CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Five takes from manager Terry Francona’s morning press conference on Wednesday, the second day of spring training workouts in Goodyear, Arizona.
1. A new role for Amed Rosario and what it could mean
Amed Rosario opened last season playing center field for the first time in his career. By May he was back to his normal shortstop position and played and hit well there for the rest of this season. On Wednesday, Francona said Rosario will be on the move again, splitting time between short and left field.
“We talked to him about that the other day,” said Francona. “We explained to him, because he did everything we asked of him last spring and it was really difficult for him, so we want to make sure we include him in all the conversations. We kind of told him, honestly, because of the weird offseason and free agency was just starting four days ago, we don’t want to tell you something and then back up a week later and take it back.
“Right now he’s playing short. He understands that we could move him to left. We asked him if he thought he could handle the back-and-forth. He says he’s fine with it. As long as he plays, he doesn’t care where. We want to be respectful of getting him ready and not over-doing and asking him to do too much too quick.”
Most of the free agent shortstops are off the market. The one exception is Trevor Story, who is coming off a so-so season in Colorado and has a big price tag. That could be a name to remember in the coming days.
The Rosario move could also mean the Guardians are opening shortstop to the wave of prospects they have on the 40-man roster. Andres Gimenez was Cleveland’s opening day shortstop last year. Yu Chang, Gabriel Arias, Bryan Rocchio, Tyler Freeman, Ernie Clement, Owen Miller, Richie Palacios and Jose Tena are also in camp.
No. 2: Testing DH Franmil Reyes in the outfield
Last year DH Franmil Reyes made 11 starts in right field. It’s the most outfield he’s played since Cleveland acquired him from San Diego in 2019.
On Sunday, he’ll start in right field against Oakland in a Cactus League game to help determine how much he might play there this year.
“We want to use the next 3 1/2 weeks to find out how much of an option that is,” said Francona, regarding playing Reyes in the outfield. “I’ve got him tentatively scheduled to play right field on Sunday against Oakland. He’ll DH on Friday and then come back Sunday and play some innings in right field. We definitely want to get a look at that to see how much that can be an option. If it is, it probably helps us as far as platoon advantages when we make our lineup out.”
Reyes did make 83 starts in right field in 2019 for the Padres.
No. 3: Checking in on James Karinchak
Last season was one of extremes for right-hander James Karinchak. He was very good in the first half and very bad in the second half. Whether that had anything to do with MLB’s crackdown on pitchers putting foreign substances on the ball was suspected, but never proven.
If Karinchak has come to grips with his game, he will be an important part of the bullpen. When Francona was asked what he expected from Karinch this spring, he said, “You’re always looking for consistency. But again, because it’s a shortened spring, that doesn’t mean that guys can lock it in sooner. We’re going to have to figure it out by April 7 (season opener) or it will cost us some wins.
“But it’s still spring training, and guys that are in Game 1, it’s still Game 1. The ramp-up time is going to be a little quicker. But if your expectations are that guys aren’t going to walk people, that’s probably unrealistic.”
No. 4: Friday’s starter is a mystery
The Guardians begin their Cactus League season on Friday against the Reds. Francona said the lineup with include a lot of last year’s regulars, at least for the first couple of innings. As to who will be Cleveland’s starting pitcher, Francona said, “No idea. No idea. It won’t be somebody from our camp.”
That means one of the minor league pitchers who have been in camp since mid-February or earlier will get the call. The Guardians are scheduled to play 20 Cactus League games before opening the season and a lot of those innings and at-bats will be filled by the 150 or so minor leaguers in camp.
“I don’t know if I’d call it a luxury,” said Francona, concerning the deep pool of minor league players available to him. “I think it’s planning. We were going to have these guys out here anyway because early on, especially, you need bodies. You don’t want guys playing back-to-back too much and things like that.
“But now that we’re starting so fast and ramping up so quickly, having them here is a necessity. You’re always trying to turn what could potentially be percieved as a negative into a positive. So we’re going to get to see some kids in game action, which will be really good.”
No. 5: Ready for liftoff
On Tuesday’s first official day of workouts, pitchers, if they felt good enough, could thrown half their bullpen session to a catcher and the other half to hitters. Zach Plesac was one of those pitchers.
“He’s in great shape,” said Francona. “The ball came out of his hand really nice. He was one of the guys who did the first half throwing the bullpen and the second half throwing to hitters. He’s a hard, hard worker. He spent a lot of time with Shane Bieber this winter. I don’t think that’s ever a bad thing.”.
Guardians merchandise for sale: Here’s where you can order new Cleveland Guardians gear, including T-shirts, hats, jerseys, hoodies, and much more.
Cleveland 40-man roster review
José Ramírez | Cal Quantrill | Emmanuel Clase | Shane Bieber | Amed Rosario |
Aaron Civale | Franmil Reyes | Myles Straw | Zach Plesac | Bradley Zimmer |
Triston McKenzie | James Karinchak | Andrés Giménez | Oscar Mercado |
Trevor Stephan | Bobby Bradley | Josh Naylor | Yu Chang | Sandlin/Morgan |
Austin Hedges | Sam Hentges | Anthony Gose | Logan Allen | Tyler Freeman |
Ernie Clement | George Valera | Nolan Jones | Gabriel Arias | Brayan Rocchio |
Jose Tena | Bryan Lavastida | Richie Palacios | Cody Morris | Jhonkensy Noel |
Konnor Pilkington | Kwan/Myers |
More Guardians coverage
Five takes from Guardians manager Terry Francona on the first day of spring training
Terry Francona’s return, Josh Naylor’s comeback and more: Podcast
Guardians pursued Matt Olson, Jesse Winker, but couldn’t close the deal
Francona aims to use Cleveland Guardians’ youth as a positive and propel club to success
Six takes from Chris Antonetti as Cleveland Guardians prepare for regular season
Updated spring training schedule opens with Cincinnati March 18
Ad Choices