Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network. Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance. Hi every one, Welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosen House along with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland, where we finally are into our hot stove editions of
Guardians Weekly. With the postseason officially complete, the Texas Rangers, congratulations to them on winning their first World Series in franchise history, a five game World Series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. As they dropped the second game of the series, but that was it and they ended up winning all of their road games in the postseason. So an unusual postseason, but certainly a remarkable one
from that standpoint for the Texas Rangers. Sixty three years that franchise has been in existence if you take it back to their early years in Washington, d C. Before they moved to Arlington, and they win the World Series for the first time here in twenty twenty three. Coming up on our show this week, we will visit with Tom Candiatti, who joined us on the radio
broadcast late in the season for a West Coast road trip. His main job is a radio broadcaster for the Arizona Diamondbacks, so we'll check in with him about the World Series this year and kind of put a cap on play on the field for our show this year as we head into our offseason shows.
Also later on in the program, another look back at some of the great games of twenty twenty three, and we'll focus on rookie pitchers and didn't the three rookie pitchers in the rotation for much of the season for the Guardians saved the season really in terms of keeping them relevant until the end of the year, as Tanner, Biby, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams were all terrific
in their rookie seasons. And we'll have a couple of game highlights from those pitchers and take a look back at their seasons and what they meant to this ball club. So that's coming up in just a little bit. But for some news and notes, it is awards season. The Gold Glove Awards will
be announced on Sunday night if you're tuned into this on Saturday. But along those lines, the Fielding Bible Awards have been announced and two Cleveland Guardians kind of as expected, won Fielding Bible Awards for fielding excellence at their respective positions. Left fielder Stephen Kwan just tremendous for a second straight season in left field. It's his second Fielding Bible Award, one year after taking home the award
via a unanimous vote in twenty twenty two. He led all left fielders with sixteen defensive runs saved, and they have this nice stat called good fielding plays, and he made twenty four of those. I'm not exactly sure what the criteria is, but if you're a fan of the Guardians and you enjoy watching Stephen Kwan, you probably know what they're talking about, as he made a lot of really outstanding plays out there in left field. So congratulations to Stephen
Kwan for that. Also winning a Fielding Bible Award. Andre Simenez at second base, the fourth second basement to win that award in the last four seasons. Somehow, he won a Gold Glove last year but did not win the Fielding Bible Award. That was corrected this year, as he led all second basemen with twenty three defensive runs saved and had at least ten plays saved above average on balls hit to both his left and the right, and he was
a really good example. I thought of the rule changes outling the shifts and bringing back some of the athleticism to infield play, especially at short and really more so at second base, and certainly for Andre Simenez, a great season in the field, as again he is one of the best second basemen in all of baseball, and that's proven out with a Fielding Bible Award this season.
Also part of award season, the Ford Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in Baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Ten finalists including Tom Hamilton, our good friend and of course the voice of the Guardians and prior to that Indians for a long long
time, and Hammy's on the ballot again second straight season. And the other finalists include Joe Buck, longtime voice of the World Series on a national television Jokes, Stigleone who got his start here in Cleveland and has gone on to a fine career as the voice of the Boston Red Sox, television voice of the New York Mets, Gary Cohen, Jacques Ducett, former voice of the Montreal Expos. Ernie Johnson, who called Atlanta Braves games for many many seasons.
Ken Korak, longtime voice of the Oakland Athletics. Mike Kruco part of that San Francisco Giants broadcast team along with Dwayne Kuiper. They're both on the ballot. And Dan Shulman, who's the television voice for the Toronto Blue Jays and has done numerous events for ESPN, including postseason baseball. He is on the ballot as well, and the award winner will be announced at Baseball's Winter
meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, on December six. Good luck, Hammy, he's on the ballot again, and we'll see if this year is the year that all of us here in Cleveland have known he's he's one of the best in the business. And we'll see if Cooperstown feels the same way as well this time around. As he's on the ballot again, we'll stay with us.
