<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-carlos-santana-spurned-mariners-guardians-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Carlos Santana spurned Mariners before Guardians decision');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MLB-rumors-Carlos-Santana-spurned-Mariners-before-Guardians-decision.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Carlos Santana spurned Mariners before Guardians decision</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T12:53:41-08:00">December 23rd, 12:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T13:15:52-08:00">December 23rd, 1:15pm</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut based sports journalist and a graduate of both Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University. Dan has spent time covering high school and professional sports in both the print and online medium. He hopes to see his beloved Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">trading away Josh Naylor</a>, the Cleveland Guardians replenished their first base power <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-reunite-with-carlos-santana-after-josh-naylor-trade">by signing veteran Carlos Santana</a>. However, there is a universe where Santana signed with the Seattle Mariners.</p><p>The Mariners offered Santana a one-year deal with a player option, something the Guardians did not. Furthermore, Santana <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6014575/2024/12/23/carlos-santana-guardians-house-sale/" rel="noopener">said that his initial priority</a> was joining Seattle. But once Cleveland agreed to their Naylor trade and a spot for Santana opened up, he couldn’t resist, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.</p><p>While the first baseman got a $12 million deal from the Guardians, the fact the Mariners offered an option is telling. Going on 40-years-old, it wasn’t likely Santana earned a multi-year opportunity. He’d have to earn it of course, but his deal could’ve become of the two-year variety in Seattle.</p><p>Regardless, Santana spent the first eight years of his MLB career in Cleveland. After a brief one-year hiatus in 2018, Santana returned to the Guardians in 2019, where he won he earned his first and still only All-Star nomination. In the twilight of his career, Santana wanted to go home.</p><p>Which makes for a great story in Cleveland, and a troubling situation in Seattle. For as talented as Santana is, it’s not like he was the top free-agent option at first base. However, the Mariners will now be hard-pressed to find an option as good as Santana at the same price point.</p><p>If the team doesn’t make a significant addition at the position, Luke Raley is <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/mariners" rel="noopener">poised to open the season</a> as the starter. In his first season with the Mariners, Raley hit .243 with a career-high 22 home runs and 58 RBI, to go alongside 11 stolen base. Seattle will be looking for more consistency, but they won’t complain about the production.</p><p>Still, this is a Mariners team that finished 21 in the league with 676 runs scored in 2024. They were hoping Santana’s bat would provide some extra thump. But after he went to the Guardians, they’ll be searching for another option to bolster their lineup.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Carlos Santana spurned Mariners before Guardians decision

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-yankees-carlos-santana-paul-goldschmidt-backup-plan');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Yankees had Carlos Santana as Paul Goldschmidt backup plan');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MLB-rumors-Yankees-had-Carlos-Santana-as-Paul-Goldschmidt-backup-plan.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Yankees had Carlos Santana as Paul Goldschmidt backup plan</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T16:55:40-08:00">December 21st, 4:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-21T16:55:40-08:00">December 21st, 4:55pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees were looking to upgrade at first base in free agency. On Saturday, New York agreed to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-paul-goldschmidt-12-5-million-contract">one-year, $12.5 million deal</a> with veteran Paul Goldschmidt. However, the team had a backup plan in place if they weren’t able to land the former National League MVP.</p><p>The Yankees intended on <a href="https://x.com/BNightengale/status/1870612924630196562" rel="noopener">turning to</a> Carlos Santana if they couldn’t get a deal done with Goldschmidt, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on X. After New York got their first baseman, the Cleveland Guardians signed Santana.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-guardians-listening-trade-offers-josh-naylor-lane-thomas">Guardians had been listening to trade offers</a> on their All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor this offseason. On Saturday, the team <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">sent Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks</a>, opening up a spot at first. Following the trade, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-reunite-with-carlos-santana-after-josh-naylor-trade">Cleveland signed Santana</a> to a one-year, $12 million contract.</p><p>The flurry of moves was set into action when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-nolan-arenado-shockingly-shot-down-astros-trade">Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros</a> on Thursday. That caused Houston to pivot to free agent Christian Walker, who agreed to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-christian-walker-nolan-arenado-trade-fiasco">three-year, $60 million deal with the Astros</a>.</p><h2><b>The Yankees were eyeing veteran 1B Carlos Santana as an insurance policy</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Carlos-Santana.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-yankees-linked-paul-goldschmidt-carlos-santana-missing-christian-walker">missing out on Walker</a>, the Yankees pivoted to Goldschmidt with 38-year-old veteran Carlos Santana as an insurance policy. Once New York inked Goldschmidt, the Guardians landed Santana to replace Naylor. The 15-year veteran played 150 games for the Minnesota Twins in 2024, producing 26 doubles, 23 home runs, 71 RBI and 2.5 WAR.</p><p>Goldschmidt, who is a year younger than Santana, spent the last six seasons of his 14-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals. The seven-time All-Star played in 154 games last year, recording 33 doubles, 22 homers, 65 RBI and 1.3 WAR.</p><p>While Goldschmidt had a down season in 2024, he’s only a couple years removed from elite production, having won the league MVP in 2022. Goldschmidt is the second former MVP the Yankees have added this offseason, after bringing in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-new-york-acquires-cody-bellinger-cubs-blockbuster-trade">Cody Bellinger via a blockbuster trade</a> with the Chicago Cubs.</p><p>The Yankees hope that Goldschmidt can add some pop from a corner infield spot while providing veteran leadership. And, it’s possible his addition could have another benefit. Now that Goldschmidt is in New York, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-yankees-paul-goldschmidt-nolan-arenado-effect">Arenado could decide to join him</a>. The two spent the last four seasons together in St. Louis, which might motivate the Gold Glove third baseman to agree to a trade that sends him to the Bronx.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Yankees had Carlos Santana as Paul Goldschmidt backup plan

