More prospects coming; don’t forget Amed Rosario! Terry Pluto’s Guardians

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my Guardians notebook, including stuff from the minors:

1. Since coming to Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor deal, Amed Rosario has become one of my favorite players. He won me over late in the spring of 2021 when he was asked to play the outfield – leaving his familiar shortstop spot. He’s ended up playing mostly shortstop, but his attitude is commendable. So is his hustle. Along with his friend Jose Ramirez, Rosario runs hard on everything and plays the game with the right spirit.

2. A year ago, Rosario started slow and caught fire in the middle of May. After May 11, 2021, he was a .300 hitter. He finished batting .282 (.730 OPS) with 11 HR, 57 RBI and was 13-of-13 in stolen bases. This season, he was cold along with the weather. I picked that same May 11 date, only in 2022. Since then, he’s batting .301. Overall, he’s up to .270 (.660 OPS) with a homer and 16 RBI. He’s 7-of-8 in stolen bases.

3. Rosario is a player the Guardians could possibly trade. He’s only 26. Andres Gimenez is the shortstop of the future. Defensively, Gimenez is the superior player. But Rosario has been solid this season at short, only two errors in 47 games. The analytics site fangraphs ranks him No. 6 out of 12 starting American League shortstops in defense.

4. Cleveland traded Lindor and Carlos Carrasco for Rosario and Gimenez before the 2021 season. Last year was a nightmare for Carrasco (1-5, 6.04 ERA and he battled injuries). He is 7-2 with a 3.93 ERA. A good man having a good year.

5. As for Lindor, his overall stats are OK. He’s batting .243 (.739 OPS) with 10 homers and 49 RBI. Lately, he’s been slumping until driving in four runs Friday night. He hit .282 in April. Since then, he’s a .220 hitter. Since being traded to the Mets, he’s a .234 hitter (.730 OPS). He batted .258 (.750 OPS) in 2020, his final season in Cleveland. He’s not been the same All-Star caliber player for three years. He has nine years and $300 million left on his contract.

6. Then there’s the 23-year-old Gimenez, looking like a young Lindor. He’s batting .309 (.865 OPS) with seven homers and 31 RBI. Manager Terry Francona said Gimenez just needed to stop trying to pull the ball like Ramirez. Once Gimenez did that, he thrived. Francona also said Gimenez is one of the few players he’s ever seen who plays second base and shortstop at a very high level. He’s an emerging star and is a wonderful deal for Cleveland – given the ages and contracts of the players involved.

7. The main reason Rosario has not played more outfield is Steven Kwan has claimed left field. Myles Straw patrols center and for now, Oscar Gonzalez is in right. The Guardians also like Richie Palacios in the outfield.

8. Now, the prospect part. Will Brennan is the current version of Kwan, an outfielder who caught the team’s attention in the minors a year ago. The 24-year-old lefty hitting outfielder is batting .327 (.896 OPS) between Class AA and AAA this season. He has five homers and 57 RBI in 56 games. Like Kwan, Brennan was a college player when drafted (Kansas…