We'll visit with another broadcaster. Tom Candyatti, the knuckleballer, former Cleveland Indian pitcher and then now part of the radio broadcast team for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will put a rap on the World Series with the candy Man when we come back after this on the Cleveland Clinic. Guardians Radio Network. Baseball, basketball, pickleball. Those are sports and people love sports. If you love sports, you should know this. Drivers who switch and say with Progressive could
save hundreds deceiving of anything to do with sports. No, the people love sports. So I'm yelling sports out, hockey, swimming, golf, sports of the word balling there, so save big when you switch to Progressive. Those sports teams, Progressive Casualty insurance company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Two balls, two strikes. Sports kicks him fires, he struck him out. Looking it's over, It's over. The Rangers have won the World
Series. Ranger fans, you're not dreaming. The Rangers are the World Series champions. After fifty two years in Texas, sixty three years of the franchise. The weight is over and the celebration has begun. Welcome back to Guardians Weekly and it is officially now Hot Stove season, as the World Series is complete, Texas winning it in five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks and with a recap of the series. Good friend of ours certainly and broadcast partner of ourzon
late season road swings. Tom Candiotti, the Candy Man, who full time is with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was part of their run through the postseason and all the way through the World Series. And Candy, I know, it's never easy when you come up on the short side, regardless of how deep your team goes. But what a run for the Diamondbacks and how enjoyable and exciting was it for you to be a part of that and really enjoy it
with the fans. Oh, Rosie, it was crazy. You know, we talked during the regular season, and you know about our teams and about the Guardians and about the d Backs, and you know, we at that time, I was saying, you know, I you know, they're an up and coming team. You know, I mean, they got some young kids that play, they run, they you know, they play all nine innings. You know, they go after it. And I didn't think that they would even get into the postseason. I thought they would come up just
a little bit short. And once they got in, and you know, then you have to go to Milwaukee and you have to pay some corporate burns and and you know, their pitchers, and you didn't really didn't think that was gonna work out, and you end up beating the Brewers like two straight boom, And then we go, all right, we go to the Dodgers, and Dodgers, hey, they won one hundred games, and and uh, you know, they killed everybody in our division and didn't think you'd beat
them, and you beat them three two at their place, and then you know, the Phillies. I thought there's no way we were gonna beat the Phillies, and especially going into Philadelphia needing to win two games at the very end and doing it, and so at that point, and I actually thought that, you know, I think we got a chance to beat the Rangers right now, you know, I did, you know how you do the numbers and everything, and then of course that's when the Rangers beat you.
And you look at underdog status and it's always a fickle thing and and you figure maybe one series that comes into play and works. But boy, you just mentioned the opponents that the Diamondbacks faced, and my goodness, you talk about underdogs the whole way through. But I don't know that they had to play perfect baseball, but it seemed like they almost did to get as far as they did. Yeah, It was really crazy when you look at the
you know, how this team is kind of made up. You know, you basically just had two starters, and you had one young kid and Brandon Fott, who was I think he was three and nine during the course of the regular season, and you know, but all of a sudden, like he graduated from just being ordinary and all of a sudden, you start pitching
great, and you start pitching like he deserved to be there. And that was a big boost for us. But you know, I've never seen ever in my life, I don't think where I've seen a team start an opener in the World Series, you know, in Game four, you know, at the minimum, and and we did, and we paid for you know, as the Rangers just slackt us with like ten runs in the first three
hitings. But you know, it was really great experience for a lot of these young players because they you know, this is their first taste of this stuff. And you know, there are a bunch of twenty three year olds that probably didn't know any better when it came to pressure. And you know, they they played loose really the whole time, and it just came up
short at the very end. Tom Candiotti joining us former Cleveland Indian the Knuckleballer who is a occasional play by play and color commentator on our radio broadcasts, and working for the Arizona Diamondbacks throughout the postseason. And you mentioned that the looseness they played with. What did one of the few links that that Cleveland has with with Arizona, as Tory Lavello, who managed for a while in Cleveland's minor league system, played in their minor league system for a little bit.
How did he come into play in terms of keeping that team loose and enjoying the moment and not overcome by the moment. Yeah, I mean,
Toy is such a I mean he's such a players manager. You know, he's got a lot of the characteristics that Tito had, you know, with you know, he just his players love him and they play for him, and uh, you know he's uh, you know, he treats like almost each one of those those players almost like he's like, you know, like they're his kids and uh and so he's got a great rapport with them all. And and I think when you have to do that with a lot of
young kids, you know, they they just they buy into everything. And you know, Tori gets emotional with them, whether they win, whether they lose. You know, he's he's yelling like crazy, you know, opening the champagne bottles when they win, and he's sitting there, you know, you know, crying when he lose when they lose. You know, so he kind of really related a lot with those uh, with those young guys and UH and they played for there's no doubt about that. The city.