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-reunite-with-carlos-santana-after-josh-naylor-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians reunite with Carlos Santana after Josh Naylor trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Guardians-news-Cleveland-reunites-with-Carlos-Santana-after-Josh-Naylor-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians reunite with Carlos Santana after Josh Naylor trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T15:51:54-08:00">December 21st, 3:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-21T16:39:28-08:00">December 21st, 4:39pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite reaching the American League Championship Series this past postseason, the Cleveland Guardians are shuffling their roster. They <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">traded first baseman Josh Naylor</a> to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday but wasted no time in acquiring his replacement. Veteran Carlos Santana is returning to his first MLB home after agreeing to a <a href="https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1870611166877368652" rel="noopener">one-year, $12 million contract</a>, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.</p><p>The Dominican Republic native signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 but earned his first big-league opportunity with Cleveland. He enjoyed two successful stints there, separated by a one-year stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, and is now ready for another run with the Guardians. He continues to be a coveted addition for small-market franchises that are looking for impactful production at an affordable rate.</p><h2><b>Guardians try to juggle the present and future in offseason</b></h2><p>Santana belted 23 home runs and 71 RBIs and won his first-career Gold Glove with the Minnesota Twins in his age-38 season in 2024. Although it is risky to move on from Naylor’s solid bat, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti is upgrading first base from a defensive standpoint.</p><p>Cleveland is staying true to its identity, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blue-jays-news-finalizing-andres-gimenez-trade-with-guardians">flipping second baseman Andres Gimenez</a> to the Toronto Blue Jays before his contract is due to spike and dealing away Naylor before he hits free agency next offseason. Fans understand how the Guards operate by now, but they would like to see ownership be a tad more aggressive with its finances.</p><p>Maximizing return value for players who might cost more than they produce can be explained, just as long as the organization is investing in other areas. Beyond <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion">re-signing Shane Bieber</a> to a one-year contract and now bringing back Carlos Santana, Cleveland has not done much to address its MLB roster. Though, the Guardians usually have one or two tricks up their sleeve.</p><p>Santana, a former All-Star who was part of the franchise’s last pennant win, should do his part to keep the club in AL Central contention in 2025. With more than 1,300 games played for Cleveland, strong leadership presence and a dependable glove, this man exemplifies “Guardians baseball.” Progressive Field will welcome him back with open arms.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians reunite with Carlos Santana after Josh Naylor trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians');   ga('set', 'title', 'Diamondbacks acquire Josh Naylor in trade with Guardians');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Diamondbacks-acquire-Josh-Naylor-in-trade-with-Guardians.jpg"></figure><h1>Diamondbacks acquire Josh Naylor in trade with Guardians</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T15:13:31-08:00">December 21st, 3:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-21T15:35:15-08:00">December 21st, 3:35pm</time><address><a>Tristin McKinstry</a>Tristin McKinstry is an experienced sports writer who got his start back in 2014. He is an Associate Editor with ClutchPoints and is one of the staff's NHL experts. Tristin has worked professionally with The Inquisitr and GIVEMESPORT in the past, and his work has also been featured on Last Word On Sports, XFL News Hub, and USFL News Hub. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Communications at Southern New Hampshire University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Arizona Diamondbacks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-guardians-listening-trade-offers-josh-naylor-lane-thomas">Cleveland Guardians have looked into trading Josh Naylor</a> throughout the MLB offseason. Naylor has had some solid seasons in Cleveland, but the Guardians have retooled a bit <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blue-jays-news-finalizing-andres-gimenez-trade-with-guardians">as seen by the Anders Gimenez trade</a>. On Saturday night, a Naylor <a href="https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1870607560300253564" rel="noopener">trade finally came to fruition</a>, sending him to the Arizona Diamondbacks.</p><p>Naylor is off to the Diamondbacks, as first reported by New York Post’s Jon Heyman. The Guardians, meanwhile, received a player and a draft pick in return. Cleveland received right-handed starter Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B pick, Heyman also reported.</p><p>Naylor broke out during the 2022 MLB season, hitting 20 home runs and 79 RBI during that season. In 2023, he stepped his game up a bit despite hitting three fewer home runs. Naylor’s performance with the Guardians even earned him some MVP votes, according to Baseball Reference.</p><p>Naylor reached another level in 2024, though. The 27-year-old hit a career-high 31 home runs for the Guardians in 2024. He slashed .243/.320/.456 in 152 games while walking 58 times and striking out on 105 occasions.</p><p>The Diamondbacks needed a new first baseman for the 2025 season. Arizona saw veteran Christian Walker leave in MLB Free Agency. Walker signed a three-year contract with the Houston Astros on Friday.</p><p>The Diamondbacks had an internal option in Pavin Smith. The 29-year-old is a former top-10 pick from the 2017 MLB Draft. He has played north of 360 games in MLB to this point. However, Smith has just one season as a starting player under his belt, which came back in 2021.</p><p>The Diamondbacks have sought to add to their roster after narrowly missing the playoffs. Arizona knew adding a first baseman was a possibility this winter. To that end, they added one of the best on the trade market in Josh Naylor. It will certainly be interesting to see the impact he has in Arizona in 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Diamondbacks acquire Josh Naylor in trade with Guardians

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-tigers-guardians-interested-in-veteran-cardinals-starters');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Tigers, Guardians interested in veteran Cardinals starters');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tigers-Guardians-interested-in-veteran-Cardinals-starters.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Tigers, Guardians interested in veteran Cardinals starters</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T22:28:35-08:00">December 20th, 10:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T22:28:35-08:00">December 20th, 10:28pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St. Louis Cardinals brass has made it clear all offseason long that their goal is to get younger entering the 2025 season, as they believe as though their veteran core has plateaued and that a soft reset is in order to get the proud franchise back to its usual level. To that end, the Cardinals have been making their veteran players <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-cardinals-surprising-nolan-arenado-sonny-gray-trade-stance">available on the trade market</a> — including two starting pitchers in Erick Fedde and Steven Matz.</p><p>While Fedde and Matz are far from the flashiest starting pitchers to add to rotation, they should still command some interest on the trade market as veterans that won’t cost much in terms of salary as well as prospect capital. In fact, two playoff teams in 2024, the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers, have <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-goldschmidt-nolan-arenado-yankees-rumors?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share" rel="noopener">reportedly expressed trade interest</a> in the two Cardinals starters, as per MLB.com.</p><p>The Guardians and Tigers managed to make it to the postseason in 2024 despite operating on a shoestring budget relative to other contending teams. Last season, the Tigers ranked 26th in payroll while the Guardians ranked 23rd — all while combining for 178 wins.</p><p>Thus, their interest in both Fedde and Matz is understandable. The former, in particular, has managed to revive his career upon his MLB return in 2024, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-cardinals-agree-tommy-edman-erick-fedde-michael-kopech-led-3-team-trade">Cardinals brought him in via trade</a> in their attempt to fight for a playoff spot. He is only making $7.5 million in 2025, and he should be well worth the price for both of the AL Central teams that have expressed interest.</p><p>Matz, however, is a bigger question mark. He only pitched 44.1 innings in 2024, tallying a 5.08 ERA in the process. And to top it all off, he’s set to <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/16106/steven-matz" rel="noopener">make $12.5 million</a> in 2025 — making it more difficult for the Cardinals to trade him away. But the silver lining is that he’s in the final year of his deal, so acquiring him wouldn’t require too much of a financial commitment moving forward.</p><h2><b>Cardinals expected to be sellers on the trade market this offseason</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nolan-Arenado-on-Sept.-25-2024-2.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In addition to the availability of those two aforementioned starting pitchers, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-trade-situation-complicated">Cardinals have also made it no secret</a> that they would prefer to find a new home for Nolan Arenado in 2025 — shedding his huge salary in the process while opening up more playing time for their younger players.</p><p>The Cardinals, however, would not want to take on additional salary in any Arenado trade, as evidenced by their reported decision to decline an offer from the New York Yankees that would have sent Arenado to the Bronx in exchange for Marcus Stroman, who has two years left on his contract.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Tigers, Guardians interested in veteran Cardinals starters

