Why did the Cleveland Guardians trade Will Benson and Nolan Jones?

The Cleveland Guardians traded Will Benson and Nolan Jones, but why?

The Cleveland Guardians made the call to move on from Will Benson and Nolan Jones, two former members of the Guardians roster. Both men had struggled a bit with Cleveland, but have since gone on to settle down and develop decent seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies respectively.

Both men are just 25 and both men struggled with the Guardians. Benson, in 28 games, had splits of just  .182/.250/.200 and an OPS of .450, while striking out 19 times in just 55 at-bas. Jones, on the other hand, hit better than Benson, putting up splits of .244/.309/.372 and OPS of .681, whiles striking out 31 times in 86 at-bats.

Neither man did anything impressive in Cleveland before they were traded. Benson was dealt for Justin Boyd and Steven Hajjar, while Nolan was dealt for Juan Brito. Boyd is hitting a pathetic .133 in Lake County, while Hajjar is throwing well for the Guardians Lower-A affiliates, and Brito is playing fine for the Lake County Captains.

Benson, with the Reds, however, is hitting .256/.371/.427 with an OPS of .798, while Jones is hitting .316/.391/.551 with an OPS of .942. Both men are hitting much better in their new homes, so why did the Guardians bail on them so early?

The Cleveland Guardians have to worry about their 40-man roster

The way it works with the major leagues is simple, but involved. See, minor league teams, are allowed to carry 28 to 35 players per team, depending on the team. US-Based Rookie Ball has no limit while International Rookie Ball has a 35-player limit. Single-A and High-A Ball carries a 30-player limit, while everyone else has a 28-player limit. The Major Leagues carry 26 players.

Though, this is only half the truth. See, when a player is called up, they can go from Single-A all the way to Triple-A and back down with no problem. But they can only make the major league club if they’re on something called the 40-man roster.

See, the Guardians can’t just call up whoever they want. Any player they call up has to be on the 40-man roster. If you want to call someone up from the 40-man roster but don’t have room, you either have to trade a player or designate them for assignment. Designating them for assignment allows teams to claim that player on waivers first and foremost. if no one takes him, you can either trade him, demote him to the minors or release him.

This is what happened to Mike Zunino recently. Now, this isn’t a complete rundown on the rules of calling up and sending down players but it’s the basic gist you need to know to understand the question.

Why did the Guardians trade, Benson and Jones?

Sadly, due to the struggles and ages of Benosn and Jones, the Guardians decided they’d rather trade both men as they continued to look at younger, more promising prospects to help lead them to success.

It’s the sad reality that the Guardians can’t keep every good player they may want, as you will never truly know who’s ready to break out and who’s not.

• Published on 06/26/2023 at 21:30 PM
• Last updated at 06/26/2023 at 21:30 PM