CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians manager Terry Francona went to sleep Wednesday night with the idea that Cleveland’s front office might acquire a player or two from the group of waiver possibilities available from Los Angeles and a handful of other teams. By the time he got to the ballpark on Thursday’s off day, he learned president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff had grabbed one, and then some.
“They said, ‘We’ll call you today and let you know if we got anybody,’” Francona said. “That’s kind of what I went to bed thinking. Okay, maybe we’ll get somebody. But I never in a million years thought it’d be three guys.”
The Guardians were awarded starter Lucas Giolito and relievers Reynaldo López and Matt Moore on irrevocable waivers from the Angels. Cleveland will be responsible for the remaining salaries of all three players, which adds up to around $3.7 million, but without having to give up any players or prospects in return, it turns out to be a very team-friendly move.
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Francona said he appreciates the fact that Cleveland’s front office tried to give the club some help to see if they can remain relevant in the postseason chase.
“We still have an uphill fight, which we know, but they’re trying to give us a better chance, which I think everybody appreciates,” Francona said.
López and Moore arrived on a red-eye flight from San Francisco early Friday and were in uniform for Cleveland’s series opener against Tampa Bay. They join a bullpen that currently ranks fifth in the majors with a 3.48 ERA.
López, 29, has a reputation as one of the hardest throwers in the big leagues, averaging 98.4 mph on fastballs this year. Command has been an issue for the right-hander this season with a 12.6% walk rate, the highest of his career. But López is striking out 29.8% of the batters he’s faced in 2023 with a swing-and-miss rate of 14.1%. He mostly throws fastballs and sliders out of the bullpen, but his ability to miss barrels has helped him remain effective even with his occasionally erratic command.
“He can have an electric arm,” Francona said. “The idea is not to use him too much because his velo has dropped off when he’s used a lot, but when he hasn’t, you’re looking at like 98, 100 and pretty electric stuff.”
Lopez, speaking via Guardians interpreter Agustin Rivero, said there is a level of comfort coming back to Cleveland to pitch, where he has enjoyed success with the White Sox in his career.
“In the past, obviously we had to come to Cleveland and my mind was like, ‘Oh come on, we have to face Cleveland again?’” Lopez said. “It was like an extra challenge. But I’m really excited to be here, very excited to be around young players. You can see the energy and the desire they have to win. So it feels good to be in an environment where everybody’s so ready to compete. There’s so much hunger to go out there and win games.”
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Moore, 34, was a top pitching prospect with Tampa Bay before injuries derailed his career and he spent the last six years bouncing back and forth between the American and National leagues with a stint in Japan. This year, he’s been L.A.’s most effective reliever with 44 innings and a 2.66 ERA with a career-high 28% strikeout rate and miniscule 6.9% walk rate.
Francona sees the veteran as somebody who can be used in more than just match-up situations.
“He’s not a situational lefty,” Francona said. “He’s a full-inning guy. He can face right-handers probably more than he does lefties.”
Moore said he got to the Angels clubhouse after shagging batting practice prior to Wednesday’s game and found out from Giolito — via a social media post from ESPN’s Jeff Passan — that nearly a quarter of L.A.’s roster had been placed on irrevocable waivers.
“Renfroe is his locker mate, and they were both staring at me and they asked me if I saw it and it was almost felt like they were setting me up for a joke or something,” Moore said. “I thought it was just like a satire thing, just some kind of fake account. But then they were like, no dude, my agent called me.”
Moore said joining the Guardians this late in the season could have been awkward, but making the transition with Lopez and Giolito, who will arrive during Friday’s game makes things a little less cumbersome.
“You’ve got a couple buffers coming in, so you’re not the only new guy,” Moore said. “In the end, I think most players would trade a spot at a playoff race like this because it seems like it doesn’t happen often. It feels like it’s abnormal, but I’m not really sure how it’s going to go in the future.”
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