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-josh-naylor-trade-talks-guardians-mariners');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Josh Naylor ‘mentioned’ in trade talks between Guardians, Mariners');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12-19-24-naylor-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Josh Naylor ‘mentioned’ in trade talks between Guardians, Mariners</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T11:36:39-08:00">December 19th, 11:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T11:36:39-08:00">December 19th, 11:36am</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Seattle Mariners have been one of the most frequently mentioned teams in trade rumors this offseason. With arguably the best and deepest starting rotation and the high price of starting pitchers in free agency, it makes sense that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-red-sox-mariners-pitcher-garrett-crochet-trade">teams have been calling about the Mariners’ arms</a>.</p><p>The Cleveland Guardians are the <a href="https://x.com/jonmorosi/status/1869803180340691091" rel="noopener">latest team</a> to check in with the Mariners about a potential trade, and are offering up one of their best players according to MLB Network insider Jon Morosi.</p><p>“Josh Naylor has been mentioned in trade talks between the Guardians and Mariners,” Morosi wrote. “He’s one of multiple names under consideration by the Mariners for an offensive upgrade at 1B.”</p><p>The Mariners desperately need to improve their offense, and first base is an especially glaring hole in their lineup. Naylor is one of the best offensive first baseman in all of baseball, and would immediately slot into the middle of the Mariners lineup.</p><p>Last season, Naylor had a .456 slugging percentage, hit 31 home runs and drove in 108 runs while being named an All-Star for the first time in his career.</p><h2><b>Who would the Cleveland Guardians want from the Seattle Mariners for Josh Naylor?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12-19-24-naylor-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© David Dermer-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>All of the Mariners’ top-five starting pitchers, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo, would hypothetically be appealing to the Guardians in a potential deal involving Naylor.</p><p>However, given the Guardians’ tendency to cut costs and operate on a smaller budget, it is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-why-mariners-hesitant-luis-castillo-trade">most likely that Castillo</a> and the final three years of his five-year, $108 million contract would be too expensive.</p><p>Gilbert and Kirby would also likely require more than just Naylor to get a deal done, making Woo or Miller the Guardians’ likely targets in a potential trade involving Naylor.</p><p>The 24-year-old Woo, who had a 2.89 ERA in 2024, and the 26-year-old Miller, who had a 2.94 ERA in 2024, would likely slot into the top of the Guardians’ rotation ahead of Shane Bieber, who the Guardians’ just re-signed, and Tanner Bibee.</p><p>It is unclear whether or not the Guardians would need to add anything else to a deal to acquire one of the Mariners’ starters.</p><p>If the Mariners choose to improve their offense through trades instead of free agency, Naylor would be just about as strong of an options as they could get. Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas has also been mentioned as a possible trade candidate, but Naylor is the much more established option.</p><p>The Mariners could also choose to keep all of their starting pitchers and instead sign one of the top free agent first basemen, like Christian Walker or Pete Alonso.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Josh Naylor ‘mentioned’ in trade talks between Guardians, Mariners

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-guardians-rays-dylan-cease-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Guardians, Rays floated as possible Dylan Cease trade spots');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MLB-rumors-Guardians-Rays-floated-as-possible-Dylan-Cease-trade-spots.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Guardians, Rays floated as possible Dylan Cease trade spots</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-12T13:59:12-08:00">December 12th, 1:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-12T14:31:39-08:00">December 12th, 2:31pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dylan <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-framber-valdez-dylan-cease-possible-trade-candidates">Cease could be a trade candidate for the San Diego Padres</a>. Why would the competitive Padres consider moving a star hurler like Cease? Well, Cease is going to be a free agent soon and the Padres may look to capitalize on his current value. According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAF85kvWl4Y" rel="noopener">potential landing spots</a> for the 28-year-old.</p><p>“I would think the Cleveland Guardians would be interested in a trade for Dylan Cease,” Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. “I would think the Tampa Bay Rays would be interested for one year of Dylan Cease.”</p><p>A trade is not guaranteed to happen. He is only under contract for one more season, though. If the Padres decide to keep Cease for the 2025 campaign, they may risk losing him in MLB free agency.</p><p>The Padres could wait until the 2025 MLB trade deadline in the middle of the regular season. If they deal Cease away now, though, they will receive a better return package. Teams will be willing to surrender more for one full season of Cease as opposed to a few months.</p><p>As a result, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-orioles-eyeing-dylan-cease-trade-with-corbin-burnes-reunion-looking-unlikely">Dylan Cease trade rumors are beginning to pick up steam</a>.</p><h2><b>Why are Guardians, Rays possible Dylan Cease trade destinations?</b></h2><p>The Guardians and Rays are two ball clubs that have found ways to be successful in recent years despite playing in small markets. Neither ball club spends too much money in MLB free agency. Both teams want to compete in 2025, and they could both benefit from adding a star pitcher such as Cease.</p><p>The Guardians could especially use the extra pitching help. They dealt with starting pitching concerns in 2024, as ace Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion">Bieber re-signed with the Guardians this offseason</a>, but will not return until later in the year as he recovers from the aforementioned surgery.</p><p>Again, the Padres may end up holding onto Cease. If he is made available for a trade, however, the Guardians and Rays will be worth keeping an eye on as possible suitors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Guardians, Rays floated as possible Dylan Cease trade spots

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-guardians-traded-andres-gimenez-blue-jays');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Why Guardians shockingly traded Andres Gimenez to Blue Jays');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12-11-24-gimenez-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Why Guardians shockingly traded Andres Gimenez to Blue Jays</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T20:53:36-08:00">December 11th, 8:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T20:53:36-08:00">December 11th, 8:53pm</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In one of the most surprising moves of the offseason so far, the Cleveland Guardians <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blue-jays-news-finalizing-andres-gimenez-trade-with-guardians">traded three-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman Andres Gimenez</a> to the Toronto Blue Jays. After the trade was reported, many were asking why the Guardians, who had just made the ALCS, decided to move one of their best players.</p><p>The reasons why the Guardians felt like they had to trade Gimenez <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5988459/2024/12/11/mlb-winter-meetings-notes-garrett-crochet-trade-red-sox/" rel="noopener">were revealed</a> by MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Wednesday.</p><p>“The Guardians, according to sources briefed on their thinking, feared a third straight subpar offensive season by Giménez would leave them unable to trade him,” Rosenthal wrote. “Facing their usual payroll limitations, they badly wanted to avoid the downside risk.”</p><p>“Club officials are confident Juan Brito, the Guardians’ No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, can handle second short-term,” Rosenthal continued. “And the path is now clear for Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, to take over the position, perhaps even later this season.”</p><h2><b>Did the Cleveland Guardians make the right decision trading Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12-11-24-gimenez-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>According to Rosenthal, the Guardians felt like they could not risk Gimenez’ offensive production to continue to decline. After signing a seven-year, $106.5 million contract after a career-year in 2022 in which he was named an All-Star and finished sixth in American League MVP voting while hitting .297 with 17 home runs, Gimenez has not lived up to that deal, at least on the offensive end.</p><p>Gimenez’ batting average dropped from .297 in 2022 to .251 in 2023 and .252 in 2024. His slugging percentage dropped from .466 in 2022 to .399 in 2023 to .340 in 2024. Perhaps the biggest concern for the Guardians, his home run totals dropped from 17 in 2024 to 15 in 2023 to just nine in 2024.</p><p>For a small market team like the Guardians, they can not afford to ave a player signed to an expensive, long-term contract not performing. Based on that logic, his steady offensive decline and their organizational depth at second base, it made sense why the Guardians decided to move Gimenez despite being in a competitive window.</p><p>Especially with all of the pitching they were able to get in after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pirates-news-pittsburgh-spencer-horwitz-guardians-trade">flipping Spencer Horwitz, who they acquired from the Blue Jays</a> for Gimenez, to the Pirates, it seems like the Guardians were able to improve in the trade.</p><p>The biggest question now will be if Juan Brito and Travis Bazzana, who Rosenthal mentioned as the Guardians next options at second base, will be able to meet their lofty expectations.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Why Guardians shockingly traded Andres Gimenez to Blue Jays

