Guardians Option Power Hitting Outfielders, Roster Moves
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The second wave of roster moves has come for the Cleveland Guardians as they hover over the halfway mark of spring training. The organization announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had optioned the following players to start the season.
Johnathan Rodriguez
Johnathan Rodriguez was one of the right-handed power bats who had the potential to make some noise during spring training. Manager Stephen Vogt had a lot of good things to say about the prospect at the start of camp,
However, Rodriguez has put together a rather mediocre spring so far. He only has a batting average of .211, an OPS of .529, and has yet to record an extra-base hit.
Mar 2, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez (67) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Jhonkensy Noel
The other power hitter who had a slim chance of cracking the Opening Day roster was Jhonkensy Noel. But his production has also been underwhelming. Noel has put up a higher OPS of .591 and has hit three doubles in 22 at-bats. The one positive that he has is his versatility on defense.
Juan Brito
Juan Brito will join Noel and Rodrigez in the minors to start the season. He's hit .200/.333/.267 in his 15 plate appearances this spring. It always felt like if Brito were to help this team at some point it would come later this season not the first weekend.
Joey Cantillo
Vogt raved about Joey Cantillo's pitch mic and mindset in the early days of camp. The left-handed pitcher has appeared in 7.0 innings and given up four total earned runs in those appearances.
Cleveland's rotation is all but set at this point, so it's not surprising that Cantillo will start the year in the minor.
Reassigned To Minor League Camp
Some other notable moves made on Tuesday were reassigning five players to the team's minor league camp. These players include RHP Franco Aleman, RHP Nic Enright, RHP Mason Hickman, C Michael Berglund, and C Eric Rodriguez.
