Cleveland Guardians 2023 Opening Day roster breakdown
- The club will have a different catcher setup to open the season
- Triston McKenzie’s injury has led to shuffling with the pitching staff
The Guardians have to work out some shuffling of their pitching staff right on the doorstep of the 2023 season, as Triston McKenzie went down with a teres major muscle strain and will potentially be sidelined for two months.
The Guardians will also begin the regular season without lefty Sam Hentges in the bullpen. On the position player side, they will reach Opening Day without any major injuries, though they will begin the 2023 season with an uncommon roster construction in an effort to take it easy with free agent addition Mike Zunino, who’s coming off surgery related to thoracic outlet syndrome.
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Guardians manager Terry Francona acknowledged that this setup likely won’t last too long, but it’s how the team will take the field on Opening Day.
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As the 2023 season gets underway, here’s a look at the Guardians’ Opening day roster.
Catchers: Mike Zunino, Cam Gallagher, Meibrys Viloria
Mike Zunino was signed to a one-year, $6 million deal to be the team’s primary catcher. Bo Naylor, coming off a 20-homer, 20-steal season in the minors in 2022, will factor into this picture at some point in 2023 in a major way.
Early on, the Guardians plan to break camp with both Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria, barring any last-minute roster moves. Zunino gives the Guardians a desired level of defensive ability while also the potential pop for a player who has a 30-homer season under his belt. But the team also wants to be cautious with his shoulder, and they’d like to be have the flexibility to pinch hit whenever he isn’t in the lineup. Hence, for the time being, both Gallagher and Viloria will be on the MLB roster.
Infielders: Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Josh Bell, Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias
A year ago, the club signed Jose Ramirez to the largest contract extension in club history ($141 million). This week, the Guardians reportedly inked Andres Gimenez to the second largest extension they’ve ever handed out, a seven-year, $106.5 million deal that includes a club option for 2031. That’s two key pieces to the infield who won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Amed Rosario is in the last year of his deal but is another extension candidate. If he isn’t signed beyond 2023, Gimenez could slide over to act as the team’s shortstop in 2024, and a spot in the infield will open up for one of the many middle infield prospects already in the system or a free agent.
Josh Bell was brought in as the club’s marquee free agent addition this winter as a switch hitter who should slide into the cleanup spot behind Ramirez. Josh Naylor is another year removed from extensive ankle surgery and will see time at both first base and in the outfield.