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pirates-news-pittsburgh-spencer-horwitz-guardians-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates acquire Spencer Horwitz from Guardians via intriguing trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pirates-news-Pittsburgh-acquires-Spencer-Horwitz-from-Guardians-via-intriguing-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates acquire Spencer Horwitz from Guardians via intriguing trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T21:02:39-08:00">December 10th, 9:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T21:02:39-08:00">December 10th, 9:02pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The MLB winter meetings are underway and the transaction line has been buzzing all week long. Much of the focus has been on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-steve-cohen-admits-defeated-feeling-stunning-juan-soto-decision">Juan Soto’s record-setting contract with the New York Mets</a>, but teams all around the league have been negotiating and making deals in an attempt to improve their roster heading into 2025.</p><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates joined the list late on Tuesday night when they acquired infielder Spencer Horwitz from the Cleveland Guardians <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1866689628507427177" rel="noopener">in a trade</a>, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Horwitz had just been dealt to the Guardians from the Blue Jays in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blue-jays-news-finalizing-andres-gimenez-trade-with-guardians">deal that included Andres Giménez</a>.</p><p>“Guardians finalizing trade of 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz to the Pirates, source tells @TheAthletic,” Rosenthal reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Horwitz is part of Guardians’ return from the Blue Jays for Andres Giménez and Nick Sandlin.”</p><p>In return, the Pirates are sending prospect Josh Hartle to Cleveland <a href="https://x.com/Feinsand/status/1866690475970764815" rel="noopener">along with pitchers</a> Luis Ortiz and Michael Kennedy, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB Media.</p><p>Horwitz can play both first and second base and has been a versatile chess piece for the Blue Jays over his first two seasons in the league. He adds a young piece that can play multiple positions to an improving Pirates team that will give him an opportunity to play and get better as opposed to a talented Guardians squad that likely would have see him used as a bench bat.</p><p>In 2024, Horwitz appeared in 97 games for the Blue Jays. He hit .264 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs with 31 total extra base hits. His OPS+ of 125 shows that he is a promising, above-average hitter that still has room to grow and will get the opportunity to do so with the Pirates in 2025 and beyond.</p><p>Horwitz also made just two errors in 112 chances while playing both first and second base, so he is a solid defender out in the field.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates acquire Spencer Horwitz from Guardians via intriguing trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-guardians-tigers-legend-rocky-colavito-dies-91');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians, Tigers legend Rocky Colavito dies at 91');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/File-photo-of-Rocky-Colavito.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians, Tigers legend Rocky Colavito dies at 91</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T18:47:09-08:00">December 10th, 6:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T18:47:09-08:00">December 10th, 6:47pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Legendary power hitter and one-time American League home run king Rocky Colavito has passed away on Tuesday at 91 years old. As a six-time All-Star, Colavito has built a career as the muscle for the Cleveland Guardians (then-Indians) and other AL teams in the 1950s and the 1960s, including after Cleveland GM Frank “Trader” Lane traded him in the prime of his career to the Detroit Tigers after his 42-homer season in 1959.</p><p>“Cleveland Indians legend Rocky Colavito has died at the age of 91,” <a href="https://x.com/twithersAP/status/1866657431427879236" rel="noopener">reported</a> by Associated Press sports reporter Tom Withers.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Guardians also <a href="https://x.com/CleGuardians/status/1866656647902531984" rel="noopener">released a statement</a> celebrating Colavito’s career achievements.</p><p>“The Cleveland Guardians are deeply saddened by the loss of Rocky Colavito. Beloved by fans, Rocky spent eight of his fourteen MLB seasons with Cleveland. He represented the club in three All-Star Games while finishing top-5 in MVP voting on three occasions,” per the Guardians’ official account on X, formerly Twitter.</p><h2><b>Guardians icon Rocky Colavito, 1933-2024</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/File-photo-of-Rocky-Colavito-1.jpg"><figcaption>© UPI, Detroit Free Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC</figcaption></figure><p>From 1956 to 1966, Rocky Colavito racked up 358 homers for the Guardians/Indians and Tigers, hitting at least 20 home runs in that span. Likewise, the only other players to rack up more homers in the same stretch are legends <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/updating-and-ranking-the-50-greatest-mlb-players-of-all-time">Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays.</a></p><p>In all, Colavito has hit 374 homers, putting him 81st on the all-time leaderboard. He sits ahead of Gil Hodges, and behind Carlton Fisk, Jeff Kent, Norm Cash, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/angels-news-ron-washington-mike-trout-mlb-players">Mike Trout</a>, per <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5874958/2024/12/10/rocky-colavito-cleveland-obituary/" rel="noopener">a report</a> from The Athletic.</p><p>Additionally, he is one of 16 players since the beginning of the 20th century to hit four home-runs in a game.</p><p>During his time with Cleveland, Colavito became one of four players in team history to own several 40-homer seasons, joining <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-manny-ramirez-statement-cleveland-hall-of-fame">Manny Ramirez</a>, Jim Thorne, and Albert Belle.</p><p>He was also the first player to own that distinction in back-to-back seasons, in 1958-1959, and he ranks 12th in team history with 190 homers all in all. Likewise, he is tied for 12th in OPS and slugging percentage.</p><p>However, Rocky Colavito spent much of his prime with the Tigers, where he racked up 45 homers, 140 RBIs, and 113 walks. Finally, Colavito finished his 14-year career with 1,730 hits, 1,159 RBIs, and an .848 OPS.</p><p>During his retirement, he entered broadcasting and coached the Indians and Royals. In 2006, Colavito entered the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-cc-sabathia-reaction-cleveland-hall-of-fame">Cleveland Hall of Fame</a> in 2006.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians, Tigers legend Rocky Colavito dies at 91

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/blue-jays-news-finalizing-andres-gimenez-trade-with-guardians');   ga('set', 'title', 'Blue Jays swing Andres Gimenez trade with Guardians');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Blue-Jays-news-Toronto-finalizing-Andres-Gimenez-trade-with-Guardians.jpg"></figure><h1>Blue Jays swing Andres Gimenez trade with Guardians</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T15:16:02-08:00">December 10th, 3:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T22:05:03-08:00">December 10th, 10:05pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Toronto Blue Jays have had enough. After seeing both Juan Soto and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-max-fried-ny-agree-8-year-218-million-deal-free-agency">Max Fried choose New York</a> over The Six, general manager Ross Atkins is <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1866619855308460138" rel="noopener">completing a trade</a> with the Cleveland Guardians for Gold Glove second baseman Andres Gimenez, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.</p><p>Right-handed relief pitcher Nick Sandlin (3.75 ERA in 68 appearances in 2024) is accompanying him to the Great White North, and fellow former second-round draft pick Spencer Horwitz, who tallied 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 97 games last season, <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1866629614887432690" rel="noopener">was sent</a> to the Guardians in exchange, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Cleveland <a href="https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/1866690475970764815" rel="noopener">then flipped</a> Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for righty Luis Ortiz and pitching prospects Michael Kennedy (ranked No. 15 in organization) and Josh Hartle (No. 17), per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.</p><p>This is an important offseason for the Jays, and they are finally ready to make a move. While Gimenez will not evoke the kind of excitement that the aforementioned All-Stars do, he can bring crucial stability to the diamond. The 26-year-old earned an invitation to the Midsummer Classic himself in 2022 after posting a .297 batting average and 17 home runs. His offense has precipitously declined over the last two years, but Toronto could benefit from his durability and defensive consistency.</p><h2><b>Blue Jays are banking on Gimenez’s glove and upside</b></h2><p>Blue Jays fans are starving for a high-profile free agent or trade acquisition, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blue-jays-4-best-juan-soto-backup-plans">inability to lure away Soto</a> or Fried from the New York Mets and Yankees, respectively, will make it harder to appreciate Gimenez’s arrival. Once the pain of rejection wears off, though, (yet again) the city should acknowledge the value he brings to the team.</p><p>Although Toronto rated as one of the best defensive clubs in baseball during 2024, John Schneider should welcome the Venezuela native’s elite fielding skills. He has been crowned the best at his position in the AL in each of the last three seasons and even claimed a prestigious Platinum Glove in 2023. Beyond his defense, Andres Gimenez is also a baserunning threat who has recorded 30 stolen bases in consecutive campaigns. He just needs to tweak his hitting approach a bit.</p><p>Gimenez is unlikely to re-establish himself as an .837 OPS guy, but if he can boost last year’s .252 batting average and nine homers, this trade has the potential to be a windfall for the Blue Jays. Nick Sandlin is also an intriguing addition to a bullpen that just produced the second-highest ERA in MLB. Bitterness is still abound in Toronto, but Ross Atkins might have just upgraded the roster. That is at least a start.</p><p>Guardians fans have reason to feel optimistic about the haul their team is bringing back as well, though.</p><h2><b>Cleveland is looking for a spark in its offense</b></h2><p>Although the American League Central Champions’ biggest question mark remains their pitching rotation, even with<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion"> Shane Bieber returning</a>, the lineup can use another productive bat. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti appeared to be thinking along those lines when he traded for first baseman and second baseman Spencer Horwitz, but focus quickly shifted back to pitching.</p><p>The 27-year-old out of Radford, Virginia should be given a solid opportunity to carve out a meaningful role for himself with the Pirates, while the Guardians look to a triumvirate of hurlers to potentially solidify their future depth. Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy, third and fourth-round draft picks, respectively, are each still in the early stages of their minor league progression. Luis Ortiz comes aboard with almost 240 innings of big league experience, however. He had a 3.32 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 37 games.</p><p>More pitching could address some of the issues that plagued Cleveland in the AL Championship Series. The staff was running on fumes by the time the Guardians were sent packing, so maybe this latest trade can provide reinforcements in both the short-term and long-term.</p><p>Still, saying goodbye to a human Hoover like Andres Gimenez is never easy. Both Cleveland and Toronto have more work to do this offseason before feeling content.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blue Jays swing Andres Gimenez trade with Guardians

