3 Guardians who should be inked to contract extensions before the Dec. 1 lockout

It is too early to sit and mope about what could be a turbulent offseason where the threat of losing games could loom large until a new CBA is reached.

It is not too early, however, to begin the ever-fun conversation of “what should (insert team here) do to improve this offseason?”

There are many avenues to approach this with the Guardians, but the one I'd like to address here is the Guardians potentially handing extensions to before the lockout freezes baseball.

Of course, it takes two to tango and both sides would need to be comfortable reaching an agreement. (Gavin Williams is a Scott Boras agent, so it's hard to imagine him signing any kind of contract. ) 

But in this current era, we have seen a new propensity from many front offices to sign players to deals before a player reaches the big leagues or shortly thereafter.

Often, these deals cut through the arbitration window for a player and at least a couple of free agency years.

The Atlanta Braves have been the model for these types of negotiations, as they gave themselves a young core when they locked up Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris Jr. to early extensions.

Sure, there is always a risk potential (like when the Red Sox signed Kristian Campbell to an eight-year, $60 million extension), but these kind of deals almost always work out for both sides since the money is easier for teams to eat compared to an expensive veteran.

Michael Bourn’s contract with Cleveland. Trea Turner’s current contract with the Phillies. Think about how much Miguel Cabrera’s massive extension with Detroit hampered their ability to rebuild and contend again. The moment it was off the books, the Tigers had the roster flexibility to develop their young core into a contender again.

With that, here are three Guardians I believe the front office should attempt to extend:

The Guardians have plenty of young players who deserve contract extensions

Parker Messick (LHP)

There has always been something beautiful about watching a dominant left-handed starter on the mound, and that is exactly what Messick is. Cleveland has been fortunate to see this multiple times since the turn of the century, most notably with C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee.

Neither Sabathia nor Lee were extended, however. Sabathia always seemed destined to go to the Bronx as their prophetic ace and Lee was a late bloomer that by the time he finally figured it out, it was too late for Cleveland.

Messick is somewhere in between. He has already figured it out, establishing himself as one of the American League’s premier pitchers, but was not well-known coming up the ranks.

In just over a year, Messick is now the Guardians' indisputable ace, pitching to a 2.59 ERA in 39 starts with 231 strikeouts in 226 innings.

Not only is he poised on the mound, but he has a natural ability to command the zone and work deep into ballgames by getting quick outs.

He is 25 years old, likely about to enter his prime, and will be a free agent after the 2031 season.

Pitchers can obviously be hard to project, but I anticipate his pitch mix to continue to play for years to come and his frame to keep injuries limited. No, this is not a stat or advanced metric, but he wants the ball in big spots and has pitched well in the big starts he has made, convincing me all the more.

My suggestion: Eight-years, $160 million ($20 million AAV) through age 33 season
Comparable AAV Pitchers: Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Joe Musgrove

Chase DeLauter (OF)

DeLauter is riskier than some others given his injury history in the Minor Leagues, but he played 133 games this season and put up great numbers for a rookie.

His .287/.363/.457 slashline with a 131 OPS+ was rather impressive considering José Ramírez was not himself this season, so DeLauter did not have the protection he may have had otherwise.

These stats are unlikely to be a fluke, as his MiLB career slashline was slightly better at .302/.384/.504.

DeLauter has a quick swing with little movement, suggesting he will age well and always have great bat control. This is not only evidenced by his batting average and walks (60), but also in his strikeout total (82). I would expect that number to go down and his K/BB ratio only to get better as he gains more Major League experience.

The Guardians also desperately need a legitimate hitter (and I mean hitter) to be with Ramírez during his back nine. DeLauter hit 16 home runs, a nice start to his career, but also raked 30 doubles. I anticipate those doubles to turn into home runs as he becomes stronger.

Again, injuries will always be a risk with DeLauter, however, the potential outweighs the risk in this scenario. Even an average of 120-130 games of DeLauter would likely beat any alternative. I truly see his ceiling as being an All-Star for years to come.

My suggestion: Nine-years, $135 million ($15 million AAV) through age 34 season Comparable AAV Position Players: Jackson Merrill, Andrew Benintendi, Kazuma Okamoto

Cade Smith (RHP)

While it's true that relievers fluctuate in their performance, the Guardians have found something in Smith.

Yes, Smith has a career ERA of 2.26 in 223 innings thrown. Yes, he also has a whopping 314 strikeouts in those innings. And yes, he secured the most saves in Major League Baseball this season.

But the most impressive thing about Smith is not a statistic, but an attribute: his composure.

He put this on display when effectively taking over closer duties following Emmanuel Clase’s leave of absence last season. He has done so on the mound in high leverage situations and as we saw during the Guardians late-season run, in multi-inning opportunities as well.

There is a very good chance Smith’s stuff will play for many more seasons to come. He has enough life on his fastball with wipeout offspeed that he should continue to strikeout batters at a high frequency.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing as a fan in baseball is not having a shut down closer and sweating out every single ninth inning with a close lead.

Not that any ninth inning lead is particularly comfortable with the power hitters of this day and age, but Smith makes the ninth inning easy.

My suggestion: Seven-years, $56 million ($8 million AAV) through age 34 season Comparable AAV Relief Pitchers: David Bednar, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez

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