Guardians’ David Fry becomes first true position player to pitch 4 innings since 1988 in blowout loss to Twins

Things did not go well for the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night, but David Fry still made history at Progressive Field.

The catcher and utility man threw four innings in the Guardians’ blowout 20-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Monday, which made him the first true position player to pitch four innings in a game since 1988. Jose Oquendo was the last position player to pitch more than three innings that season for the St. Louis Cardinals, though he took the mound in a marathon 19-inning game, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Fry allowed seven runs and 10 hits during his stint on the mound. All 64 of his pitches were slower than 60 miles per hour, which set another Major League Baseball record. No pitcher in the pitch tracking era had ever thrown more than 30 such pitches in a single game.

Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Matt Moore claimed by Guardians

The Guardians added a host of solid pitchers on Thursday, claiming right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López from the Angels, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. They also claimed southpaw Matt Moore from the Halos, reported Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. None of the teams have confirmed.

Cleveland Guardians claim Ramon Laureano, 29, off waivers

The Cleveland Guardians claimed outfielder Ramon Laureano off waivers from the Oakland Athletics on Monday.

Laureano, 29, was designated for assignment by the A’s on Saturday.

He was batting .213 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 64 games this season, his sixth with Oakland. Laureano is a career .246 hitter with 68 home runs and 205 RBIs in 471 games.

Aaron Civale traded to Rays for Kyle Manzardo

The Rays made an aggressive move Monday afternoon to add another talented arm to their rotation, acquiring right-hander Aaron Civale from the Guardians for highly touted first-base prospect Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo, 23, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 37 prospect in the game.

Dodgers Acquire Shortstop Amed Rosario From Guardians for Noah Syndergaard

Even after trading for Kiké Hernández on Tuesday, the Dodgers said they weren’t necessarily done trying to add a bat.

As it turns out, they waited barely 24 hours to go get another.

The Dodgers on Wednesday acquired Cleveland Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario in exchange for struggling pitcher Noah Syndergaard and cash considerations.

Two guys not playing as well as they used to, so an old-school change-of-scenery trade.

Guardians Option Zach Plesac

The Guardians announced Thursday that they’ve optioned struggling right-hander Zach Plesac to Triple-A Columbus. It’s the first time he’s been optioned to the minors since the 2020 season.

Plesac’s 2023 campaign has been a disaster thus far. While he’s walking fewer hitters than ever (4.8%), he’s also sporting a career-low 13.3% strikeout rate. Opponents have posted a staggering .374/.404/.576 batting line against Plesac, and while a .410 average on balls in play surely points to at least some small-sample randomness that might even out over the course of a season, his struggles can’t be solely pinned on bad luck. Plesac has yielded a 91.7 mph average exit velocity, and 43% of the balls put in play against him have been hit at 95 mph or greater. His fastball has averaged a career-low 91.4 mph, and this season’s 9.6% swinging-strike rate is his lowest since debuting back in 2019.

Now 28 years old, Plesac had a strong debut effort in 2019-20, tossing 171 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with a 21.3% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. That performance helped him earn a place in the team’s long-term rotation, but it’s been a steady downhill trajectory since. That early success was in no small part due to a tiny .246 average on balls in play and lofty 81.5% strand rate. Those numbers regressed toward the league averages in 2021-22 and did so in conjunction with velocity and strikeout rate both taking a step back. The result was 274 1/3 innings of 4.49 ERA ball — a passable but unexciting set of results that looked more commensurate with a fourth or fifth starter than what Plesac had displayed in his first two seasons.