Cleveland Guardians sign four to minor league contracts but can any of them make the club?

The Cleveland Guardians have signed four minor league deals but will they make the major league roster?

The Cleveland Guardians have signed four players to minor league contracts, which included right-handed pitchers Michael Kelly and Touki Toussaint, catcher Cam Gallagher and outfielder Roman Quinn. None of the four men are huge signings as far as expectations but the Guardians have found something out of nothing before, so anything’s possible.

On paper, Gallagher makes the most sense to make the squad as the team’s backup catcher. He’s a career .240 hitter, and while he lacks pop, he is a good enough hitter to not crater a team’s offense. He’s not as good defensively as Austin Hedges was, but if he can hit above .220 in spring training, he’ll likely be catcher no. 2 on the roster.

The outfielder Quinn also is an interesting player, and may be able to make the team as a fifth outfielder, but only if the Guardians are either not high on some of their prospects just yet, or there are plans to move one or two in a big-time trade. Quinn is the type of guy you add to the club after a major trade, where you land, say, Bryan Reynolds.

The Cleveland Guardians may have found their fifth starter

Zach Plesac should likely be done as a member of the Cleveland Guardians, and after Trevor Bauer got released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’d be wise for the Guards to get rid of the last remaining remnant of the terrible trio of players os no one has to think of that scum sucker ever again. For those who don’t remember, Plesac, Bauer and Mike Clevinger were all very close during their time together.

This makes the fact that Plesac and Clevinger were such troublemakers not at all surprising.

So the Guards need a fifth starter, especially if they throw Plesac in a deal with a few prospects to land somebody else this offseason. That’s where Toussaint and Kelly come in. Kelly’s more of a reliever and spent most of the last decade in various minor leagues. Toussaint is uneven, and unpredictable as far as starters go but the Guardians have something going for them that no other team in the league has.

Carl Willis not only rebuilt Kevin Millwood when no one else could but he’s historically gotten the most out of pitchers wherever he’s gone. Wherever he goes, the pitching staff gets better, the bullpen gets stronger, and the team gets more confident.

If anyone can massage the most out of the arms of Toussaint and Kelly, it’d be Willis. The man has five Cy Young winners to his credit after all.