Guardians complete trade deadline makeover with aggressive promotion of top prospect 

Last night, Angel Genao recorded a multi-homer game against the Syracuse Mets as a member of the Columbus Clippers. 

His production tonight will be coming against Syracuse’s big brother, as the Guardians are set to recall Genao from Triple-A later today, per a late night report from both MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel.

Genao’s promotion is just another part of the Guardians’ roster remake. They finished their game against the Mets with two of their new trade acquisitions in the lineup (Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe) while Slade Cecconi was pitching out of the bullpen thanks to the addition of Foster Griffin. 

Genao, 22, is ranked as one of Cleveland’s top prospects by every prospect outlet, and has been tearing the cover off the ball in the minors this season. He’ll also become the 10th Guardians player to make their regular season debut whenever he gets into a game. 

Don’t let the Guardians’ aggressive trade deadline fool you; the youth movement is in full swing. 

Angel Genao’s promotion is another addition to Cleveland’s roster remake

Genao’s promotion is coming on the back of that aforementioned multi-homer game, which pushed his season slashline to .300/.401/.474 across 96 games with Double-A Akron and Columbus. 

He now has an .889 OPS with 10 home runs and 42 RBI in 72 games with the Clippers.

While Genao has always been a great hitter, he’s shown even more pop this year. Not only has he already eclipsed his previous career-high in homers, but he’s also racked up 17 doubles this year. 

That production would have made him the perfect trade chip to dangle at the trade deadline, but Cleveland’s front office stayed away from using him to help net a big fish. 

However, that brings us to the little bugaboo that is his defensive position. Although we don’t know the corresponding move for Genao’s promotion, he’s exclusively a middle infielder. 

It seems like his promotion could be as an injury replacement for José Ramírez, who sat out Tuesday’s game with wrist soreness. 

Although Genao has mostly played at shortstop this season, he has recorded 14 appearances at third base in the minors.

The Guardians rarely call up prospects unless they have a clear runway to everyday playing time, so Genao could be the next man up as Ramírez nurses his injury. 

Genao’s promotion adds to Cleveland’s on-the-fly roster remake that’s included the additions of Adell, Lowe and Griffin along with the demotions of David Fry and Kyle Manzardo. 

It was clear the Guardians needed to make some kind of change to their lineup, and the front office did its job by adding a variety of veteran talent along with a young phenom. 

The Guardians’ aggressive trade deadline approach showed they’re playing for more than just a Wild Card, and Genao’s promotion is another example of that. 

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