{"id":362447,"date":"2025-12-21T20:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362447\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T20:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T20:25:10","slug":"guardians-seeking-right-handed-hitting-outfielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362447\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians Seeking Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far this offseason, the Guardians have focused on the bullpen by signing free agents Shawn Armstrong<\/a>, Connor Brogdon<\/a>, and Colin Holderman<\/a>. On the offensive side, the only move of significance thus far has been re-signing catcher Austin Hedges<\/a>. Going forward, the club may look to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic<\/a>. who adds that Cleveland was interested in a reunion with Lane Thomas<\/a> before he signed with the Royals.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the Guardians outfield was led by left-fielder Steven Kwan<\/a>, who batted .272\/.330\/.374 with a 99 wRC+ with exceptional defense, including 22 Defensive Runs Saved. That was good for 3.2 WAR according to FanGraphs, but unfortunately for Cleveland, Kwan was the only solid performer among the team\u2019s outfielders, with the rest posting replacement-level numbers on offense. Nolan Jones<\/a> and Angel Martinez<\/a> made 384 and 371 plate appearances, respectively, but both only posted a 73 wRC+ and got on base less than 30% of the time. Meanwhile, Kwan and Jones are both left-handed hitters, while Martinez is a switch-hitter who does better from the right side. He posted a 123 wRC+ in 169 PA when facing southpaws this year, compared to just a 48 wRC+ in 315 PA as a lefty facing right-handed pitchers.<\/p>\n

At present, nearly every outfielder on the club\u2019s 40-man roster bats from the left side. Apart from the switch-hitting Martinez, the only righty in the group is Johnathan Rodriguez<\/a>, who batted .197\/.260\/.366 with a 74 wRC+ in a limited sample of 77 PA this year. He was ranked by MLB.com<\/a> as the organization\u2019s No. 18 prospect entering 2024 and has upside as a power hitter. He has one option year remaining, so the club may keep him around to see if he can carve out a larger role (or shuffle him to the minors if he can\u2019t).<\/p>\n

Still, the club received almost no production from right-handed hitting outfielders in 2025. Out of Martinez, Rodriguez, Thomas, and Jhonkensy Noel<\/a>, only Martinez\u2019s 123 wRC+ from the right side was above-average. Thomas posted a 48 wRC+ in 142 PA this year and missed significant time with three trips to the injured list. He now plays for the Royals. Noel was even worse with a 28 wRC+ in 153 PA. He struck out 34.0% of the time and walked at a mere 2.6% rate while spending most of the second half in the minors. Cleveland designated him for assignment last week.<\/p>\n

As noted by Rosenthal, the club may want to give time to their younger outfielders. Chase DeLauter<\/a> is the organization\u2019s top outfield prospect and the league\u2019s No. 58 prospect overall, according to MLB.com<\/a>. He made his debut during the Wild Card Series against the Tigers and will play a larger role in 2026. DeLauter is a left-handed hitter, though, so while he may boost the team\u2019s overall production, he wouldn\u2019t help with the team\u2019s pitfalls from the right side. Three outfield prospects on the Guardian\u2019s Top 30 list \u2013 Jaison Chourio<\/a>, Alfonsin Rosario<\/a>, and Aaron Walton<\/a> \u2013 are righty or switch-hitters, but they won\u2019t be ready for a few years. The Guardians may simply roll the dice again with their current crop of outfielders, but barring a turnaround from Rodriguez (or more time as a righty hitter for Martinez), that doesn\u2019t leave much room for optimism.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the club may be limited in its options due to payroll considerations. RosterResource estimates their 2026 payroll at $79MM, compared to $102MM in 2025. After winning the AL Central but falling in the first round of the playoffs, the club surely wants to make improvements, though it won\u2019t be a player in the top tier of the market. Harrison Bader<\/a> is the top righty-hitting option, though he is projected for a two-year, $26MM deal that could be out of Cleveland\u2019s price range. Other free agent options include Miguel Andujar<\/a>, who had a 125 wRC+ in 341 PA in 2025, as well as Austin Hays<\/a> and Rob Refsnyder<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So far this offseason, the Guardians have focused on the bullpen by signing free agents Shawn Armstrong, Connor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[178697,148026,363,99,12948],"class_list":{"0":"post-362447","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-angel-martinez","9":"tag-johnathan-rodriguez","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-steven-kwan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}