They've won a World Series in the past for a young still, I think you could consider an expansion team. They have a World Series under their belt. What was the city like with the World Series back in town this week? Well, it was crazy. I'd never seen anything like this. I was I wasn't yet part of the Diamondback organization when they won in two thousand and one. I was working for ESPN at that time, and so I was kind of an outsider looking in and but being in the city, you
know, it was just nuts back then. And of course that was an emotional World Series with nine to eleven and all that other kind of stuff, So that was that was one thing, and then this year being part of it, it was amazing, how like this place just was so different. He's kind of a fair weather fan base, kind of made up of a lot of people that have come from other places. And but this year,
like all three home games were just sold out. The home game we had against the Dodgers just sold out, but not just being sold out, but they were raucous. I mean, they were really into it and really unfortunate that you know, they didn't win any of those three World Series games at home, because you know, that would have you know, that would have just been just absolutely nuts. But they were there for the team. And so we'll we'll see how that goes going forward. But you know, I
think it'll be great because it is a young nucleus. And I think that now that they've got a taste of not just the postseason but all the way to the World Series, you know, I think they get you know, really energized, you know a lot like you know the Indians or the Yeah it was the Indians at that time, you know, back in ninety seven, and and you know how they got so close to winning the World Series and and you know all they still think the Marlins were the lugest team in
the world. But but look how you know, it just really you know, fired up that city and everything. Tom Candiani's joining us, former Cleveland Indians pitcher and now Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster, are just finishing up broadcasting the World Series. Kenny, I got to ask you, coming back from Texas first two games, heartbreaker in game one for Arizona and then a resounding victory in game two, did you think it was going to go the other way on
the way home? Oh? Yeah, for sure. You know, we've felt that we should have been two and oh leaving Texas, you know, unfortunately, you know, your club gives up a you know, a home run and stuff that he got hurt. And then on top of that, with the momentum after winning game two, you came back in game three. You know, arguably they're probably their second best player, and Adolas Garcia got
hurt and he's out. Surezer got hurt and he's out. And you're saying, wow, boy, the baseball gods are in our They're they're looking down on us right now. And but you know, that team banded together and they played outstanding baseball, and they out pitched us, and they out hit us, and they outfielded us. I mean, they really played great and and and so and they took it to us. I mean, they deserved
every bit of that World Series victory because they really outplayed the Debacks. So the important and insider information that maybe only you can provide based on how late you stayed on Wednesday night, did Texas ever get into the pool out there
and right center field and celebrate. No? I never saw them, and I was there, you know, after the game, and then of course we were doing our I don't know, probably a half hour so wrap up show and maybe even longer than that, and you know, there's so much stuff that goes on or they got you know, they got they got stages out there, there's presentations, there's all that. So at least by the time I left, nobody was in the pool afterwards. I don't know.
Maybe so I have no idea. I haven't seen anything on social media yet, but I haven't looked either. I think I slept till eleven o'clock today, and you will continue sleeping just based on how it felt here after twenty sixteen, when that series won seven games, woo. It catches up with you after a while, and then you certainly use November to catch up on
some things and not the least of which is sleep Candy. Always great to catch up with you, and it was great to see you this year, and I'm glad to be able to hear you during the World Series and playoff games prior to that. Yeah, we'll do it again next year. That was way too much fun not to make that happen again. We'll see in spring training, my friend. All right, Rosie. Thanks, that's Tom Candiotti, radio voice for the Arizona Diamondbacks and sometimes joining us on our broadcast
here with the Cleveland Guardian. Stay tuned more to come as Guardians Weekly continues after this time out on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Welcome back to
Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosen House along with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland, and as always in our off season shows, we take a look back at some of the great games of the prior season, and in twenty twenty three, many great games involving three rookie pitchers, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, and Tanner Biby, all making their major league debuts and then being a major part of the starting rotation due to injuries and as a result, they
had the opportunity and took advantage of it to put together outstanding campaigns. Williams finished three and five with an earned run average of three point twenty nine, just twenty four years of age and a bright future ahead for the former number one draft pick of the Guardians. Also outstanding season four Tanner Biby, who finished ten and four with an earned run average of two point nine eight and will receive consideration, heavy consideration, you would think for American League Rookie of
