Outfielder Ramon Laureano has been assigned by the Guardians, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic on Twitter.
The organization is pushing outfield prospect Johnathan Rodriguez, who will make his Major League debut, in his stead.
Because Rodriguez is already on the 40-man roster, Cleveland will also have an extra 40-man place thanks to this transaction.
The news that Rodriguez was getting called up to the major leagues was originally revealed by Guardians Prospective.
Laureano, 29, was placed on waivers by the A’s in an attempt to find a buyer for the balance of his pay from the previous season.
He then joined the Guardians early in August of that year. The Guardians complied, figuring that as they attempted to maintain their lead in the American League Central, Laureano would offer some encouragement in the closing stages.
The veteran did manage to score a few runs by hitting.243/.342/.382.
Laureano’s contract offer from a cost-conscious team like Cleveland this winter came as a bit of a surprise.
In the end, he consented to a $5.15MM contract, which represented a substantial chunk of the Guardians’ extremely little offseason budget.
The team committed to that even though Laureano had a dismal season-long slash line of.224/.304/.371 (91 wRC+) and a combined batting line of.218/.296/.373 in 2022–2023 (93 wRC+).
Neither the player nor the Cleveland front management were happy with the choice.
This season, Laureano’s strikeout percentage has skyrocketed to a career-worst 38.6%. Despite having only made 83 plate appearances, his batting line is just.143/.265/.229.
Out of his ten hits, only four have gone for extra bases (three doubles and one home run). A week will pass during which the Guardians can attempt to trade Laureano, put him on unconditional waivers, or let him go.
They won’t find a trade market for Laureano’s talents given the severity of his troubles at the dish and his comparatively large wage.
Given that salary, Laureano is extremely unlikely to be claimed on waivers; as a result, he will most likely clear and become a free agent.
Even if he declines an assignment outright in favor of free agency, he still has enough service time to keep his entire compensation.
Laureano was an excellent regular in Oakland earlier in his career. Between 2018 and 21, he made a sound.
A hitting line of 263/.335/.465 (119 wRC+) with 49 home runs and 34 steals in 1257 plate appearances. All three outfield positions saw excellent defense play leading up to that.
Laureano was a frequent trade target and may have been involved in Oakland’s fire sale, but his worth was destroyed by an 80-game PED suspension in the middle of the 2021 season.
That turned out to be even more expensive since, as Oakland pushed for a postseason berth, his suspension undoubtedly contributed to the A’s decision to trade left-hander Jesus Luzardo in order to obtain Starling Marte on a rental basis from the Marlins.
After hitting, the 24-year-old Rodriguez will make his Major League Baseball debut by moving onto the Cleveland outfield.in 185 Triple-A plate appearances this season, slashing 276/.389/.449.
Prior to the 2017 season, the third-round pick was ranked 23rd by Baseball America, 16th by MLB.com, and 30th by FanGraphs among farmhands that played for Guarda.
Although the 6’0″, 225-pound Rodriguez is praised for his raw power, there is some doubt about his tendency to chase and whiff.
In Triple-A Columbus, he has walked in an impressive 15.7% of his plate appearances while also fanning at a rate of 25.4%. While that is not the best performance against Triple-A pitching, it is still a significant improvement over 2023’s 32.4% strikeout percentage in 202 Triple-A plate appearances. Former switch-hitter Rodriguez now bats just from the right side of the plate.
Between Double-A and Triple-A last season, he blasted 29 home runs, and so far this season, he has smashed seven big balls.
He’ll undoubtedly still use strikeouts in his repertoire, just maybe not as frequently as Laureano did this season.
Rodriguez will also provide Cleveland’s lineup, which has lacked power in previous seasons but is improving this year, some real thump.
With 51 big flies on the season, the Guards are eighth in the majors, in part because of a significant improvement from rising sensation Josh Naylor.
They get another powerful bat in Rodriguez. Baseball America highlights his excellent throwing arm, and MLB.com projects him as a possibly average right fielder. He won’t be nearly as solid a defender in the outfield corners as Laureano was.
