Festivus Airing of Grievances: Cleveland Guardians edition

Cleveland Guardians Grievance #5: The outfield is still (mostly) a jumbled mess

Of the faces in Cleveland's outfield, only Steven Kwan is a legitimate regular. Lane Thomas, Will Brennan, Jhonkensy Noel, Tyler Freeman, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann are all platoon or part-time players (at least in an ideal scenario they are), with a few even making appearances at non-outfield positions. Having this many moving parts makes it difficult for anyone not named Kwan to get into a regular groove and find their rhythm to be consistent offensive contributors.

For a brief moment this past weekend, it appeared as if the Guardians had cleared up some of the jumbled mess in their outfield by way of the trade that sent Josh Naylor to Arizona. It seemed that a spot had opened up in Cleveland's first base/DH group with Naylor out of the picture, clearing a path for Noel to limit his time in the outfield. This was short-lived, as the Guardians signed a one-year deal with Carlos Santana for a third stint with the organization. This relegates Noel back to right field/occasional time at first base and DH/pinch hit duties.

In an ideal world, the Guardians would have brought a legitimate full-time outfielder into the mix, with the rest of the above group filling as part-timers or being traded away to clear a path for this hypothetical new acquisition. Instead, the Guardians are hoping someone can lay claim to the bulk of time in right and for Thomas not to be a complete disaster defensively in center. While it is theoretically possible, it does not seem all that likely and could prove to be a problem that has a major impact in the early parts of next season.