The Guardians have designated outfielder Ramon Laureano for project, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic. In his place, the group is selling outfield prospect Johnathan Rodriguez for his MLB debut. Rodriguez is already on the 40-man roster, so the transfer additionally frees up a 40-man spot for Cleveland. Guardians Potential first reported that Rodriguez was getting the decision to the large leagues.
Laureano, 29, got here to the Guardians early final August after the A’s positioned him on waivers in hopes of discovering a taker for the rest of final season’s wage. The Guardians obliged, hoping that Laureano would supply a lift down the stretch as they tried to maintain tempo within the American League Central. The veteran did present a little bit of offense, hitting .243/.342/.382 following the declare (106 wRC+), however the Guards wound up lacking the postseason.
It was one thing of a shock to see a budget-conscious group like Cleveland tender Laureano a contract this winter. He wound up agreeing to a $5.15MM wage, which amounted to a good portion of the Guardians’ very restricted offseason sources. The group made that dedication regardless of Laureano having turned in a bleak .224/.304/.371 slash (91 wRC+) on the season general — and a .218/.296/.373 batting line in 2022-23 mixed (93 wRC+).
The choice didn’t go in any respect because the Cleveland entrance workplace or the participant himself hoped. Laureano’s strikeout price has completely erupted to a career-worst 38.6% this season. He’s hitting simply .143/.265/.229, albeit in a small pattern of 83 plate appearances. Simply 4 of his 10 hits have gone for additional bases (one homer, three doubles). The Guardians can have every week to attempt to commerce Laureano, place him on outright waivers or launch him.
Given the pronounced nature of Laureano’s struggles on the dish and his comparatively notable wage, they gained’t discover a commerce marketplace for his companies. Laureano is overwhelmingly unlikely to go unclaimed on waivers as a result of that wage and can thus doubtless clear and turn out to be a free agent. He has sufficient service time to retain all of his wage even when he rejects an outright project in favor of free company.
Earlier in his profession, Laureano was a high quality common in Oakland. From 2018-21, he turned in a sound .263/.335/.465 batting line (119 wRC+) with 49 homers and 34 steals over the lifetime of 1257 plate appearances. That got here whereas taking part in robust protection throughout all three outfield spots. Laureano was an oft-rumored commerce candidate and may nicely have been a part of Oakland’s fireplace sale, however an 80-game PED suspension halfway via the 2021 season tanked his worth. That proved all of the extra pricey, as his suspension absolutely performed a task in pushing the A’s to half with left-hander Jesus Luzardo to amass Starling Marte from the Marlins in a rental deal whereas Oakland made a push for the postseason.
As for the 24-year-old Rodriguez, he’ll step into the Cleveland outfield for his MLB debut after hitting .276/.389/.449 in 185 Triple-A plate appearances this season. The 2017 third-rounder entered the season ranked twenty third amongst Guarda farmhands at Baseball America, sixteenth at MLB.com and thirtieth at FanGraphs.
The 6’0″, 225-pound Rodriguez attracts reward for his plus uncooked energy but in addition some skepticism for his penchant to chase and whiff. He’s walked in an enormous 15.7% of his plate appearances in Triple-A Columbus but in addition fanned at a 25.4% clip. That’s a suboptimal mark towards Triple-A pitching but in addition a marked enchancment over 2023’s 32.4% strikeout price in 202 Triple-A plate appearances. Rodriguez is a former switch-hitter who now bats completely from the appropriate aspect of the plate. He popped 29 homers between Double-A and Triple-A final season, and he’s already slugged seven lengthy balls on the season.
Strikeouts will doubtless proceed to be part of his recreation, however most likely to not the extremes that Laureano skilled this season. Rodriguez may also add some reputable thump to a Cleveland lineup that lately has been mild on energy however is popping a nook this season. Thanks partly to a massive step ahead from rising star Josh Naylor, the Guards rank ninth within the majors with 51 massive flies on the season. Rodriguez provides them one other energy bat. He gained’t be almost as robust a defender within the outfield corners as Laureano was, however MLB.com pegs him as a doubtlessly common proper fielder and Baseball America touts his plus throwing arm.