Guardians make key decisions on two pitchers ahead of Opening Day

The Guardians have informed right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Tyler Beede that they’ve made the team’s Opening Day roster, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. Both were in camp on minor-league deals. Cleveland also informed catcher David Fry and infielders Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman that they’ll open the season on the big league roster. Carrasco had an opt-out clause in his contract Friday but that won’t end up coming into play.

Both Carrasco and Beede will need to be formally selected to the 40-man roster before Opening Day. The Guards will need to make a pair of corresponding moves to clear space. One can be opened by placing Trevor Stephan, who’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day IL, but they’ll need a second spot. The other spot could depend on the status of outfielder Myles Straw, who has been placed on waivers.

The Guards came into camp with a rotation consisting of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and last year’s rookies Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams. But it was reported last week that Williams will open the season on the injured list due to some right elbow discomfort, which opened a spot at the back end.

That spot will go to Carrasco, who Cleveland fans will be plenty familiar with. He pitched for the club from 2009 through 2020, before going to the Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor deal. He tossed 1,242 1/3 innings during his previous stint in Cleveland with a 3.77 earned run average.

His time in Queens has been a bit rockier. He has a 4.78 ERA over the past three years, including a mark of 6.80 last year. He had stints on the IL last year due to right elbow inflammation and a right pinky finger fracture, limiting him to 90 innings with uninspiring results. His previous Cleveland tenure resulted in a 25.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate but those numbers were at 15.8% and 9.1% with the Mets last year.

It’s a bit of a belated birthday present for Carrasco, who turned 37 Thursday. He and the Guardians will be hoping that a return to Cleveland can get him back to his old form.

Beede, 31 in May, was once a highly-touted youngster. He was selected 14th overall by the Giants back in 2014 and was considered to be a top-100 prospect as he climbed the minor-league ladder. Unfortunately, he struggled in his first tastes of the majors and then required Tommy John surgery in 2020, wiping out that year and much of the next. He had a 5.14 ERA in 2022 and headed to Japan last year.

The move overseas seems to have got him back on track. He posted a 3.99 ERA for the Yomiuri Giants in 49 2/3 relief innings. That got him a minor-league deal with the Guardians and he’s looked well in spring so far, with 10 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.69 ERA. That will get him back onto a big league roster via the Cleveland bullpen, though he is now out of options and will need to stick in the Majors or else be made available to other clubs, either via waivers or a trade.

As for the middle infielders, Mandy Bell of MLB.com tweets that Rocchio is expected to receive the bulk of shortstop reps with Arias in a utility role. The Guardians have a huge number of shortstop options, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at last month. It’s likely a fluid situation that will evolve over time but Rocchio will get a crack at taking the job for now.

He made his Major League debut last year and hit just .247/.279/.321, though in a small sample of 86 plate appearances. His Triple-A batting line was a much nicer .280/.367/.421 last year and he’ll hope to bring some of that production up to the big leagues this season.