The Guardians introduced that outfielder Steven Kwan has been positioned on the 10-day injured checklist. They’ve chosen the contract of Myles Straw to take his place on the energetic roster. Proper-hander Carlos Carrasco, at the moment on the 15-day injured checklist, has been designated for task to open a 40-man spot for Straw.
Kwan hasn’t performed in a recreation since September 12. He was scratched from the lineup on September 13 with the membership describing his subject as physique fatigue, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com on X. Supervisor Stephen Vogt later described the problem as again soreness, per Bell.
It’s unclear how lengthy the membership expects Kwan to be out, but it surely appears they need him to relaxation for no less than every week. IL stints may be backdated by as many as three days in the event that they participant has been out of the lineup, so the Guardians have presumably finished so with Kwan.
For nonetheless lengthy he’s out, the Guards will likely be with out one of many recreation’s greatest contact hitters. Kwan has solely been punched out in 9.4% of his plate appearances this yr. Amongst certified hitters, solely Luis Arráez has been struck out at a decrease charge this yr. Kwan is usually not an influence menace however has 13 homers this yr, greater than doubling his earlier profession excessive of six. He’s hitting .291/.364/.419 on the yr general for a wRC+ of 127.
Along with the offense, Kwan has stolen 12 bases and obtained robust grades for his left subject protection. That’s allowed him to produced 3.8 wins above alternative on the yr, per the calculations of FanGraphs, second on the staff to José Ramírez.
Dropping a participant like that will be a blow at any time, but it surely’s particularly regarding at this a part of the calendar. Maybe the membership is simply giving Kwan a breather and expects him to be wholesome by the point the playoffs begin. However even in that situation, any form of setback would roll into the postseason.
With Kwan out in current days, the Guards have been using an outfield mixture of Lane Thomas, Ángel Martínez, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan. Thomas has been the membership’s common middle fielder since coming over from the Nationals in a deadline commerce however he hasn’t taken nicely to his new membership. He has hit .217/.273/.377 for Cleveland whereas hanging out in 37.3% of his plate appearances.
Maybe the Guards will set up Straw in middle and hope for higher outcomes, although that could be a tall ask. He was outrighted off the membership’s roster in March after a couple of years of offensive struggles. He hit .229/.296/.284 for the Guards over 2022 and 2023, resulting in a mixed wRC+ of 67. Since clearing waivers and getting despatched right down to Columbus coming into this yr, his outcomes haven’t improved a lot. in 123 Triple-A video games this yr, he’s hitting .240/.321/.329 for a wRC+ of 72.
Regardless of the dearth of offense, Straw no less than has a stable flooring from his pace and protection. He has swiped 30 baggage in 31 tries this yr and has recurrently had related stolen base totals in earlier seasons. Thomas can also be able to offering worth in these departments, with 32 steals this yr and defensive metrics which might be roughly common for his time in middle. Whether or not Straw will push Thomas for taking part in time or just function a glove-first bench man stays to be seen.
Straw signed a $25MM extension with Cleveland going into 2022, which has not labored out up to now resulting from his aforementioned offensive downturn. Given his struggles and that contract, it was unsurprising that he went unclaimed off waivers. He had the proper to elect free company at the moment since he has no less than three years of service, however since he has lower than 5 years, doing so would have meant strolling away from the cash nonetheless to be paid out on that deal. He unsurprisingly accepted his outright task and will get again on the roster right now. There’s not sufficient time left on this season for him to hit that five-year mark, so it’s potential he’s outrighted once more later this yr or within the winter.
Carrasco, 37, signed a minor league cope with the Guards within the winter and made the Opening Day roster. He has made 21 begins for the membership this yr with a 5.64 earned run common in 103 2/3 innings. That’s clearly not superb manufacturing but it surely was beneficial to the membership at occasions this yr as numerous different starters struggled or landed on the injured checklist.
The membership at the moment has a rotation of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Matthew Boyd, Joey Cantillo and Ben Energetic with Alex Cobb at the moment on the IL resulting from a blister. Williams was on the IL for a lot of the first half of the yr however has since returned. Boyd wasn’t signed till midseason as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgical procedure however has appeared robust since becoming a member of the membership. Cobb was a midseason commerce acquisition and Cantillo has progressively pitched his manner into the image with a stable season.
That leaves much less room for Carrasco than earlier within the yr and he has had his personal damage points. He landed on the injured checklist in Might resulting from an acute neck spasm and returned a few weeks later. A second IL stint put him out of motion simply over a month in the past, with a left hip pressure being the offender. He started a rehab task a couple of days in the past however the membership has nudged him off the roster right now.
Injured gamers can’t be positioned on outright waivers so Carrasco needs to be on launch waivers shortly. It’s a reasonably moot level as he’s prone to clear in both case. He’s making a $2MM wage this yr and different golf equipment received’t have a lot use for him at this a part of the calendar. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible for another staff and wouldn’t have a lot time to contribute within the common season both.
Assuming he clears waivers, he would have the ability to elect free company as a veteran with loads of years of expertise, but it surely’s potential he decides to remain and function non-roster depth for the Guards and probably get an opportunity to rejoin the roster for the postseason.
