Cleveland Guardians: 3 players who could be feeling the roster crunch come May

As the Guardians’ active roster draws down to 26 players in May, here are three players who could soon find themselves off the team.

As we draw closer to May, we also draw closer to an impending roster crunch for the Cleveland Guardians, when the active roster goes from 28 players to 26. This has led me to speculate on how much longer some current members have with this club. The names shouldn’t come as any shock, as manager Terry Francona and crew have even been moving away from giving some of these guys everyday at-bats.

Bobby Bradley

Our first member of the short leash club is Bobby Bradley. He’s out of options and, hold on, yeah, he just struck out again. In all seriousness, Bradley is still young-ish – he won’t turn 26 until the end of next month. It’s just that we have been hearing about his offensive prowess for what feels like a decade now.

Bradley hasn’t even appeared in 100 big-league games, either, and doesn’t even have 350 total plate appearances. He seems poised to have 30+ home run potential, but in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately manner, potential can only carry you for so long. At some point you have to start producing and that’s where we are with Bradley.

Thus far, Bradley’s MLB track record leaves a lot to be desired: 89 OPS+, .201/.283/.423 career slash line, and a strikeout rate over 36%. Couple those statistics with the fact that Josh Naylor is now back in the lineup (and appears to be a better long-term fit at first base than in the outfield), with Owen Miller getting time at first, and the writing appears to be on the wall for Bradley.

Now, Naylor and Miller don’t carry the same power potential, but they get on base a heck of a lot more often than Bradley. And don’t forget, the club added Jhonkensy Noel to the 40-man roster this past offseason, as he appears to potentially be the long-term answer at first.

Yu Chang

Yu Chang is out of options as well, but has also currently found himself on the IL. Chang will turn 27 in August and has only appeared in 130 games (355 plate appearances) in his four seasons with the club.

Chang does seem to have value as a super utility player, with the agility to play every infield position (with the exception of pitcher and catcher). However, he is also muddying the waters – the organization is so deep with middle infielders and it needs to get a feel for what it has. At the big-league level alone the club currently has Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Ernie Clement, Owen Miller, and Gabriel Arias (who will no doubt be back soon). Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman are also knocking on the door.

The biggest issue with Chang may just be that, yes, he can play all over, but with the glut of infielders he simply doesn’t fit. He has also never proven to be league average, though when given a decent sample size last season, he did have an 86 OPS+. But that also comes with a high strikeout rate, and stretches where he just appears lost at the plate.

Amed Rosario

Lastly, and admittedly more of an honorable mention (is there such a thing on a list like this?), is Amed Rosario. Is he the proverbial odd man out, or can he carve out a role here?

The club has one more season (2023) of team control, yet he’s been moved out of shortstop at points this season in favor of Andrés Alfonso Giménez. Left field playing time is going to Steven Kwan, and rightfully so. Right field isn’t a fit, and even if it was, Oscar Mercado and Naylor are ahead of him there. Then there are the rumors of adding a Michael Conforto or maybe one of our dream outfielders. If he were to see time at second base he’d only muddy those waters, too.

The good news in all of this is that Rosario does have trade value, so at the very least there’s that. Bradley and Chang would likely only net you a pen arm or low-level prospect, whereas Rosario could be packaged with a few prospects for another everyday bat.

It’s just some food for thought as we push towards May 1st. The front office is likely to face some big decisions this season, not only here early in the season, but at the trade deadline and then again this offseason before the 40-man roster once again needs to be updated.