There have been a number of articles on the internet recently (including mine) talking about the composition of the roster coming out of spring training. In addition, Francona has added some intrigue by talking about Naylor playing some RF.
Part of the roster discussion considers whether we will carry a 2nd utility infielder (Tyler Freeman) or a 5th outfielder (Will Benson). Although not unanimous, the consensus is that we would carry Freeman instead of Benson, which is what I have suggested the Guardians should/will do.
However, when you think about it, the decision is going to rest on a number of factors:
(1) Will we sign a free agent (probably a relief pitcher) to a major league contract? If so, someone would have to be dropped from the 40-man roster and the most likely person is Will Benson. Without Benson, Freeman looks like a shoe-in as Arias (and hopefully Naylor) can play some OF, giving us essentially 6 options in the outfield.
(2) Our injury situation coming out of spring training. Will we have any 60-day DL players who would give us an extra 40-man roster spot to start the season?
(3) Who our backup catcher would be. If it is Lavastda or Naylor that would not impact the 40-man. If it is Cam Gallagher or another non-roster invitee, then we have to clear a 40-man roster spot which, as indicated above, might impact the Benson/Freeman question if they don't DFA Lavastida.
(4) Service Tme Clock - If you had to choose between Will Benson and Tyler Freeman, which of these players do you think would be more likely to become a stud player going forward. My money is on Tyler Freeman so you wouldn't want to waste any of his service time being a #2 backup infielder, especially if that could make him a super 2 player down the road.
So, with that in mind, let's look at our younger players and see whether we would have an issue with any of them in terms of service time:
Steven Kwan - As a starter, the point is moot here. Still, we will likely get our full three years out of him before he goes to arbitration.
Oscar Gonalez - Depending on how he does early this year he has the real chance to be a super 2 after 2024. So if he struggles at all, I think the Guardians would send him down to work on stuff and save him from burning service time languishing on the major league bench.
Gabriel Arias - Another potential, but less likely, Super 2 guy, I don't see the Guardians caring that much about him being a Super 2. Still, with Rosario leaving at the end of this year it gives us more coverage at SS in the future for a cheaper price if Arias isn't a Super 2. In addition, do we really want to burn his pre-arbitration years as a utility infielder? I think it is a fair question to ask if they wouldn't let him play at AAA for a little while just to keep him out of that Super 2 category.
Will Benson - Given his career trajectory, I think on our 40-man roster he has the most chance to flame out and become a AAAA player. That being said, if you had to keep a guy on your 26 who you weren't afraid of being a Super 2 it would be a guy like Benson. That is, burning his pre-arbitration years is not an issue if you don't expect him to ever be a starting player.
Tyler Freeman - As mentioned above, I think he has a better chance than Benson or maybe even Arias of being a star player. So I would want him to spend the year at AAA instead of on Cleveland's bench where most of what he would do would be to collect service time as the #2 utility infielder. For a small market team like Cleveland, burning service time in this way is just not practical as you would be gettting less productive, cheap years out of the guy.
Xzavion Curry - As with so many of these guys, it comes down to Super 2 status and the club maintaining his cheap, productive years. So if they convert him to reliever this year and they think he will spend most of the year in the majors as a result, it is worth bringing him up right away. But not if he is just going to sit on the bench or be a spot starter for a few games and stays on the roster in between.
Hunter Gaddis - See Curry
Joey Cantillo - Given his development path, I can't see them burning one day of his service time this year unless it is absolutely necessary. Since we have to burn a minor league onption on him anyway, why not just leave him in the minors and let him get his work in indead of starting his service clock.
Tim Herrin - Herring falls in the same category as Will Benson: not likely to have a lengthy major league career. In that case it is more important that we get the maximum production that he can provide this year to help the team without worrying about his service time and him reachng arbitration too soon.
Cody Morris - Here is an interesting one. I think he has a spot in the bullpen from Day 1. If that is what the Guardians think then they won't be concerned with his service time. But, if they envision him as a future starter they might want him refining his craft at AAA instead of burning service time as a mop-up man/spot starter in the big leagues. So don't be amazed if he is one of the surprise cuts (sent to AAA) this spring even if he has a great spring training.
Konnor Pilkington - Just like last year, I see them using him as necessary without much concern to service time or minor league options. I don't see him as a BIG contributor in the future so him getting to arbitration sooner is only of small concern as compared to what he can do to help the team this season.
Bryan Lavastida - I don't see the Guardians worried at this point about his minor league options or his service time. He has not placed himself in a position (so far) to be considered a starting catcher going foward so if we use his cervice time as a backup I don't see that as a problem
Bo Naylor - Actually, this year, he will be the poster time for conserving service time. When he is brought to the majors this year it will be as much about service time as it will be about need. I think you won't see him until he can have a significant role on this team. If he is only going to be a part-time player in the majors, look for him to spend most of the year at AAA.
Will Brennan - He is ready for the majors, I think. I also think they will be less concerned about his service time than you would expect. I see him being on the roster most of the season without concern to service time or minor league options. He just doesn't fit the mold of a core player who you want to maximize his productive years cheaply where you would only bring him up when he can be a starter. I think Brennan will be productive and I see the Guardians maximizing his productiveness to the team this year instead of worrying about wasting his service time for an extra-man role.
The Rest - The remaining rookies on the 40-man and the good prospects not on the 40-man will only be brought to the majors if there is a pressing need we can't address from out roster. I see guys like Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Peyton Battenfield, Joey Cantillo, Daniel Espino, Tanner Bibee only being added to the 40 man if a starter goes down or Plesac or Civale are jettisoned for bad performance. For the middle infielders on the 40-man, except for cups of coffee or short-term emergency replacements (2 weeks or less), I don't see much ML time for them. Ditto for George Valera. Guys like Juan Brito, Angel Martnez, Jose Tena, Jhonkensy Noel are all dead spots on the roster. I don't see any of them playing in the majors this year except for a cup of coffee. They are just not ready so why would you start the service time clock on a guy who might be a future stud player who would then start to become effective when you had to start paying him arbitration salary.
What I do see is that some of our borderline prospects (Mikolajchak, Misiasek, Enright and Kelly (if we get them back)) might be used like we did Tanner Tully, Jake Jewell, etc. last year. We use them when we need them but are not afraid to DFA them, let alone worry about their service time. Again, this depends on how the organization views them but I don't imagine that they are that highly thought of as they were all left exposed to the Rule 5 this past winter.
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