The Guardians have reassigned top first-base prospect Kyle Manzardo to minor-league camp, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Cleveland also reassigned catcher Bryan Lavastida and outfielder Petey Halpin. Manzardo is not yet on the 40-man roster — hence being “reassigned” rather than optioned — so this move won’t burn a minor league option year.
The 23-year-old Manzardo is the top prospect acquired from the Rays in last summer’s Aaron Civale trade. He’d been a candidate to make the roster heading into camp, presumably splitting time between first base and designated hitter with Josh Naylor. Today’s move ensures that he’ll instead start the season in Triple-A Columbus.
Manzardo has had a strong showing this spring, hitting .381/.458/.476 in 29 plate appearances. It’s a small sample, of course, as with all spring stats — but Manzardo’s seven strikeouts (29.2 percent) were uncharacteristic for a player who carries a career 17.5 percent strikeout rate against a robust 13.7 percent walk rate. At least in the early portion of the season, he’ll continue to get some work in Triple-A, where he slashed .237/.337/.464 with 17 home runs and 27 doubles in 2023.
The decision to ship Manzardo to minor league camp further opens the door for Rule 5 pick Deyvison De Los Santos to make the team’s Opening Day roster. He’s hit just .257/.257/.371 in camp and has yet to play above the Double-A level, but the Guards plucked him from the Diamondbacks organization after De Los Santos batted .254/.297/.431 and popped 20 homers in 481 Double-A plate appearances last season.
De Los Santos and out-of-options outfielder Estevan Florial — hitting just .167/.231/.194 with a 41 percent strikeout rate in 39 plate appearances — seem increasingly likely to make the cut. Outfielder Will Brennan and utilityman Tyler Freeman are among the other frontrunners for roster spots. Top outfield prospect Chase DeLauter is still in big league camp and has raked at a .474/.546/.842 pace in 22 plate appearances (9 for 19 with a double and two homers), but he’s played just six games above A-ball.
Barring any subsequent additions, the Guardians will rotate that group through designated hitter early in the year. They can also use the DH spot to get some rest for other regulars, as Florial can play all three outfield spots and Freeman can bounce around the infield. It’s a lackluster group of bats on the whole, however. Cleveland declined to do much of anything to upgrade a lineup that finished 27th in runs scored (662), 23rd in on-base percentage (.313), 29th in slugging percentage (.381) and dead last in the majors with 124 home runs. (The Nationals, at 151, ranked 29th.)
Florial, De Los Santos and the re-signed Austin Hedges — who split the 2023 season between Pittsburgh and Texas — are the only newcomers who’ll reshape that lineup. The Guards will hope that a full year of catcher Bo Naylor, a rebound from Andres Gimenez and the eventual promotions of Manzardo, DeLauter and outfielder George Valera will add some life to what was a largely punchless group in 2023.
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