Guardians: 3 players who won’t be on the roster by September 1
Despite being a few games under .500, the Cleveland Guardians still have a chance to make the playoffs in 2023 if they can continue to improve their roster.
Although the Cleveland Guardians sold at the deadline, moving pieces like Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale and Josh Bell, they still find themselves in the middle of a potential playoff race.
The AL Central is historically bad this season and it’s leaving the door open for the Guardians to make a playoff push.
The front office’s job is to do what’s best for the franchise and they likely did that by selling. The players job’s are to go out there and win baseball games (or boxing matches in Jose Ramirez’s case) to the best of their ability, no matter the direction of the front office.
With that being said, the Guardians front office needs to make some moves with the roster to put the players in the best position to do their job to end this year.
Guardians rumors: Michael Kelly will be optioned to Triple-A this month
If the Guardians are going to make a playoff push this year, their roster is going to need to improve on some pitching, either elevating guys to the major leagues or returning them from the injured list. At some point, Cleveland looks to have Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie back, with Cal Quantrill likely returning to the team sooner than those other two. With all these returning players as well as some top-level prospects on the rise, a few of the Guardians pitchers will need to lose their roster spots, especially in the bullpen.
The first name of note is Michael Kelly.
He’s likely the first pitcher to see himself moved from the roster because he still has options remaining on his contract, meaning he can be moved to Triple-A rather than released. The 30-year-old hasn’t been great this year and has shown some obvious signs of control issues, seen by his seven walks in 10 innings in 2023.
Top 30 prospect, Joey Cantillo has made his case to make his MLB debut, either as a starter in a 6-man rotation or in the bullpen. Either scenario will result in Michael Kelly being the active Guardian to be optioned.