3 former Guardians top prospects rapidly approaching final days in system

In 2021, MLB Pipeline had Gabriel Arias ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Guardians’ prospect system. Two years later, Bo Naylor was the No. 4 prospect in Cleveland’s system while Juan Brito came in as the No. 18 prospect before rising to No. 7 spot in the system the next season. 

And although they all made it to MLB with the Guardians, all three of their tenures with the clubs came to an end over the past week as a part of Cleveland’s trade deadline re-make of the roster. 

Naylor went to Milwaukee in exchange for Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins, Brito was designated for assignment before heading to the Reds in the Nathaniel Lowe deal and Arias was also DFA’d to make room for top prospect Angel Genao. 

While those moves speak to the volatility of prospect rankings, it also shows that the Guardians’ front office seems a bit more comfortable than usual moving on from homegrown players who aren’t performing at the level needed to succeed in MLB. 

And it’s hard to believe that makeover is going to stop any time soon. 

These 3 Guardians prospects could be on the outs in Cleveland 

1B Kyle Manzardo

In 2023, the Guardians acquired Manzardo (then the No. 37 prospect in baseball) from the Rays in exchange for Aaron Civale in the hopes that Manzardo could be the team’s first baseman of the future. 

And for a while there, it looked like he was going to be. He debuted in 2024 and hit a towering home run against the Yankees in the ALDS, and ended up smashing 27 homers last season. 

But he’s taken a step back this season (team-leading 13 homers but .378 slugging percentage), and the Guardians decided to pull the plug on his time on the roster by trading for Nathaniel Lowe and subsequently sending Manzardo to Triple-A. 

Even if Manzardo could still end up back on the roster later this season, it’s hard to not see his demotion as the writing on the wall when it comes to his time with the Guardians. 

While Lowe is just a rental, Ralphy Velazquez has been raking in the minors as a left-handed hitting first baseman and would fill the exact role that Manzardo was filling on Cleveland’s roster. 

Manzardo may not be a free agent until 2031, but his time with the Guardians could come to an end this offseason. 

OF George Valera 

The Guardians already kicked one of Valera’s feet out the door earlier this year when they designated him for assignment to make room for Arias’ return from the injured list. 

Valera was ranked as the Guardians’ No. 1 prospect in 2022 while being ranked as a top-40 prospect, but his journey through the minors was derailed by a variety of injuries. 

He ended up making his big league debut for Cleveland last September and recorded a signature moment in the postseason, but he struggled in limited big league action this season before that aforementioned DFA. 

He’s played in 63 games at Triple-A Columbus and posted a .709 OPS, but it’s hard to see a path for him to make this roster again. All signs point toward him signing elsewhere in the offseason as a minor league free agent. 

1B/OF CJ Kayfus 

Kayfus is in a bit of an unfortunate spot. He made his MLB debut last year after learning the outfield on the fly, and held his own in 44 big league games.

He earned the final spot on the Guardians’ roster this season and played in nine games before being sent down to Triple-A.

But he never got a chance to make a second impression with the Guardians this season, as he sustained a fracture and ligament damage in his right ankle in a game with the Clippers last month. He’s going to be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. 

While Kayfus is expected to be ready for spring training next season, he could be a roster casualty in the offseason when the Guardians need to free up space on their 40-man roster.

It’s the same thing that happened to Ben Lively last year (albeit he was in a bit of a different situation since he had Tommy John surgery). 

Kayfus never really got a true shot in Cleveland, and his chances of that happening in the future took a huge hit when he suffered that injury.

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