Oscar Gonzalez isn’t ready to be called up by the Cleveland Guardians

Oscar Gonzalez needs time before the Cleveland Guardians call him back up.

Oscar Gonzalez was a huge piece of the Cleveland Guardians’ offense in 2022. As a rookie, he raked the ball, reminding a lot of people of how great a rookie Manny Ramirez looked for the club back in the 1990s. Some thought Gonzalez was going to turn into Ramirez 2.0, a big bopper with the ability to rake for singles, as well as home runs.

I was one of those people, I thought Gonzalez was going to take the next step. I was wrong, and so were the Guardians, as they broke camp with Gonzalez as part of the major league crew, only to later send him down to the minors after struggling mightily.

In 91 games in 2022, Gonzalez had splits of .296/.327/.461 and an OPS of .789. With 11 home runs and 43 RBIs in just 362 at-bats, the sky was the limit. Yet, in just 73 at-bats games, across 25 games, Gonzalez’s splits fell to .192/.213/288 and an OPS of .501. He was demoted to Triple-A Columbus in May.

Since going back down to Columbus, he’s cobbled together splits of .269/.299/.468 and an OPS of .767. Not great, but not terrible. The issue with Gonzalez is that he’s striking out (43) almost as much as he’s getting hits (46), and that was the same issue he had in the majors. It was an issue he didn’t have as a rookie.

It’s an issue that has sunk many great hitting prospects, and it’s not one that Gonzalez has shaken off yet. Despite that, Sports Illustrated is suggesting the Guardians call up Gonzalez.

The Cleveland Guardians need to give Oscar Gonzalez more time in the minors

Calling up a player early can ruin them for good. Gonzalez is clearly not ready to do well against major league hitting, as he’s struggling against minor league pitching. What fans seem to forget is that most guys in Triple-A are either minor-league lifers that bounce from team to team, or are set to be demoted to Double-A. They’re not all set for the Majors. And the ones who are will likely struggle for a while and be sent down.

The number of elite players that Gonzalez is playing against right now is minimal. Gonzalez should be tearing the ball off the cover of the ball, not struggling to achieve mediocre numbers. If he’s getting overpowered by minor-league pitching, what do you think he’ll do when he has to face the best of the best in the Majors?

Keeping Gonzalez down there until he can fix his strikeout issue is the responsible thing to do.

• Published on 06/26/2023 at 23:30 PM
• Last updated at 06/26/2023 at 23:30 PM