Guardians have starting rotation set, but outfield spots are still up for grabs

Stephen Vogt has his pitching rotation sorted for the start of the season. The Cleveland Guardians manager and front office still have other roster issues to sort out before Thursday’s opener at Kansas City.

Vogt told reporters on Sunday at the team's spring training complex and via zoom that Logan Allen will be the team’s fifth starter and Triston McKenzie will begin the season working out of the bullpen.

Allen has had a strong spring. In six games, including three starts, the left-hander is 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA, one save and 19 strikeouts.

“Like I told him, completely different pitcher than the one I saw last year, and that’s a credit to him and the work he put in this winter,” Vogt said of Allen, who was 8-5 with a 5.73 ERA last year and allowed 22 home runs in 20 starts.

Tanner Bibee — who signed a five-year, $48 million contract on Saturday — will be the staff’s ace for at least the first half of the season, with Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, Ben Lively and Allen rounding out the rotation for the defending AL Central champions.

McKenzie could return to the rotation at some point but has continued to struggle with his control. The right-hander has allowed 15 hits, including three home runs, and walked seven in 12 innings of Cactus League action.

Last season, McKenzie allowed an MLB-leading 19 home runs in his first 16 starts before being sent to Triple-A Columbus for the rest of the year.

Vogt, though, still has confidence that McKenzie will be able to turn things around.

“We continue to believe that the best version of our team has Tristan McKenzie in the rotation,” Vogt said. “Just right now with where we are as a team, we feel like the bullpen is a place where he can thrive. I think for him to come in and use his stuff to attack hitters from pitch number one could be a huge thing for him.”

The outfield, especially right field, is the biggest question left with the Guardians’ roster. Nolan Jones returns to the organization after Cleveland acquired him from Colorado for infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman.

Jones was a second-round pick by Cleveland in the 2016 amateur draft who was traded to Colorado after the 2022 season. He was fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 after batting .297 with 20 home runs. Jones struggled last season, batting .227 with three homers and playing in only 79 games because of a lingering lower back strain.

Of Jones’ 195 outfield appearances in the majors, 129 have been in left field. The Guardians are set in left field with Steven Kwan and Lane Thomas in center. Jhonkensy Noel is the likely starter in right field, with Jones and Will Brennan vying for one of the final roster spots.

Vogt said he told Brennan on Friday that he made the opening day roster, but he called him again Saturday night to say that remains fluid after the trade for Jones occurred.

“For Nolan, he’s walking into a building full of people who love and care about him and are thrilled to see him back. He’s got a clean slate, and I’m excited to see what he can do,” Vogt said.

General manager Mike Chernoff said the familiarity with Jones allowed them to move quicker to make a trade.

“We felt like it was an opportunity to add a left-handed, impact-type bat that has the potential to have an impact in the outfield, which we felt like we really needed,” Chernoff said. “We felt that this move had the chance to make us better not only this year but in the future.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

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