Can Guards get first 20-homer outfielder since '14?

MESA, Ariz. -- The bats were quiet Saturday in a 7-4 loss to the Cubs at Sloan Park, but that won’t last with this lineup.

With an outfield primed to be loaded and deep, the Guardians are looking for their first outfielder to hit 20 home runs since 2014 (Michael Brantley, 20). The club has had only two 20-homer outfielders over the past 15 years (Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo, 22, 2010). Before that, the club’s most prolific power-hitting outfielder was Grady Sizemore, who hit 20+ homers from 2005-08.

“A lot of us take pride in what we do here, and because of what we do off the field it’s able to mix and blend well [inside the clubhouse],” said Will Brennan, who patrolled right field while batting fifth Saturday. “We just kind of feed off each other.”

Whether this is the year the Cleveland outfield adds power to that mix remains to be seen. On paper, it’s hard to ignore.

Fans watched the raw power from Jhonkensy Noel during last October’s American League Championship Series against the Yankees. Big Christmas crushed a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to help the Guardians to a 7-5 win over the Yankees in Game 3 at Progressive Field.

An everyday role might be hard to come by at first for the 23-year-old, but his 13 homers in 179 at-bats in 2024 may be an indication of what’s to come. For now, the righty figures to split time in right field with the lefty Brennan.

All-Star Steven Kwan will return to his spot in left field having hit 14 homers in 122 games last season after missing time with a left hamstring strain. And then there’s Johnathan Rodríguez, who made his MLB debut in 2024 after his power was too much to keep him in the Minor Leagues, where he hit 26+ total homers the past three seasons between three levels.

Lane Thomas, who joined the Guardians at the 2024 Trade Deadline from the Nationals, hit nine home runs from Sept. 2 through the end of the postseason, which were the third most in the AL behind only Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

“I think it’s been in the last 15 years that we haven’t had a really power-hitting outfield and that’s what people are attracted to. That’s kind of what’s sexy in the game,” Brennan said. “But we find ways to get it done and find ways to win ballgames.”

Cantillo's rough day against Chicago

Starting pitcher Joey Cantillo was chased early and the Guardians’ bats arrived too late on a very windy Saturday at Sloan Park.

The 25-year-old lefty struggled with command as his fastball wasn't biting, so Cantillo mixed in secondary pitches from his curveball, slider and changeup. His outing was much different from his Spring Training debut five days earlier, when 18 of his 21 pitches that day were in the strike zone over two scoreless frames.

Three of the first four Cubs hitters reached by the way of a double, single and a walk. Just four batters in, pitching coach Carl Willis came out for an early mound visit.

“He was just getting in bad counts. He wasn’t being aggressive in the strike zone,” Willis said. “The only issue today was more just command of the strike zone and getting ahead. He got in bad counts and you can’t pitch like that.”

After the mound visit, the Cubs’ Carson Kelly drilled the very next pitch for an RBI single.

Cantillo was pulled, but with Spring Training rules he re-entered to open the bottom of the second inning. The struggles continued as he opened the frame with consecutive six-pitch walks. He finished his outing with four earned runs, recording just three outs.

But with it being only March 1, there’s little worry in the big picture.

“It’s his first outing where he went multiple innings with multiple ups [with the re-entry rule] so he’ll build off that,” Guards associate manager Craig Albernaz said. “The emphasis is to build for a seven-month season, and [this is] just one outing in Spring Training where we’re trying to build his workload up.”

The offense mustered just two hits and no runs through seven innings, but Yordys Valdes hit a solo homer in the eighth before Juan Brito went yard in the ninth.