Why Oscar Gonzalez Will Be Under Pressure To Perform Immediately For The Guardians

Oscar Gonzalez has spent the majority of the 2023 MLB season at Triple-A, but he's getting a second chance with the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cleveland Guardians' playoff hero from 2022 was more of an afterthought at the beginning of 2023 due to a poor performance during Spring Training and a rough start to the regular season. The organization decided that the best thing for Oscar Gonzalez was to be optioned back down to Triple-A in order to refine his swing and work on his plate discipline.

One could argue that's exactly what he did. Spongebob played in 65 games during his time with the Columbus Clippers in 2023 hitting .275 with an OPS of .789. He also hit 11 home runs and collected 58 RBI. This impressive offensive performance included a game where he even hit for the cycle.

The Amed Rosario trade opened up a roster spot for the time being and Gonzalez was chosen to rejoin the Big League club. The 25-year-old made his first MLB start in over two months on Friday night against the Chicago White Sox.

Typically, organizations will be patient with young hitters with the skillset that Oscar has. He's demonstrated natural power at the plate with a cannon for an arm in the outfield (97th percentile in arm strength, per Baseball Savant.)

Spongebob became a fan favorite in 2022 for his incredible walk-up song and playoff walk-offs and everyone wants him to succeed. However, Gonzalez may not get the chance to take his time and slowly come around. 

This is why.

Oscar was called up to fill the empty roster spot created by the Rosario trade. That spot was void because the player the Guardians traded for, Noah Syndergaard, continues his rehab on the 15-day IL.

The plan as of now is for Syndergaard to start for the Guardians on Monday against the Houston Astros. Cleveland will need to make a roster move in order to add Thor and it's hard to envision them taking an arm out of the bullpen with the state of the current rotation.

That leaves them with the only other choice but to option one of their position players.

We also have to remember the comments Chris Antonetti made about the upcoming Trade Deadline. One of his goals was to add another starting pitcher (check) and the other was to add a reliable outfield bat.

This call-up may be another way for Cleveland to evaluate whether Gonzalez can be that player who is able to help add some pop to the lineup. 

Unfortunately, time isn't on Oscar's side. The trade deadline is this Tuesday which gives him an incredibly small time frame to show how he has improved during his time in the minors this season.

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Read More:

Poor Performance Against White Sox Proves Guardians Still Need Another Bat

Terry Francona Ejected In First Inning As Guardians Take On White Sox

This White Sox Player Continues To Give The Guardians Trouble

Amed Rosario Suprised He Was Traded To Dodgers By Guardians

Oscar Gonzalez Rejoins Big League Club, Roster Moves

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