Cleveland Guardians designate 1B Bobby Bradley and LHP Logan Allen for assignment

The Cleveland Guardians faced a roster crunch heading into May and have designated two notable names for assignment.

As the calendar turns to May, major-league teams have to trim their rosters from 28 active players to 26. For the Cleveland Guardians, the past few weeks have turned that into a relatively easy decision, and on Sunday night, the team designated first baseman Bobby Bradley and left-handed pitcher Logan Allen for assignment.

Both Bradley and Allen are out of minor-league options, meaning they will be exposed to the DFA wire and could potentially be picked up by another team. Bradley, 25, has especially intriguing power, but any team would have to be okay with the exceptional amount of strikeouts that go with it. He went into the year as the Guardians’ starting first baseman, but quickly lost the job as he struggled out of the gate to a .118/.118/.235 line with two hits and nine strikeouts in 17 at-bats. It didn’t help Bradley’s cause for guys like Owen Miller and Josh Naylor to start the year scorching hot at the plate, either.

Allen, 24, made four appearances this season and posted a 4.50 ERA, striking out six and walking three in six innings of work. He’s essentially just a casualty of the roster crunch; the Guardians would likely love to see him back in Columbus to continue refining his role as a reliever/spot starter. Allen showed a few glimpses last season of what he could do; after being sent down to Triple-A after getting torched as a starter, Allen returned in August and put up a 3.90 ERA in four starts and seven total appearances.

Both Bradley and Allen quickly found themselves expendable within the organization, as the Guardians continue to bring up an onslaught of young players. And as many of those younger players are producing and proving they belong at the major-league level, it’s weeding out those who have had their struggles. That’s not to say guys like Bradley and Allen won’t find success in the majors – they’re both still so young – but it just might not happen in Cleveland at this point.

The Guardians also activated relief pitcher Anthony Castro, who was acquired in the Bradley Zimmer trade with the Blue Jays last month, off the COVID injured list Sunday night, optioning him to Triple-A Columbus. Castro has a 7.36 ERA in four appearances (3 2/3 innings) with the Guardians this season.

Cleveland’s 40-man roster now sits at 39 players, giving them a little bit of flexibility moving forward.