It’s no secret that the Cleveland Guardians need to address their lack of outfield offensive production during the offseason. Their lineup needs a boost and it feels like that answer will come from outside of the organization.
Cleveland is very familiar with one of the upcoming outfield free agents. Michael Brantley is one of the players who will be free to sign with whatever team he likes this offseason and Cleveland could be an intriguing landing spot.
However, Brantley may not be the best fit for the Guardians.
Let’s quickly recap Brantley’s 15-year career before examining why this wouldn’t work out.
Dr. Smooth played the first 10 seasons of his career with the then-Cleveland Indians and gained a reputation as being one of baseball’s purest hitters. He had a slash line of .295/.351/.430 and was a three-time All-Star during his Cleveland tenure.
Brantley then signed with the Houston Astros following the 2018 season. His production when on the field was more of the same as Brantley had a .305 batting average and a .365 on-base percentage during the last five seasons in Houston.
However, that’s the issue. He’s not always on the field.
Brantley has struggled with injuries dating back to his days in Cleveland. He only played 11 games in 2016 and 90 games in 2017 due to a variety of injuries. Those same issues have popped back up during his five seasons with the Astros as Brantley played just 64 games in 2022 and played 15 during the 2023 season.
It would be a fun, fan service story to bring Brantley back to the organization where it all started, but that doesn’t mean it would make the Guardians better. Cleveland needs consistency and someone they can’t count on to be in the lineup every day and unfortunately that’s not who Brantley is at this point in his career.