Cleveland Sports Forum

I see Lopez was just signed by the Money-is-no-Object Braves. 3yrs $30M guaranteed with an option year and $4M buyout.

Don't think the Money-is-our-only-Object G's ever had a chance.

G's can't even afford a haircut for Scott Barlow.

that's plenty of $ and a rather long contract for a 30 year old reliever. Might be worth it; hard to know; Braves don't have TV money worries

Anybody notice the whirlwind activity around the G's these days? The hunt for a coaching staff and the attaboy players' awards are taking up all the oxygen.

As everybody prepares to eat the bird, the G's are looking forward to the leftovers..

Some people are in a hurry to make deals; the Guardians move more deliberately, but I have notice that they have
1-- acquired a much better hitting backup catcher
2---acquired a veteran late inning reliever.
Those were their #2 and #3 winter goals.
I haven't noticed a lot of signings by our rivals.
The one major goal can be accomplished now or on February 15, I don't care when.

They must be working on a deal for Ohtani. Takes time to work out the details.

I see Mike Sarbaugh landed on his feet. Lateral move to 3rd base coach with the Mets probably for a lot more money than the G's paid him.

33 years with Cleveland and you get shuffled over when the manager's job opens up.

Wonder if they're going to promote Santos to 3rd base coach.

I'll miss him. Good coach.

Thoughts for a Friday - Black Friday Edition

So glad that buying on the internet is a real thing now. Not much good came out of COVID but one small accomplishment is that if you want something you are likely to be able to get it on the internet, sometimes at better cost, better timing and with greater selection than if you go into a physical store location.

Which brings us to today's blog. What kind of Black Friday deals can the Guardians get this holiday season?

So, fire up your online buying accounts and let's get to shopping.

Let's pull the Band-Aid off: give Yoshinobu Yomamoto 10 yrs @24 million a year and let's be done with it.

Since we are spending like drunken sailors, let's trade Mandardo/Brito/Cantillo/Webb for Luis Robert Jr.

Do a Cyber Monday auction for the services of Shane Beiber for 2024. Bidding starts at Tyler Wells + Jud Fabian and goes up from there.
The bidding will be open until 11:59 pm on Monday, Nov. 27th. quality

Trade Myles Straw and Sandlin for Jorge Barrosa and Bryce Jarvis.

Once we are done with the above, offer Ohtani 6 years/$290 million where he can opt out after 3 years and see where that goes.

Do it now as the good deals are generally gone very quickly between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Posted by Dennis at 11:59 AM



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Jorge Barrosa and Bryce Jarvis.

Not familiar with either. Who are they, what do they offer us?

I think the guy was being a tad facetious, but........

Bryce Jarvis:

Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 195 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/R
Acquired: 2020 1st
RuleV: 2024

Physical Description: Slender frame at 6'2", 195 pounds with plenty of projection remaining. High waisted with long limbs. Opted to go to Driveline and Cressey Sports Management instead of Cape Cod League after the 2019 season, added 20 pounds of muscle to his lower body and saw improved stuff across the board in an abbreviated 2020. Very competitive.

Delivery & Mechanics: Both the wind-up and stretch feature a high leg kick from the third base side of the rubber. Throws from a three-quarters armslot, pitches down the hill well. Extension is not the greatest and there is some slight effort in his delivery, but creates good deception. Repeats delivery well.

Fastball: With Duke in 2019, Jarvis' velocity range varied between 86 MPH and 92 MPH, but primarily sitting in the high-80's with a drop off as the season progressed. In 2020, Jarvis saw the velocity jump to 92-96 MPH in starts and touching 97 MPH in pre-draft bullpens. The pitch is a low-spin offering (2,100-2,300 RPM), but has a high spin-efficiency and generates good armside life and rise. He's got good command of the pitch and confidence has grown in throwing the pitch in later counts. Velocity during starts has held well, sitting 93-94 MPH late into starts in the spring. Maintaining that throughout a full season will be key for Jarvis. Grade: 60

Curveball: New pitch, but has good feel for it. Sat 77-79 MPH in the spring and has touched 80-81 MPH in bullpens pre-draft. Oft-used, but is an effective pitch. Good shape and depth with spin rates hovering around the 2,200-2,400 RPM band. Could become an above-average offering with more usage and progress. Grade: 50

Slider: Much like the fastball, the slider has seen an uptick in velocity. A low-80's pitch in 2019, it sat in the mid-80's during the 2020 campaign and has touched 88 MPH. The pitch has late break to it that was his primary out-pitch in the spring. It's a high spin offering (2,400-2,650 RPM) with low spin-efficiency. As starts progress, the pitch can get a bit inconsistent, but has good confidence in the pitch. Has a chance to become a plus offering. Grade: 55