the Year honors. Also Logan Allen just tremendous seven and eight in his first season, an earned run average of three point eight one. And we'll take a look back at two games here, one involving Allen, one involving Biby,
and for Logan Allen. Start number seven on the season came on a Monday afternoon, made the twenty ninth the Guardians in Baltimore to take on the Orioles on Memorial Day Cleveland, coming in at twenty three and twenty nine, the Orioles, on their way to a one hundred wins season, were thirty four and nineteen. At that point, Allen was two to one to start his major league career. In started the day with a leadoff walk to the
speedy Cedric Mullins in the bottom half of the first inning. So an inauspicious beginning, but he immediately got to pick me up from his catcher, Cam Gallagher. Mullins aboard. Here's Austin Hayes runner ghost pitch taking throw a second got him tag made by Jimenez. Great throw by Cam Gallagher. Two four on the cot stealing and Gallagher throwing out sixteen percent of the runners. Made an absolutely perfect throw to Jimenez and the head first, sliding Mullins was tagged
out. Well, you can't believe, folks, how big a deal that is, because stolen bases have been killing Cleveland this year. And after that, Allen was locked in. Right now, folks, logan Allen is in rhythm, and when he gets in rhythm, he'll fly through this game. The two swinging a miss he chased away and right now, look, Alan can't get the ball back fast enough. He has struck out four out of the last five Orioles. Allen with the one two swag and I miss strike
three. Allan strikes out his seventh and it came at a great time. But Baltimore's Tyler Wells he was sharp as well, shutting down the Guardians through the first four innings, but in the fifth, Will Brennan got things started with a double, moved up to third on a bock, and then Gallagher drove in the game's first run. Here's the pitch and it's swung on and driven to center. This is plenty deep enough under at his mullins, he
makes the catch, tagging heading for home is Brennan. He will score standing up and the Guardians are on the board. Won nothing. Meanwhile, Allan continued to make quick work of the powerhouse Baltimore lineup. Now the one two swing and I miss strike three. Allan continues to roll. He sets him down in order in the fifth, and we'll head to the sixth. Cleveland won all the more nothing so two down runner at first, Arias grounding it
to short on one knee. Rosario fields it and flings it over to second for the ending ending force and Logan Allen continues to minimize the number of pitches that he has had to make here again today and it is a one nothing Cleveland lead. And in the seventh the Guardians we're looking to add to their lead. Back to back one out singles by Miles Straw and Will Brennan, and Gallagher's busy night continued. Gallagher grub all base hit through the hole in
the right field, hitting third of Straw coming home. Here's mckenni's throat of the plate head first slide say for the plate and the Guardians take it to nothing lead back to back to back base hits, and Gallagher has both rbies with that RBI single to right, Straw scoring from second. Brennan stops at second and Cleveland now with a two nothing lead. Then it was back to
the top of the order for Stephen Kuan. Now the one swung on a chopper up the middle in the center field of a hit that'll score Brennan from second on his way to third. Gallagher in the second with a hustle double iss Kwan. Mullins, the center fielder on that chopper back up the middle in the center, slipped and fell as he was getting to that ball, and Kwan turned that into a hustle RBI double, three nothing Cleveland. They do it on four straight hits, and then Cleveland continued to pile it on.
With Ahmed Rosario at the plate, the pitch swung on grounded the second backhanded by Fraser comes home with the throw and it gets away from McCann into scores Gallagher. Here comes Kuan, he'll score before McCann goes back to get the ball that squirted behind him. And in the second is Rosario and the Guardians are making everything count. It's a four run inning and a five nothing lead, and for Allen it was back to the mound for one more shutdown
inning. What Alan does such a great job is moving the ball in and out, up and down, and he only throws ninety two miles an hour, but the hitter never knows where he is throwing it. That pitch strength three call he had just worked. The last pitch in this pitch was middle away McCann's out looking. That's a new career high nine strikeouts for Logan Allen, and this incredible development team that Cleveland has in regards to developing major league
pitching has got to feel awfully good again. Now the lefties won two swing and a miss got him with a fastball. Ten strikeouts for Logan Allen, and that'll wrap up his day. His best in the BIGS. Seven shutout innings of three hit baseball and ten strikeouts Guardians five, Orioles nothing. Trevor Stephen came on to finish the job. In the ninth, Birds down to their last strike down five. In the ninth the two delivery swung down,
grounded the first handle by Nailor. He'll go to the bag himself. Ballgame and the Guardians get another shutout and blank the Orioles five to nothing here on Memorial Day as Cleveland pitches its fifth shutout of the year. So what a great day for Allen won a many in a tremendous rookie season. We fast forward to September and we had a chance to visit with Allen at the end of his season as he reflected on his first campaign in the major leagues.
