Growing Concerns Over Tito Francona's Veteran Loyalty in Guardians Lineup
The Cleveland Guardians are experiencing impressive success, with their pitching rotation boasting a top-five ERA in the AL despite relying on less established starters. While the strong pitching was expected, the offense has been a pleasant surprise, ranking among the AL's top five in total hits.
However, manager Terry Francona's loyalty to veteran players raises legitimate concerns. The team's youth movement has proven successful, with newcomers like Owen Miller, Steven Kwan, and Andres Gimenez significantly outperforming veterans who were eventually traded or designated for assignment.
Key Areas of Concern:
- Oscar Mercado continues getting playing time despite:
- Being in the 15th percentile for outs above average
- Having a below-average 77 OPS+
- Only offering above-average sprint speed (84th percentile)
- Amed Rosario's role:
- Starting at shortstop over the superior Andres Gimenez
- Poor defensive metrics (24th percentile in outs above average)
- Below-average career OPS+ of 91
- Taking valuable development time from younger talent
- Bryan Shaw's continued usage:
- Consistently poor performance in high-leverage situations
- Most Statcast metrics below 30th percentile
- Better suited for a coaching role than active roster spot
While Francona deserves respect as Cleveland's most successful coach in recent memory, the team needs to fully embrace its youth movement to maximize its potential in the AL Central race. The organization has enough middle infield depth to move on from underperforming veterans and give opportunities to promising young talents like Gabriel Arias and Richie Palacios.