The Cleveland Guardians should consider sitting Myles Straw for a series or two

The Cleveland Guardians need to consider sitting Myles Straw for a while.

The Cleveland Guardians had a rough four-game stretch. They lost to the Minnesota Twins to close out a series the Guards won, and then went on to lose three straight against the Boston Red Sox. This was more of a hiccup than a reason to worry about the sky falling. After all, the Guards defeated the Dodgers 2-1 in their most recent series, so we know this team can compete against the best of the bunch.

It was just two bad innings that sunk the series. That’s baseball for ya. Two of the biggest question marks this season have been Franmil Reyes, who’s talked about endlessly, and now more recently, Myles Straw.

Straw was acquired in 2021 in a deadline trade with the eyes on the future. He was a lead-off hitter and someone who was seen as being a guy who can get on base all the time. The odd thing is, he’s not all-around playing terribly. He’s second on the team in both walks and runs behind just Jose Ramirez in both categories. Despite his pathetic .202 batting average, which is lower than Reyes’, his on-base is nearly 30 points higher than Reyes.

So he’s getting on base, he’s just not hitting well. He is third on the team in strikeouts, but the team (save for Reyes) isn’t striking out a lot. In fact, the squad is 30th in most strikeouts, or if you want to say it a different way, are first in fewest strikeouts in the major leagues at just 477. The next nearest team, the Houston Astros, has a whopping 536 in comparison.

So even though he’s third on the team, he’s still among the league’s best in not striking out.

So why is Straw not doing well? Honestly, it’s gotta be mental at this point.

Sitting Myles Straw for the Minnesota Twin series may help

With all the rain delays and makeups, the Guardians have to do this season, the Twins are in Cleveland for a rare five-game series. This will give the Guards a chance to not only close the gap and take the lead in the AL Central but also give them some cushion if they’re able to sweep the series.

The Guardians, however, need to not only think about what’s best for the team in this situation but for Straw as well and the answer may be the same; sit him. Right now he’s forcing at the plate. It’s like that line from The Replacements; Straw is in a mental quick-sand pit. He’s struggling and because he’s struggling, he’s forcing and because he’s forcing, he’s struggling more.

This is what’s happening with Straw. With Reyes its’ always been about him taking too many big looping swings at too many bad pitches. He’s always been a strikeout machine. That won’t ever change, so with Reyes, you want to try to change his approach and his swing.

With Straw? It’s all mental. He’s still patient, but he’s misjudging hittable balls and swinging at ones he normally wouldn’t. Disconnecting him from the lineup and letting him ruminate on his struggles may allow him to take it one swing at a time, which is what he should be focused on.