Hell, Loogan, nut for you here it is September and you're sir seeing some innings limits. But it seems like your stuff is still holding up well. And do you feel that way? Yeah? Absolutely, I think I
feel like I'm in a good place physically. My stuff feels good and got ready to take the ball every fifth day, So I feel a good Anything surprise you as you get deeper into your first major league season, Uh No, I think it's just getting getting more comfortable getting to all these new stadiums, feeling more comfortable around all these guys, and just you know, feeling just like I fit in a lot more than cut probably in the my you
know, earlier times of here. Logan Allen joining us guardian starting pitcher, one of the three rookies who has really made an impact. And how much do you and Tanner Byby and Gavin Williams share information on what you're going through and how you're trying to get there. Yeah, I think we all kind of look to each other. We're on a very similar boat where we're kind of all just trying to take it in stride and you know, roll the
punches when we do kind of have struggles up here. But I think that we uh, you know, got a good kind of core group that we can kind of stay together for a good little bit and you know, work off each other, build off each other and hopefully be be good for a long time. And your fortune and that you reach the major leagues pretty quickly.
And when you talk about innings and you mentioned how you're still feeling good, you hear development people say, you know that major league innings are different. Have you noticed that? And if So what is the difference in a major league inning as they compile as opposed to minor league games. I would
just say, you don't have as many innings that are stress free. I think at any any point, any any bat or any lineup can kind of put together those good at bats where it can take a ten pitch inning and turn to a thirty pitch inning and just kind of that high stress every single every single inning. I think that that's the biggest difference between the big leagues
and being in the minor leagues. I think that you have you experienced some of that in the minor leagues, but up here, I think it's just a lot more frequent, and you know, a five inning day can be a lot more tolling than a five inning star in the minor leagues, for
sure. So did stuff there from Logan Allen and as we mentioned, tim Or Bibby also terrific during his rookie season, And we focus in on a game at Wrigley Field on a Saturday Lie the first the Guardians and Cubs in a night game at Wrigley Cleveland coming in three games under five hundred, the Cubs about the same at thirty eight and forty two and the matchup was Tanner
Bibby against Marcus Stroman, a nine game winner. The game was scoreless in the third inning when the Guardians got things going with a clutch two out hit from Ahmed Rosario. Stroman's ready. Here it comes, swung on, light drive, base hit to center. That'll score two. Naylor scores, Pawn Scores hits two nothing Cleveland on a two out rip job to center by a
Medrosario. Meanwhile on the mound, Tanner Biby had everything working. Now the cent now the pitch swingon and a mess got them with a fastball, and so Tanner Biby with five strikeouts and three shutout innings. Here's the pitch called strike three on the outside corner. Perfect pitch on a slider from Tanner Biby. Their strikeout number seven. Onto the sixth Guardians looking to pad that lead.
They had two men aboard looking for another two out hit, and this time it came from Andre Semenez. Here's the pitch, swung on line shot to right field against down for a base hit. Charging his morale. Here's the throat of the plate and in sliding safely as Ramirez in the third is Nailer and it is a three nothing Cleveland lead. Andre Simenez comes through with a two out bullet to right to knock get his twenty ninth run, and
the Guardians have scored all three times tonight. After there were two men out, and they kept it going with Will Brennan at the plate, Merriweather, he's ready. Here it comes. Runner goes pitch, rip off the bag at first, down the right field line, base hit that'll score Nailer, and stomping at third is Jimenez and Will Brennan will a bbe literally off the bag at first and carrim down the right field line for an RBI single,
and Cleveland now leads it by a score of ford to nothing. You could stand at home plate and throw the ball up in the air to yourself all day and hit balls toward first and never hit the bag. And then Miles Straw kept the two out hit parade going and the pitch swung out a shot back up the middle, face it in the center. Himenez will score, ball is over run by Bellinger, that'll allow Brennan to score. All the way from first and into third is Miles Straw, and the Guardians now blow
it open, leading six to nothing. That'll be an RBI single, a two base Arabi Cody Bellinger and Cleveland has blown it all open with four runs after two men were out here in the sixth. Thenning back on the mound, Tanner Bibby continue to rack up the strikeouts. Now the payoff pits swinging. The miss went right back to the heater. Nine strikeouts for Tanner Bibby. That is out number two And for Tanner Bibby, nine strikeouts equals a
major league high, and it looks like Tanner's night is done. Tito out of the first base dugout, makes saint call to the bullpen. He's got words of encouragement for Tanner Biby talking to him, slaps him on the back, and he'll get a rousing hand from a bunch of Cleveland fans here at Wrigley as he heads to the first base dugout leading six to nothing here in the sixth, and once Bibby was finished, it was more of the same from the bullpen. The combination of Sam Henches, Nick Sandlin, and Eli
