Three Guardians Who Deserve To Get Contract Extensions
Contract extension season is upon us! The Arizona Diamondbacks made some noise over the weekend when they signed Corbin Carroll to a mega eight-year $111 million contract after just 32 Big League games.
One thing we learned last season is don't count out the Cleveland Guardians when it comes to handing out extensions. They may not do it all the time, but if they find a talent they'll extend them if the price is right.
This is exactly what happened right before last season began when Cleveland put pen to paper with Emmanuel Clase, Myles Straw, and of course Jose Ramirez. There's more than one option this year if Cleveland wanted to extend more of their players before the 2023 season.
Steven Kwan
Cleveland has been a revolving door of left fielders ever since Michael Brantley left to join the Houston Astros. That was until Steven Kwan emerged last season and claimed the position as his.
Kwan slashed .298/.373/.400 in his rookie season while hitting leadoff. He hit the ground running at the beginning of the season with his plate discipline and this is the exact reason why the Guardians shouldn't be concerned with any regression.
He has one of the best eyes in baseball!
That was just on the offensive side though. Kwan also made some incredible defense plays out in left field leading to a Gold Glove in just his first season. He finished third in the Rookie Of The Year voting as well.
This is a talent the Guardians should want to keep around for the next decade!
Andres Gimenez
The icing on the cake of the Francisco Lindor trade would be singing one of the main pieces of that swap to a long-term deal. The Guardians could make this possible by committing long-term to Andres Gimenez.
Gimenez had one of the best breakout seasons in all of baseball in 2023. We always knew that Gimenez had an incredible glove but he exploded offensively after making multiple adjustments over the last offseason.
He had a career-high batting average of .297 and OPS of .837. This led him to his first career All-Star Game where he had the play of the game.
Triston McKenzie
Finding and retaining star pitching may be one of the hardest things for small market teams to do. So it'd be wise to lock it up when it's staring at you right in the face.
Triston McKenzie may still be unknown to those outside of Cleveland, but it won't be long before that changes. Dr. Sticks will be entering his fourth season with Cleveland and he's gotten better each year.
Cleveland typically brings up generational pitchers only to trade them when they have a year or two left on their deal. I hope this isn't the case with McKenzie and he wears a Guardians uniform for years to come.
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