Guardians are making costly mistake with this struggling young player

It’s not hard to see how Angel Martínez can help the 2025 Cleveland Guardians, as he’s a young switch-hitter with a decent amount of pop who also offers some positional versatility. 

Maybe even a bit too much positional versatility.

This year, 72 of 92 Martínez’s appearances have come in the outfield despite the fact that he hadn’t played the position until last summer. 

It shows. 

Entering play on Tuesday, Martínez had compiled -10 Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield, which was tied for the seventh-worst mark among MLB outfielders despite the fact that he’s only played 560 2/3 innings in the outfield this year, almost all of which has come in center field. 

While the Guardians have needed to scramble to figure out their outfield thanks to Lane Thomas’ inability to stay on the field, it’s gotten to a point where they need to consider using a different option in center field so they can get the most out of their defense. 

The Guardians need to stop using Angel Martínez in center field 

There’s perhaps no play that sums up Martínez’s adventure in the outfield more than Matt Wallner’s triple in the eighth inning of Sunday’s series-finale against the Twins. 

Wallner, a left-handed batter, clubbed a ball deep into the gap in right-center field that Martínez attempted to track down. While he was able to get to the ball, he wasn’t able to slow down in time, which led to him just throwing his arm up to try to snag the ball, which caroomed off his glove. By the time he was able to get the ball into the infield, Wallner was standing at third base. 

He’d come around to score what ended up being the game-winning run. 

While the ball had an expected batting average of .330 (and would have been a home run in two ballparks), it was a play that should have been made, which is becoming the norm for Martínez. 

Misplays from Martínez Johnathan Rodríguez cost Slade Cecconi a complete game earlier this year; it seems like it’s only a matter of time until it costs them a game (or two) down the stretch. 

And although the Guardians don’t have a ready-made center field substitution on their roster (even though they could have grabbed one at the trade deadline), there’s an easy way for them to maximize Martínez’s talents. 

He has a great arm (98th percentile) and average sprint speed, which makes him a perfect fit for right field. Or, if we want to get really crazy, they could move him back to second base, which is his natural position (he’s been worth 1 Out Above Average in 211 2/3 innings there this year). 

Moving Martínez to right field would allow the Guardians to move Nolan Jones over to center field, which has ironically been his best position this year. Granted, it’s tough for him to be worse than he’s been in right field (-5 OAA), but he’s still a solid option. At the very least, he could hold his own.  

In the end, the best option may be Thomas, but it doesn’t seem like he’s coming back any time soon so the Guardians are at a point where they’re trying to make the best with the players on the roster. 

But, to be clear, the Guardians should do everything in their power to find a way to keep Martínez on the field, especially after he posted a .267 batting average across a strong month of July. But, even with that production, it’s becoming more and more evident that his future is not in center field.