matchup is one of two games airing on Apple TV+’s “Friday Night Baseball.” Fans can also watch the Detroit Tigers take on the Toronto Blue Jays, with first pitch just before 7:10 p.m.
The Guardians struggled heading into the All-Star Break, losing five of their last seven games. However, they still have the best record in the American League at 58-37.
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Like the Guardians, the Padres were slumping into the break, having dropped six of their last seven. They are 50-49, putting them one game out of a National League wild card spot.
Here’s more details on how you can watch tonight’s game:
What: San Diego Padres (50-49) at Cleveland Guardians (58-37)
When: Friday, July 19, 2024
Time: 7:10 p.m. Eastern.
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Where: Progressive Field | Cleveland, OH
Streaming Option: Apple TV+ (free trial)
Pitching matchup: RHP Matt Waldron (5-8, 3.71 ERA) vs. RHP Tanner Bibee (7-4, 3.77 ERA)
Here is a further series preview, courtesy of cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes:
Where: Progressive Field, Friday through Sunday.
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TV/radio: Apple TV+ will televise Friday’s game. Bally Sports Great Lakes will televise Saturday and Sunday’s games. WTAM, WMMS, WARF and the Guardians radio network will carry the series.
Pitching matchups, starting times: RHP Tanner Bibee (7-4, 3.77) vs. RHP Matt Waldron (5-8, 3.71) Friday at 7:10 p.m.; RHP Gavin Williams (0-1, 3.77) vs. RHP Dylan Cease (8-8, 3.99) Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and RHP Ben Lively (8-4, 3.50) vs. RHP Michael King (7-6, 3.41) Sunday at 1:40 p.m.
Series: The Padres won last year’s series, 2-1. Cleveland leads, 13-9, overall.
Padres (50-49): They come out of the break in second place in the NL West, but have lost six of their last seven games. All-Star Jurickson Profar, who made his big-league debut against Cleveland on Sept. 2, 2012, leads the Padres in batting average, home runs, RBI and hits. Manny Machado at .385 (5 for 13) with two homers, four RBI hit the Guards well last year.
Guardians (58-37): They come out of the break in first place in the AL Central, but have lost five of their last seven games. In those seven games, they were shut out three times and outscored, 30-18. David Fry at .600 (3 for 5) with one homer, three RBI and former Padre Josh Naylor at .385 (5 for 13) with two RBI hit San Diego well last year.
BEREA, Ohio (WOIO) – The 39th Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival returns to Berea, Ohio this weekend.
The festival will take place Friday, July 19 through Sunday, July 21 at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds.
The festival started in 1982 to celebrate Irish music, dancing, sports, and theater among Clevelanders. Currently, an estimated population of 1.6 million Irish people live in Ohio.
Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival(WOIO)
“We didn’t know it would become an annual thing, ” said organizer John O’Brien Sr. “We had nearly 4,000 people at the first one and they kept asking about the next one so we kept it going.”
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The event is known for its musical entertainment and draws national and international Irish bands.
The festival welcomes internationally renowned artists Gaelic Storm, Eileen Ivers, and Rory Makem to this year’s lineup, as well as several other regional and national acts.
There are a variety of activities for the whole family including a children’s area with activities and crafts, camogie games, and lots of Irish history and culture to round out the whole weekend.
The festival is cashless for admission, food, beverages, and festival merchandise. Parente said the progressive move is to help improve the guest experience and offer
secure transactions. Other vendors may choose to accept cash payments for their merchandise.
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The three-day event takes place at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, 19201 E Bagley Rd, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130.
Festival hours:
Friday, July 19th from 5:00 – 11:00 p.m.,
Saturday, July 20th from 1:00 – 11:00 p.m., and
Sunday, July 21st from 1:00 – 10:00 p.m.
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A mass will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. on the 21st. Parking is free and children under 10 get free admission.
Advanced tickets will be available for purchase online. General admission is $20.00 per day, weekend passes are $50.00. Wristbands are $10 for the Children’s Area or $35 for a family-pack. For more information, visit www.clevelandirish.org
The Cleveland Guardians are coming out of the All-Star break with the best record in the American League, so it seems safe to say that they are in a pretty good position heading into the second half of the 2024 season.
However, it’s also fairly clear that the Guardians need to make some roster upgrades in order to ensure they can make a deep playoff run.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden—who now writes for The Athletic—offered a rather interesting take on Cleveland’s situation heading into the MLB trade deadline.
While Bowden acknowledges that the Guardians need starting pitching, he qualifies his statement by saying that he does not believe president Chris Antonetti and Co. are under a whole lot of pressure to actually make any improvements.
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It’s a rather intriguing position to take for sure, given that Cleveland owns MLB’s longest active drought without a World Series title (it last won one in 1948).
Are the Guardians the New York Yankees? No. They don’t play in a major market, and they are not expected to spend big money (as evidenced by the fact that they rank 27th in payroll). However, Cleveland clearly has a big opportunity to a win a championship this year, so it would be a real shame if the Guardians didn’t go for it at the deadline, especially considering they have some obvious holes.
Cleveland could actually use multiple starting pitchers, and it also could stand to bolster its lineup with another power bat to put alongside of Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor.
The Guardians went just 7-11 over their last 18 games heading into the break and have gone just 22-20 since a blistering 36-17 start.
Cleveland has really been playing .500 baseball for a month-and-a-half now, indicating its blatant need for some more pieces.
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The Guardians have not made a truly significant acquisition at the trade deadline since 2016, when they landed relief pitcher Andrew Miller in a deal with the Yankees.
We’ll see if Cleveland bucks that trend before July 30.