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shane Bieber, Guardians agree to $14 million free agency reunion');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Shane-Bieber-runs-it-back-with-Cleveland.jpg"></figure><h1>Shane Bieber, Guardians agree to $14 million free agency reunion</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-06T14:31:50-08:00">December 6th, 2:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-06T14:57:45-08:00">December 6th, 2:57pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians and former Cy Young winning starting pitcher Shane Bieber are <a href="https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1865161142470943087" rel="noopener">reportedly in agreement</a> on a one-year, $14 million contract, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal also includes a $16 million player option for the 2026 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-enters-randy-johnson-territory-with-dominant-opening-day-start">Bieber started the 2024 season strong</a> before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-cleveland-tragically-loses-ace-shane-bieber-tommy-john-surgery">undergoing Tommy John surgery</a>, and he is expected to return in the middle of 2025, Passion reports. Once he returns, Bieber will resume his duties of leading Cleveland’s pitching rotation.</p><p>The Guardians went on to play well despite his absence. In fact, Cleveland reached the American League Championship Series. Although they were ultimately defeated by the New York Yankees in the series, the Guardians displayed potential. Cleveland’s future is bright and Bieber’s expected return in the middle of 2025 will help the pitching rotation.</p><p>Bieber looked like the Cy Young winner he once was to begin the ’24 campaign. He did not surrender a run through 12 innings pitched, but it was later revealed that he would need the surgery.</p><p>When Shane Bieber is healthy, he is one of the best pitchers in the sport. He features a high strikeout ceiling to go along with the ability to work deep into games. In other words, Bieber is a true ace.</p><p>There were rumors about Bieber’s departure in free agency. However, he is going to run it back with the Guardians in hopes of returning and pitching well. If Bieber performs well in the second half of 2025, perhaps he will consider opting out of his deal to test free agency.</p><p>If he is unable to pitch up to his standards, though, Bieber can opt into his contract and pitch in 2026 for $16 million. He is approaching 30 years old, however, so Bieber likely wants to land a long-term contract sooner rather than later.</p><p>With all of that being said, Guardians fans are surely excited to see their ace return to Cleveland.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shane Bieber, Guardians agree to $14 million free agency reunion

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-guardians-listening-trade-offers-josh-naylor-lane-thomas');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Guardians listening to trade offers on Josh Naylor, Lane Thomas');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MLB-rumors-Guardians-listening-to-trade-offers-on-Josh-Naylor-Lane-Thomas.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Guardians listening to trade offers on Josh Naylor, Lane Thomas</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-05T11:48:28-08:00">December 5th, 11:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-05T11:49:25-08:00">December 5th, 11:49am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/braves-news-braves-sign-ex-guardians-reliever-to-deal">Cleveland Guardians are making waves in the offseason rumor mill</a>, signaling potential moves that could reshape their roster ahead of the 2025 MLB season. Reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggest that Cleveland is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5971884/2024/12/05/mlb-what-im-hearing-cardinals-blue-jays/" rel="noopener">open to entertaining trade offers</a> for first baseman Josh Naylor and outfielder Lane Thomas. These two key contributors are entering the final years of their current contracts.</p><p>This revelation aligns with the Guardians’ history as a small-market team, where financial prudence often dictates roster decisions. Rosenthal noted the economic context driving these rumors, stating, “It should surprise no one that Cleveland is open to trade offers for first baseman Josh Naylor and outfielder Lane Thomas, both of whom are entering their walk years. MLB Trade Rumors projects Naylor to earn $12 million in arbitration, Thomas $8.3 million.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-josh-naylor-superstar-2024-cleveland">Naylor has been a cornerstone of the Guardians’ lineup,</a> consistently producing offensively. His left-handed bat and ability to drive in runs have made him a fan favorite in Cleveland. However, with arbitration potentially awarding him $12 million, his rising cost and expiring control make him a prime trade candidate for a team that often prioritizes long-term flexibility.</p><h2><b>Josh Naylor, Lane Thomas may be moved by the Guardians</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Lane-Thomas-and-Josh-Naylor.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>A versatile outfielder, Thomas is coming off a strong postseason performance that solidified his value to the Guardians. His projected $8.3 million salary in arbitration is manageable, but Cleveland may see this as an opportunity to sell high on a player whose market value is surging.</p><p>Cleveland’s rumored openness to trading Naylor and Thomas suggests a dual approach this offseason: maintaining financial discipline while remaining competitive. Despite their small-market status, the Guardians are on the cusp of contention, with a roster that could challenge for a championship with the right adjustments.</p><p>“Fans are hoping to see them break away from their conservative approach a bit,” noted Rosenthal. “No one is expecting Cleveland to spend huge money, but being a little more aggressive to chase a championship would be a welcome sight.”</p><p>Trading Naylor or Thomas would open opportunities for Cleveland to acquire young, controllable talent or address other areas of need, such as pitching depth or additional power in the lineup.</p><p>The Guardians’ offseason is shaping up to be pivotal. If they move one or both of these players, the return package could signal whether the team is prioritizing short-term contention or a longer-term rebuild. For fans, the coming months promise intrigue as Cleveland navigates these critical decisions.</p><p>With Naylor and Thomas on the trading block, the Guardians appear poised for a busy and potentially transformative offseason. Whether these moves lead to a more aggressive push for a championship or signify a step back remains to be seen, but Cleveland fans should prepare for significant changes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Guardians listening to trade offers on Josh Naylor, Lane Thomas