Changeup: Arguably Jarvis' best off-speed pitch. Good spread from fastball velocity, as it sits in the mid-80's with great fade to it. The offering has very high spin, averaging close to 2,000 RPM and has touched 2,300 RPM with it. It works great off the fastball, as the spin rates are in a similar band. This causes the pitch to look like a fastball out of the hand. Jarvis has gotten very comfortable throwing the pitch to both righties and lefties. Grade: 60

Control and Command: Jarvis's control improved with the stuff as well. He walked 59 batters in 123.1 innings prior to 2020, but came out and walked just two batters across 27 innings this spring. Whether or not that pans out in a full season is still to be decided, but it gives promise that his control will be an above-average tool moving forward. The command is just as good, as he commands all four pitches very well. Control: 55 | Command: 50

Overall: After having one of the best springs of any college pitcher, Jarvis has proven to be a high-octane arm. He'll be given every opportunity to start with Arizona, likely becoming a backend rotation arm with a chance to become a #3 starter, but that will rely on the sustainability of his new stuff over a full season. Lack of track record brings about some risk. Will be a very interesting follow in this system.

OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4-5 Backend Starter
Risk: High

Jorge Barrosa:

Age: 21
Position: Center Fielder
Acquired: International Free Agent, July 2017, $415K signing bonus
Bats/Throws: Switch/Left
Tools: Hit 55, Power 35, Arm 45, Defense 60, Run 60, Overall 40
ETA: 2023
Risk: Medium

2022 Overview

Barrosa opened the year with Advanced Class A Hillsboro, but was quickly promoted to Double-A Amarillo. In 110 games, Barrosa hit .276/.374/.438 with 12 home runs, 22 stolen bases, 15.7% strikeout rate, and a 12.7% walk rate. Fangraphs rated his offensive production as 11% better than the league average hitter in the Texas League, with a 111 wRC+.

It's worth noting that Amarillo is a park that inflates home runs, as Barrosa had 12 career homers before stepping foot in Amarillo. He also had excellent strikeout and walk rates at the level, but pitchers being hesitant to come into the strike zone due to the extreme run environment may be a factor there. He's never been a big walk guy in the past, so it could be a combination of a maturation of approach and pitchers scared to throw over the heart of the plate. Either way, the strong year by all metrics makes Barrosa a prospect again despite playing the most crowded position group in the organization.

2023 Outlook

Given how well he performed in Amarillo, Barrosa should start the year with Triple-A Reno. He'll join a crowded outfield mix that includes fellow outfield prospects Dominic Fletcher and Dominic Canzone in Reno. If he can repeat his strikeout and walk rates from Double-A, he'll have a chance to either make his mark with the D-backs in the majors or another club may trade for him.

MLB Projection

Barrosa is currently blocked, as the organization had an insane hit rate on left-handed hitting outfielders from 2017-2019. Despite being a switch hitter, he'll see most of his plate appearances from the left side of the plate. He is capable of playing a very good center field, with his defensive skills on par with Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas, although he doesn't boast the above-average power those two possesses. Given the lack of raw power but quality defense and speed tools, Barrosa could be a successful fourth outfielder on a team that values outfield defense.

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Yeah I guess that was a joke; I checked 2023 stats for the two

Barrosa AAA 274/394/456 I'd take him even though he's a left handed hitter
Jarvis major league debut 3.04 in 24 Innings; Not nearly as good in AAA 5.26

I would assume that was Dennis Nosco. (who posted)

That's a name from the past that I forgot about.

saw an article on "chase rate" leaders and trailers and noted one disappointment and one mild surprise:

Giminez had a 40% "chase rate" meaning swinging at pitches out of the zone. Putting him among the worst 10 and certainly not appropriate for a hitter of his kind. ONe spot behind him was Amed Rosario
Kwan did not make the lowest 10 so I looked up his stats for more details, and here's where Steven ranks on various "new stat" categories
chase rate 21.3% puts in the 88% percentile of hitters
whiff rate 11.1% at the top of the chart, 100%
strikeout rate 10.4% 98% ranking
exit velocity 5% ranking
hard hit pct 1% ranking
sweet spot hitting 85%
His "batting value" putting all this togehter was 43%; baserunning value 95%' fielding value a surprisingly not stellar 87% perhaps because LF is a lower valued position?

Adds up to a rather unique player for this era.

Came into the off season thinking the Guardians would hold on to Bieber. Do not feel that way now, To limit risk I think the FO values the 12 million dollar contract and eliminating injury risk. I am also thinking that the FO might not be limiting the trade return to outfielders. FO might include Straw with Bieber sweepstakes winner.