Exactly how did the Guardians end up with 3 veteran pitchers? – Terry Pluto’s Scribbles

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Scribbles in my Guardians notebook.

1. When players hit the waiver wire, the Guardians claimed three of the six who eventually ended up with other teams. Thanks to the Angels wanting to dump payroll by putting five players on waivers, this became fun for several teams.

2. When a team places a player on waivers, it basically means, “I don’t want him, you can have him – he’s no good to me.” The team claiming the player has to pay the player’s salary for the rest of the year. That’s it. No cash or players are given to the team losing a player on waivers. The waivers are irrevocable, meaning a team putting a player on waivers automatically loses the player if he’s claimed.

3. Teams pick much like the NFL draft. The worse your record, the better your pick. For example, the Guardians had a worse record than the Reds and Twins. So they had the first chances to pick any of the players on the waiver wire.

4. Cleveland shocked the waiver world by claiming THREE Angels pitchers: Lucas Giolito ($1.8 million left on contract), Matt Moore ($1.3 million) and Reynaldo Lopez ($627,000).

5. The assumption was Cleveland was in rebuilding mode, not interested in adding veterans. Losing teams rarely take part in these short-term waiver transactions.

6. The Reds wanted them too, because they reportedly put in a bid on all three pitchers. But Cleveland had the first chance to grab them. The Guardians also were convinced Central Division rival Minnesota would take at least one of the available Angel pitchers.

7. It was hard for anyone in baseball to remember a waiver period like this. Consider that on July 27, 2023, the Angels traded Edgar Quero and Ky Bush – two of their top prospects – to the White Sox for Giolito and Lopez. A month later, the Angels dumped them because they had been losing. Lopez and Giolito are free agents after the season.

8. I heard from fans who said, “Why didn’t the Guardians do something like this at the Aug. 1 trading deadline?” That’s because the Angels were acquiring talent, not giving it away. Cleveland was not about to trade its top prospects (as the Angels did) for Lopez and Giolito with those pitchers headed to free agency.

9. The Guardians were willing to pay $3.7 million to rent the three pitchers for September partly because they didn’t have to give up any players in return. “A unique opportunity,” is what team president Chris Antonetti called it.

10. They were five games behind the Twins in the Central Division at the time of the waiver claims. As Antonetti also said: “Whether or not that (the moves) will be good enough … and whether or not we can close the gap that’s in front of us … we don’t know. But we want to try.”

11. Giolito is 7-11 with 4.45 ERA this season. He’s an established starter. Lopez is 2-7 with a 3.93 ERA and a 98 mph fastball out of the bullpen. Moore is 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in relief. These guys aren’t stars, but should help the Guardians.

12. After the pitchers were gone, the Reds picked up outfielders Harrison Bader and Hunter Renfroe. Bader is a light-hitting Myles Straw-like center fielder, so he didn’t fit with Cleveland. Renfroe has some life in his bat (.242, 19 HR, 56 RBI, .737 OPS). Cleveland decided to go with the pitchers rather than add Renfroe’s $2.1 million salary.

13. An old friend went unclaimed on the waiver wire. That’s Carlos Carrasco. Now 36, Carrasco was 3-8 with a 6.80 ERA with the Mets. He had elbow problems this year. No one claimed him or the $2.3 million remaining on his contract. Since being traded by Cleveland to the Mets in the Francisco Lindor deal, Carrasco has a 19-20 record and 5.21 ERA in the last three seasons.

14. Another former Cleveland player available was Mike Clevinger. He was 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA for the White Sox. But Clevinger has been on the injured list twice this season. A team claiming him had to add $5.4 million to its payroll, because Clevinger has $1.4 million left on his 2023 contract and is guaranteed $4 million (of a $12 million deal) in 2024. His injury history scared teams and no one claimed him.

15. This from manager Terry Francona: “They told me we might be adding somebody, so I went to sleep Wednesday thinking something might happen. But never in a million years did I think it would be three guys.”

HEAR ME TALK: I will be at the Marvin Library in Shelby, Ohio on September 25 at 6 P.M. It’s free!

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