Angel Martínez’s defensive shortcomings have forced Guardians into center field conundrum

On Aug. 21, Petey Halpin launched a 422-foot home run during the Guardians’ eventual 9-1 rout of the Colorado Rockies. At the time, it looked like that homer could be a huge step forward for the outfielder given he was getting a ton of playing time thanks to the team’s lack of center field options. 

While he’s still gotten a ton of run in the time since that homer, that success hasn’t carried over. In fact, Halpin entered play on Monday having hit just .150/.227/.150 slashline in 13 games since that homer. 

Normally that kind of production would cost an optionable player their roster spot for a team in the middle of the postseason hunt. But the Guardians are in a situation where they’ve been largely forced to play Halpin in center field due to Angel Martínez’s inability to play center. 

The Guardians have tweaked their outfield picture to account for Angel Martínez’s defense

Just to be clear, the Guardians treating Martínez as a full-time corner outfielder is a good thing. He’s been worth +2 Outs Above Average in the outfield this year after being worth -9 DRS in center field last year. 

And he also deserves a roster spot. He may not be a perfect hitter, but he leads the Guardians with 14 home runs despite only playing in 101 games. They need his bat in the lineup. 

But getting his bat in the lineup more often than not means Halpin needs to be in center field. 

Although Steven Kwan has seen more time in center field this year than at any other point in his career, the Guardians lineup is at its best when Kwan is in left. 

But regardless of where Kwan is, the Guardians are always going to have four outfielders for three spots due to Kwan and Martínez also needing to split time with Jo Adell and Chase DeLauter. 

They’ve been saved from having to make any decisions about that over the past week thanks to DeLauter’s wrist injury, but that’s not going to be the case forever. 

DeLauter hasn’t appeared in center field since he played there twice during last postseason, and the Guardians don’t seem willing to give him another shot, while Adell has largely graded out as a negative center fielder in his career. 

Enter Halpin, who is mostly known for his speed and defensive prowess. He has one of the best throwing arms in baseball (95.8 miles per hour) and is in the 81st percentile in sprint speed, but has a career on-base percentage of just .257 in 160 games. 

He’d be best suited as a fourth outfielder, but the Guardians have been forced to give him a bit more playing time due to their outfield puzzle. 

Even if the Guardians have a number of productive outfielders to choose from, they’re going to need to make sure that they do everything they can to make sure they’re using that group to the best of their ability.

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