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-unrealistic-trade-all-star-closer');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dodgers’ unrealistic trade for All-Star closer that would shake up MLB offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-29-24-clase-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>Dodgers’ unrealistic trade for All-Star closer that would shake up MLB offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-29T09:41:12-08:00">November 29th, 9:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-29T13:59:39-08:00">November 29th, 1:59pm</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the most complete teams in Major League Baseball. Especially after signing two-time Cy Young award winner <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-blake-snell-lands-dodgers-5-year-182-million-deal">Blake Snell, the Dodgers have</a> All-Stars and MVPs throughout their lineup and pitching staff.</p><p>The only place that the Dodgers could look to improve, however, is their bullpen. At the same time, players like Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, who retired after the Dodgers’ World Series win, and Blake Treinen all stepped up throughout the 2024 season, the Dodgers to not have a lock-down closer.</p><p>With so much money invested in their current roster, the Dodgers are firmly in win-now territory. They should be doing everything in their power to take advantage of their current championship window.</p><p>The Dodgers have shown that they are willing to be aggressive in the trade market, like when they sent starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca to the Tampa Bay Rays for Tyler Glasnow and two promising prospects to the Detroit Tigers for half of a season of starting pitcher Jack Flaherty.</p><p>Why not go after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-team-reacts-emmanuel-clase-second-al-reliever-of-the-year-award">best closer in baseball, Emmanuel Clase</a>? If the Cleveland Guardians are willing to listen to offers, the Dodgers should have enough young, Major League-ready talent and prospects to strike a deal for the three-time All-Star. If the Dodgers can strike a deal for Clase, they would undoubtedly be considered one of the best and most talented teams of all time.</p><h2><b>Trade proposal: Dodgers send OF Andy Pages, C/OF Dalton Rushing to Guardians for closer Emmanuel Clase</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-29-24-clase-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Clase put together one of the most impressive relief seasons in baseball history in 2024. In 74 appearances, Clase recorded an American League-leading 47 saves and had an astounding 0.61 ERA and 0.659 WHIP and finished in third place in the AL Cy Young voting and 11th-place in AL MVP voting. Clase relies on a devastating cutter, which opponents only hit .150 against in 2024, as his primary pitch.</p><p>The biggest question here is why the Guardians would even consider moving a player as successful and valuable as Clase. Coming off of a season like he had in 2024 and being under team control until 2029, Clase’s potential trade value will never be higher. It is unlikely that the Guardians would be able to afford to re-sign Clase ahead of the 2029 season if he continues to be the best closer in baseball.</p><p>While trading away a player like Clase would be difficult, the Guardians still have a lot of elite bullpen talent that could step up into the closer role. Relievers Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herrin all had sub-two ERAs in 2024 and could all potentially take over as the Guardians closer after Clase or do a closer-by-committee situation.</p><p>The 25-year-old <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-cleveland-reliever-jaw-dropping-alds-history">Smith is especially promising. In his rookie season</a> in 2024, Smith posted a 1.91 ERA in 74 appearances and struck out 103 batters, good for a 12.3 SO/9. Smith finished fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in the AL Cy Young voting.</p><p>Because of the talent surrounding Clase in the Guardians bullpen, he is expendable. The Dodgers match up perfectly with what the Guardians are looking for to improve their team, and if they are willing to part with some of their top prospects and promising young players, a Clase trade should be considered.</p><h2><b>Why the Cleveland Guardians would want Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing from the Los Angeles Dodgers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-29-24-pages-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Guardians, who finished in first place in the AL Central with a 92-69 record and made it to the ALCS in 2024, already have one of the most complete rosters in baseball. However, there are a few positions that could be improved.</p><p>Lane Thomas, who the Guardians traded for from the Washington Nationals at the deadline, held down center field but is a more natural corner outfielder. In an ideal world, the Guardians would probably like for him to shift to right field in 2024, making center field a potential position of need.</p><p>The Guardians also did not get anywhere near enough offensive production at the catcher position. 24-year-old Bo Naylor has the potential to improve, but after hitting just .201 with a .264 OBP, his bat is not where it needs to be for as an everyday catcher on a World Series contender. Austin Hedges, while a great clubhouse presence, is a career backup. David Fry, the best hitter of the Guardians’ catching group, only caught one game after June 23 and should not be considered a legitimate option.</p><p>23-year-old outfielder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-los-angeles-promotes-andy-pages-prospect">Andy Pages was one of the biggest surprises for the Dodgers</a> last season as a rookie and would instantly slot into the starting center field role for the Guardians. In 116 games, Pages slashed .248/.305/.407 and hit 13 home runs, flashing some legitimate power potential. Splitting time between all three outfield positions, Pages played the majority of his innings in center field as was a capable defender, recording a positive Outs Above Average and showing off one of the strongest arms in baseball with an overall average of 92.6 mph on his throws and a <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andy-pages-681624" rel="noopener">max speed</a> of 102.1 per Baseball Savant.</p><p>The other piece of this potential deal would be catcher/outfield prospect Dalton Rushing, the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/dalton-rushing-687221" rel="noopener">top prospect</a> in the Dodgers system and the No. 39 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Rushing can catch or play a corner outfield spot and has shown off some legitimate raw power in the minor leagues, hitting 26 home runs and slugging .512 in 2024 while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A. With Will Smith locked in at catcher for the Dodgers, Rushing should be expendable and would be a great fit on the Guardians.</p><p>Pages and Rushing would give the Guardians two potential middle-of-the-order bats at premium defensive positions. With such a deep bullpen around Clase, the Guardians would have to consider moving their superstar closer if the Dodgers came calling with this deal.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dodgers’ unrealistic trade for All-Star closer that would shake up MLB offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/reds-news-terry-francona-reunites-cincinnati-2016-guardians-star');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Terry Francona reunites in Cincinnati with 2016 Guardians star');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Reds-news-Terry-Francona-reunites-in-Cincinnati-with-2016-Guardians-star.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Terry Francona reunites in Cincinnati with 2016 Guardians star</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-23T14:02:23-08:00">November 23rd, 2:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-23T14:45:01-08:00">November 23rd, 2:45pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona is getting some of the band back together in another move following his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/reds-news-guardians-hitting-coach-follows-terry-francona-reds">hiring of Chris Valaika</a>. Mike Napoli, who played for Francona as a member of the 2016 Cleveland Guardians, will join the Reds <a href="https://x.com/bradfo/status/1860346928841785636" rel="noopener">coaching staff</a> in a position to be determined, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.</p><p>Napoli joined the Chicago Cubs as a quality assurance coach in 2019 and was later promoted to first-base coach ahead of the 2022 season. The 43-year-old played for 12 years with the Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. He won a World Series in 2013 in Boston and was a 2012 All-Star.</p><p>Francona came out of retirement to join the Reds. He stepped down as manager of the Guardians after the 2023 season, citing health concerns. He did not coach in 2024.</p><h2><b>Reds on a new path for 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Terry-Francona-handing-Mike-Napoli-his-ALCS-ring.jpg"><figcaption>© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cincinnati has an exciting core of young players around which to build. On Friday, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-news-reds-royals-swing-brady-singer-jonathan-india-trade">completed a big trade</a> by acquiring RHP Brady Singer from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for second baseman Jonathan India and OF Joey Wiemer.</p><p>The Reds will also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/reds-news-nick-martinez-make-big-decision-qualifying-offer">have Nick Martinez back</a> in 2024 after he accepted the team’s qualifying offer, a one-year contract valued at $21.05 million. The 34-year-old had his best season last year. He pitched 142.1 innings over 16 starts (42 appearances) with a 3.10 ERA and 1.026 WHIP.</p><p>Cincinnati has a trio of elite pitching prospects near the top of the minor-league system: 22-year-old RHP Chase Burns, 21-year-old RHP Chase Petty and 23-year-old RHP Rhett Lowder.</p><p>Lowder has a shot at eventually joining the Reds’ starting rotation as early as this season. Burns and Petty likely need at least one or two years before they’ll make the leap to the major leagues.</p><p>The Reds <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1860081918769090927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1860081918769090927%7Ctwgr%5E5df3139afd95cf6cc08c0f3a907176de81509fbe%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bluejaysinsider.com%2Fmlb-team%2Ftoronto-blue-jays%2Fmlb-insider-jon-heyman-announced-that-former-toronto-blue-jays-player-has-signed-with-the-cincinnati-reds" rel="noopener">recently signed</a> former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Santiago Espinal, per New York Post’s Jon Heyman. But it all boils down to what Francona can get from this young roster. He discussed <a href="https://nesn.com/2024/11/terry-francona-energetically-reveals-why-he-accepted-reds-managerial-job/" rel="noopener">what motivated him</a> to join the Reds, via Tim Crowley of NESN.</p><p>“That’s a good question (why come back to baseball with the Reds) because I had a really good year,” Francona told reporters. “I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do this coming year. I really wasn’t thinking about managing.</p><p>“Then when they called, they flew out to my house and did the interview. They were on my couch, and I was in my rocking chair. Kind of blew me away that they’d be willing to do that. I caught myself early on saying ‘we’ a few times.</p><p>“When the guys came out, it reminded me a lot of the Cleveland guys,” Francona shared. “You’re going to get challenged a boatload, even during great years. When you align yourself with people you trust and know have your back, that’s a good feeling. That’s kind of where I’m at in life. It makes it a lot better.”</p><p>Francona sounds recharged for the challenges ahead facing the Reds.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Terry Francona reunites in Cincinnati with 2016 Guardians star