Morgan completed the shutout. Morgan again sets fires and Mancini swing in a mess Bowl game, and the Guardians have shut out the Chicago Cubs tonight, limiting the Cubs to five hits, and Cleveland posts as six nothing win over the Cubs. Just like Logan Allen. That was one of many dominant starts by
fellow rookie Tanner Bibby. Shortly after that outing, right around the halfway mark of the season and the All Star break, we had a chance to chat with Tanner and he talked about his confidence and how it had grown in every
start in his first major league season. Yeah, I think the difference from me between my debut and now think of a lot more even keel throughout the entire time, whether stuff gets thrown at me or something goes wrong, I think I'm way more capable of sticking to it and kind of sticking to my stuff and being able to more euse even when bout stuff goes on. I know when you first came up, we talked about how Logan Allen had come
up at the same time. Similar situation. Now, Gavin Williams is here so young, pitching in a rotation where unfortunately there's been some intries, And does that impact you in any way or do you look at things differently when you see things like that happening around you. I mean, I think yes, and no, I mean I think definitely, me, Galvin Logan definitely have to like somewhat step up and kind of take the places of some really
good starting pitchers. I've been here for a long time and I've really succeeded, So I think it's really I think it's really good for us. I think in the long run for us kind of almost it feels like we have to be like the veteran guys, like they're kind of leaning on us to
kind of get us through some games. So it's been good. You ever imagine you'd be in this type of spot when back in spring training in Arizona, No, No, I thought I was going to Akron on a spring training So that's Tanner Biby along with Logan Allen two of their best games, and they were joined by Gavin Williams for three rookies having outstanding major league seasons and a starting rotation, and they were counted on big time and they did
not disappoint. And the future looking very bright for that starting rotation with those three rookies plus Shane Bieber and Tristan McKenzie coming back from injury, and it looked like cal Quantrill had hit on some good things too at the tail end of the season. So a little bit of depth there in that starting rotation for Cleveland heading into twenty twenty four. Well, stay with us. We'll have some final thoughts when we return after this time out on the Cleveland Clinic.
Guardians Radio Network Score, pass out of bells. Those are sports words. Some people hear any sportsword and they can't help but listen. Like drive drive is another sports word, and drivers who switch and say with Progressive could save hundreds, You won't say those savings are on par with the best in the league. You see, parr is also a sports word. So I know you're still listening, and that's called covering our b Okay, I'm done
now, but I'm serious about driver saving big with Progressive. Now, I'm really done. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company in affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, Jim Rosenhause, back with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Has a lot on the table for Cleveland now in the off season. We are getting closer to hearing who they will name as manager. Of this ball club, and that is the first order of business for
the front office to get that squared away. Maybe it comes next week, maybe it's down the line. We'll see. They're being very thorough with that interview process and bringing in different candidates to try and make sure they make that good selection for the next manager of this franchise. On the roster, front interesting ad to the forty man roster on Friday as Cole Calhoun, Lucas Giolito, and Raynaldo Lopez all declaring free agents, so that's opened up some spots
on the forty man roster and added to the roster Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez in intriguing prospect kind of flew under the radar a little bit in twenty twenty three, which is remarkable to say, because he led the minor league system in home runs with twenty nine runs driven in with eighty eight OPS at eight ninety seven. That's on base plus slugging percentage. You get an OPS over eight
hundred and you are in business. He did it all at the Double A level to start the season and then the final forty seven games with Triple A Columbus, and he's now playing in Puerto Rico this offseason, Cleveland looking for power in their lineup. Maybe Jonathan Rodriguez down the road is someone who can add a lot of power to that lineup. He's a former third round pick
back in twenty seventeen out of Puerto Rico. So that's the roster news for this week, and again we'll keep an eye on the manager situation and maybe we'll be able to fill you in on something on next week's show. But stay with us throughout the off season as we bring it to you each and every week here on the Guardians Radio Network until next week. Thanks, as always going out to Brian Matze for all of his help on our show.
Until then, this is Jim Rosenhouse reminding you that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance