Guardians turn roster over to team’s younger players
The Guardians, owners of the youngest roster in baseball and a 26man club younger than the average Triple-a team, have been pushing to contend. So they continue to make roster decisions with one eye on today and the other trained on tomorrow.
One aspect of having such a young club, along with slicing payroll by tens of millions of dollars in the past few years, is that the Guardians wanted to make sure they found out what they had in a few players before cutting ties with them and allowing them to go elsewhere.
The Guardians opened the year with five players on the bubble who were out of minor league options: outfielder Bradley Zimmer, first baseman Bobby Bradley, utility infielder Yu Chang, left-handed pitcher Logan Allen and outfielder Oscar Mercado.
In all five cases, the Guardians had younger talent that could be ready at some point in 2022 to replace them. And with Mercado being designated for assignment ahead of Tuesday’s game in Minnesota, all five are no longer on the major league roster.
Zimmer, 29, was almost instantly pushed out of a spot by Steven Kwan, 24, this spring. Zimmer was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Anthony Castro after the Guardians’ opening day game against the Kansas City Royals.
Bradley, 26, lost the position battle at first base once Owen Miller, 25, warranted everyday at-bats and Josh Naylor, 25, returned from ankle surgery.
Bradley was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-a Columbus.
Allen, 25, was designated for assignment and claimed by the Baltimore Orioles.
With Miller and Naylor handling first base, Andres Gimenez, 23, playing well at second base and Ernie Clement, 26, handling a utility role, Chang, 26, was left without a spot. After being designated for assignment, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Mercado was the last of the on-thebubble hold-outs.
Mercado, although just 27, was the seventh-oldest player on the Guardians major league roster. The Guardians were already young. Now they’re younger.
And the youth movement is paying dividends.
Entering Wednesday tied with the Minnesota Twins for the top spot of the American League Central, the Guardians are making a run sooner than most expected.