It's pretty clear what the Cleveland Guardians need to add to their lineup before the 2024 season begins. After hitting the fewest home runs in MLB for two consecutive seasons, they need to add a power bat for the middle of the order.
There's one player who's currently a free agent, who can hit homers as far as anyone in baseball, can play a corner outfield position, and could be in Cleveland's price range.
That player is Joey Gallo.
Pros Of Signing Gallo
The pros of bringing Gallo to the Guardians are obvious.
The nine-year veteran spent the 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins, a division rival of the Guardians. He hit 21 home runs last season with an OPS of .741 while also posting a career slugging percentage of .466. Gallo also had an average exit velocity of 93 and a hard-hit percentage of 52.9%.
Cleveland wouldn't be locked into Gallo just being a designated hitter which is a positive in terms of versatility. He's been an outfielder his entire career and would fit perfectly into right field at Progressive Field
Cons Of Gallo's Addition
Okay, there is a massive elephant in the room when talking about Joey Gallo.
He had a batting average of .177 last season and a strikeout rate of 42.8% which was third highest among players with a minimum of 100 plate appearances. To give fans a perspective, Mike Zunino led that group with a K% of 43.6%.
Gallo wouldn't provide much of anything to the team if he got in a rut. We saw this towards the end of his Twins tenure and it was well documented through his time with the New York Yankees.
Signing Gallo may not be the worst move in the world if the price is right and Cleveland has no other options. The Guardians need to do something with their outfield and adding the all-or-nothing approach of Gallo would be better than doing nothing.
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