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-jose-ramirez-mookie-betts-freddie-freeman-comparison');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians’ Jose Ramirez gets eye-opening Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman comparison');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-22-24-ramirez-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>Guardians’ Jose Ramirez gets eye-opening Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman comparison</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-22T08:38:38-08:00">November 22nd, 8:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-22T10:42:23-08:00">November 22nd, 10:42am</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez had another incredible season in 2024. On Thursday, it was revealed that Ramirez finished fifth in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-reaction-unanimous-mvp-2024">American League MVP voting</a>.</p><p>A <a href="https://x.com/jonmorosi/status/1859968312840781953" rel="noopener">fascinating statistic</a> about Ramirez’ MVP finishes throughout his career was shared by MLB Network insider Jon Morosi on Friday.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">José Ramírez has finished among the top 6 in league MVP voting on six occasions — the same number of times as Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.</p><p>Ramírez is 32. Betts is 32. Freeman is 35.</p><p>They will all be in Cooperstown one day.<a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLBNetwork</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CleGuardians</a></p><p>— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1859968312840781953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><br>“José Ramírez has finished among the top 6 in league MVP voting on six occasions — the same number of times as Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman,” Morosi wrote. “Ramírez is 32. Betts is 32. Freeman is 35. They will all be in Cooperstown one day.”</p></figure><p>Being in the same category as Los Angeles Dodgers superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman is quite impressive for Ramirez. But, even though Ramirez may be flying under the radar because he plays for the smaller-market Guardians, it is clear that he has consistently been one of the best players in baseball and one of the best players of this current generation.</p><p>Morosi claimed that Ramirez, along with Betts and Freeman, will one day be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Has Ramirez done enough to earn a spot in Cooperstown?</p><h2><b>Is Jose Ramirez a Hall of Famer?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-22-24-ramirez-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>During the 2024 season, Ramirez slashed .279/.335/.537, hit 39 home runs and 39 doubles, drove in 119 runs and stole a career-high 41 bases while being named an All-Star, winning the Silver Slugger at third base and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting. If the Guardians’ final regular season game was not rained out, there is a real chance that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-jose-ramirez-40-40-desire-season-winds-down">Ramirez could have joined the 40 home run, 40 stolen base club</a>.</p><p>Throughout his career, Ramirez is a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and, like Morosi pointed out, is now a six-time top-six MVP finisher.</p><p>At just 32, Ramirez still has a lot of baseball left in his career and is well on his way to becoming a Hall of Famer. Looking at some of the recent Hall of Fame third basemen like Adrian Beltre and Scott Rolen, Ramirez compares very favorably to them.</p><p>Ramirez is one of the most under-appreciated and underrated stars in baseball. But, if he continues to dominate and the Guardians, who made the ALCS this past season, continue to win, Ramirez’ stock will keep rising.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians’ Jose Ramirez gets eye-opening Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman comparison

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-triston-mckenzie-cleveland-contract-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Triston McKenzie, Guardians agree to $1.95 million contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/McKenzie-Guardians-pitching.jpeg"></figure><h1>Triston McKenzie, Guardians agree to $1.95 million contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T18:29:30-08:00">November 21st, 6:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T18:29:30-08:00">November 21st, 6:29pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians and starting pitcher Triston McKenzie <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1859732377645482442" rel="noopener">are reportedly in agreement</a> on a $1.95 million contract to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided reports.</p><p>McKenzie, 27, still has multiple years of team control on his contract before he will enter MLB free agency. Teams and players prefer to avoid arbitration if possible, however, and that is exactly what McKenzie and the Guardians accomplished with this contract.</p><p>McKenzie was previously the team’s top pitching prospect. He made his big league debut in 2020 and displayed signs of potential. McKenzie struggled across 25 outings (24 starts) in 2021, though.</p><p>He enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022, however, pitching to a strong 2.96 ERA across 31 appearances (30 starts). McKenzie also struck out a career-high 190 hitters during the ’22 season. It appeared as if McKenzie had finally found consistency at the MLB level and was living up to his high ceiling.</p><p>He was limited to only four starts in 2023, and in 2024 he pitched to a lackluster 5.11 ERA in 16 starts. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-cleveland-sends-former-star-pitcher-minors">Guardians optioned McKenzie to the minor leagues</a> as a result.</p><p>The move, although surprising, was necessary. Cleveland likely still believes in McKenzie’s potential but it was clear he needed a break from MLB action.</p><p>It is worth noting that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-triston-mckenzie-tommy-john-surgery-decision">injuries have impacted McKenzie</a> over the past couple of years. Perhaps injury concerns have played a role in his recent struggles. The Guardians are hopeful that McKenzie can bounce back in 2025 and play a big role for the starting pitching rotation.</p><h2><b>Guardians need Triston McKenzie</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Triston_McKenzie_pitching_at_Progressive_Field.webp"><figcaption>Aaron Josefczyk-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Cleveland made a deep postseason run in 2024. They were ultimately defeated by the New York Yankees in the ALCS. The Guardians could have used extra starting pitching, but McKenzie was not on the postseason roster and ace Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery early in the season.</p><p>Cleveland may look to add starting pitching help during the offseason. A McKenzie return to the big leagues will feel like an acquisition of its own, though. And if Triston McKenzie can pitch up to his full potential, the Guardians pitching rotation will receive a crucial boost.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Triston McKenzie, Guardians agree to $1.95 million contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-hire-giants-trailblazer-alyssa-nakken-to-front-office');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians hire Giants trailblazer Alyssa Nakken to front office');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cleveland-hires-Giants-trailblazer-Alyssa-Nakken-to-front-office.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians hire Giants trailblazer Alyssa Nakken to front office</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T11:01:28-08:00">November 21st, 11:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T11:01:28-08:00">November 21st, 11:01am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/giants-news-assistant-coach-alyssa-nakken-makes-mlb-history-in-win-over-padres">groundbreaking decade with the San Francisco Giants, Alyssa Nakken</a> is embarking on a new chapter in her baseball career. The 34-year-old, who made history as MLB’s first female full-time coach in 2020, is set to join the Cleveland Guardians as an <a href="https://x.com/stevenrissotto/status/1859613237991399787?s=46&amp;t=95WTD_E3Gb45ZExxvE_Gmw" rel="noopener">assistant in player development</a>, according to Steven Rissotto of 95.7 The Game.</p><p>Nakken’s tenure with the Giants was filled with milestones that solidified her reputation as a rising star in the sport. From her versatile role on the coaching staff to her historic appearances on the field, Nakken’s contributions to the Giants transcended traditional coaching boundaries.</p><p>In January 2020, when then-manager Gabe Kapler promoted her, Nakken became the first woman to hold a full-time coaching position in Major League Baseball. Over the years, her responsibilities included working with baserunning, infield, and outfield groups and contributing to spring training and pregame preparations.</p><p>“Alyssa has all the characteristics and all the skills of a person who can lead a major-league staff and lead a major-league team at some point,” Kapler told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2021. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/giants-news-buster-posey-shockingly-takes-over-farhan-zaidi">Former Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi</a> echoed this sentiment, saying Nakken had all the tools to manage a team if she chose that path.</p><h2><b>Alyssa Nakken is heading to the Guardians’ front office</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Alyssa-Nakken.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Nakken’s career reached another milestone in 2022, when she became the first woman to coach on the field during an MLB game after first base coach Antoan Richardson was ejected. She made headlines again in January 2024, when she became MLB’s first mom-coach after giving birth to her daughter, Austyn.</p><p>Nakken’s move to the Guardians reunites her with Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa, former Giants coaches under Kapler who now hold prominent roles on Stephen Vogt’s staff in Cleveland. Albernaz was recently promoted to associate manager, while Correa serves as field coordinator and director of defense, baserunning, and game strategy.</p><p>The Guardians’ forward-thinking approach and emphasis on player development align perfectly with Nakken’s skills and experiences. Her background as a standout first baseman for Sacramento State’s softball team and her extensive baseball operations experience make her an ideal fit for Cleveland’s player development team.</p><p>While Nakken’s time with the Giants has ended, her trajectory in baseball continues to ascend. She was reportedly considered for the Miami Marlins managerial vacancy this offseason, signaling her growing recognition as a candidate for leadership roles in MLB.</p><p>Nakken’s departure is part of a larger coaching turnover for the Giants this offseason, with several staff members moving on to other opportunities. Despite these changes, her contributions to the organization and the barriers she broke will remain an integral part of Giants history. As Nakken joins the Guardians, her journey as a trailblazer in baseball takes another significant step, setting the stage for even greater accomplishments in the future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians hire Giants trailblazer Alyssa Nakken to front office

