3 Free Agents the Guardians Must Target This Offseason (and 2 to Avoid)
By Tyler Maher
4. AVOID: Charlie Blackmon
Blackmon's had a nice career with the Rockies, but there are several reasons to avoid him.
One is that he's spent his entire 13-year career at Coors Field, which has greatly enhanced his battng number. At Coors, he's a career .332/.392/.554 hitter. Everywhere else, he's a .259/.317/.415 hitter.
Last time I checked, Progressive Field is not in Colorado.
So that's an issue. Blackmon is also 37 and hasn't been anything special as a hitter for several years now. Despite getting the aforementioned boost from Coors Field, he's hitting a pretty bland .270/.342/.420 (99 OPS+) over the last three seasons.
Blackmon's body has also started to break down recently, probably because of all those games at altitude. His games played total has dropped from 150 in 2021 to 135 last year to 91 this year, so you can't really count on him to stay healthy anymore.
The injuries appear to have sapped some of his power as well, as he's averaged only 12 home runs over the last three seasons.
Blackmon used to be a star, but his numbers would probably fall off a cliff the second he arrived in Cleveland.