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cubs-acquire-reliever-in-trade-with-guardians');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cubs acquire reliever in trade with Guardians');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cubs-news-Chicago-acquires-reliever-in-trade-with-Guardians.jpg"></figure><h1>Cubs acquire reliever in trade with Guardians</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-20T10:49:20-08:00">November 20th, 10:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-20T11:21:55-08:00">November 20th, 11:21am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Cubs</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Cubs reportedly <a href="https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1859298426296680710" rel="noopener">are acquiring</a> right-handed reliever Eli Morgan in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Cubs <a href="https://x.com/JesseRogersESPN/status/1859298844057403614" rel="noopener">are also designating</a> infielder Patrick Wisdom for assignment, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.</p><p>Eli Morgan has been in the major leagues since 2021, but he had the best season of his career in 2024 with the Guardians, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morgael01.shtml" rel="noopener">pitching to a 1.93 ERA</a> in 32 games and 42 innings, according to Baseball Reference. Morgan was a starting pitcher for the Guardians in 2021, but did not perform well, as he posted a 5.34 ERA in 18 starts. He moved to a bullpen role in 2022 and performed better over the next two seasons. His 2024 performance was far better than any prior season, and now he figures to be a big weapon <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-cubs-could-trade-nico-hoerner-for-pitcher">for the Cubs</a> out of the bullpen in 2025.</p><p>Patrick Wisdom is a veteran infielder who had his best season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cubs-news-chicago-dfa-adbert-alzolay">with the Cubs</a> in 2021 after previously spending time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. He suffered a <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wisdopa01.shtml" rel="noopener">significant decline</a> in 2024, hitting for an OPS+ of 75, which is down from his 2023 mark of 112, according to Baseball Reference. Entering his age 33 season, the Cubs decided to move on.</p><h2><b>Cubs looking to rebound in 2025</b></h2><p>The Cubs came into the 2024 season expecting to take the next step after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2023. After bringing in Craig Counsell, expectations were big. However, the Cubs disappointed and finished with an 83-79 record. It was too little, too late at the end of the season for the Cubs, as they missed out on the playoffs.</p><p>Still, Chicago brought in a big piece at the deadline in Isaac Paredes, and he is expected to be a big piece for 2025 and beyond. It will be interesting to see any other additions the team makes for 2025. Players like Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner have been mentioned as possible trade chips to improve other areas of the roster.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cubs acquire reliever in trade with Guardians

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-kids-steal-show-al-manager-of-the-year-interview');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephen Vogt’s kids steal the show amid AL Manager of the Year interview');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Guardians-news-Stephen-Vogts-kids-steal-the-show-amid-AL-Manager-of-the-Year-interview.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephen Vogt’s kids steal the show amid AL Manager of the Year interview</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-19T17:25:31-08:00">November 19th, 5:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-19T17:25:32-08:00">November 19th, 5:25pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-100-alcs-second-guessing">Guardians manager Stephen Vogt</a> was all smiles when his former skipper, Joe Maddon, announced that he had won the 2024 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-award-first-year-mlb-manager">American League Manager of the Year award</a>. Surrounded by his three kids, Vogt thanked his family, coaching staff, and players for helping make the season what it was.</p><p>Of course it’s possible no one heard a word he was saying because his children absolutely <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1859017613986472012" rel="noopener">stole the show</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"He always taught me to put my teammates ahead of myself."</p><p>AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt credits his family for the leadership skills that got him to this position.<a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CleGuardians</a> <a href="https://t.co/P6q2oOuhXp">pic.twitter.com/P6q2oOuhXp</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1859017613986472012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Vogt is a father of three, and they all joined him on screen. His daughter, Payton, stood behind him while his son Clark stood by his side and his youngest son, Bennett, clung onto him.</p><p>In that moment, Vogt thought of his own father, who helped him develop into a Major League Baseball player, and eventually a manager.</p><p>“It started early with my dad and my mom. My dad was my coach from the time I was four until I left high school, and he just always taught me to put my teammates ahead of myself,” Vogt told Ron Darling. “If you’re going to be the teammate you’re capable of, you’re gonna end up where you want to be, and I just tried to live that my entire life and my entire career.”</p><h2><b>Stephen Vogt also credits Guardians coaches and players for Manager of the Year win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Stephen-Vogt.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Vogt entered the season with precisely zero games of managerial experience and took over a Guardians team that finished under .500 last year. He turned them into an AL Central champion and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-3-offseason-moves-must-make-after-alcs-exit">American League Championship Series participant</a>.</p><p>“I don’t know how to feel right now,” Vogt said to MLB Network, thanking everyone in the organization for the club’s success. “I wouldn’t be here without those people, and most importantly the players. The players did this.”</p><p>Vogt expanded later, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/stephen-vogt-wins-2024-al-manager-of-the-year-award" rel="noopener">praising his players</a> for executing.</p><p>“I’m very proud,” Vogt said, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com. “I’m always going to give the credit to the people that have to go out and do it, and that’s the players.”</p><p>“The beauty of this role in this job is that it’s not about you, it’s about your players and it’s about their successes,” he added. “There’s really nothing I can do other than put people into positions to hopefully succeed, and to see our guys go out and have success, those were the high moments.”</p><p>With a division title and Manager of the Year award under his belt, Vogt can now re-focus on the ultimate goal: Delivering the Guardians their first World Series championship since 1948.</p><p>“Hopefully we win the last game of the year next year,” Vogt said. “That’s the goal.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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