Former Lake City, WSU star Kyle Manzardo takes advantage of second chance in Cleveland, but there’s still more to do

CLEVELAND – The door opened and shut quickly for Kyle Manzardo four days before Christmas.

One minute Josh Naylor was getting traded to Arizona on Dec. 21, potentially opening first base for Manzardo. A moment later, the Guardians confirmed that they’d signed free agent Carlos Santana to replace Naylor at first.

Such things happen to young players on winning teams. Positions often seem just beyond their reach.

Still, it would be wrong to say the Guardians aren’t listening to Manzardo’s knock on the door. He caught manager Stephen Vogt’s attention on his second go-around in Cleveland last year as a Sept. 1 call-up. He had solved the mysteries of being a designated hitter, something that bothered him during his first 30 games in the big leagues from May 6 through June 16.

“In the minor leagues he was playing first base every day,” GM Mike Chernoff said of Manzardo at the winter meetings in December. “For him to come up and only DH … he had to work through that. How do you build your in-game routine so you’re not just stewing on whatever your last at-bat was?”

When Manzardo – the former Lake City High School and Washington State standout – was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on June 16, he learned how to handle the DH downtime. He spent time in the weight room and batting cage between his at-bats. He stretched and watched video because if the playing time in Cleveland wasn’t going to be at first base, it just might be at DH.

Manzardo and David Fry platooned at DH from Sept. 1 through the end of the regular season. Manzardo, playing mostly against right-handers, hit .270 (17 for 63) with five homers and eight RBIs. He posted an .873 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).

The five homers were hard to miss, because in Manzardo’s first 30 games with the Guardians, he didn’t homer once.

“We gave him more DH reps at Columbus,” said Alex Eckelman, Guardians senior vice president of hitting. “Then he carried that, and was really disciplined with it, when he did come back up.

“So a ton of credit goes to Kyle in making adjustments and owning the role he was in last year. Andy Tracy, Junior Betances, and Mike Mergenthaler (from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers staff) were all instrumental in supporting him there.”

Vogt called Manzardo and Fry a “natural platoon.” For the season, Manzardo hit .238 (30 for 126) with five homers and 12 RBIs against righties. Fry hit .287 (37 for 129) with nine homers and 31 RBIs against lefties.

Manzardo and Fry kept right on hitting in the postseason. They shared the No. 2 spot in Vogt’s lineup, batting in front of José Ramirez, and hit a combined .317 (13 for 41) with three homers and 10 RBIs. Manzardo hit .385 (5 for 13) and Fry .333 (4 for 12) in the American League Championship Series, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Yankees.

“I didn’t know anything about Kyle until I saw him in spring training,” said Vogt, who is heading into his second season as Cleveland’s manager. “He dove into his routines on how he can improve between games and at-bats.

“He was hitting second for us in the playoffs. Hitting in front of Josey. He can hit, and we saw that for the last six or seven weeks of the season. So we’re excited.”

The successful platoon of Manzardo and Fry won’t be seen for a chunk of the 2025 season. Fry is expected to miss considerable time as he recovers from surgery on his right elbow. The Guardians have a number of right-handed hitters who can replace Fry, but the injury may give Manzardo a chance to face more left-handed pitchers.

It will not be easy, because when a platoon player gets typecast, he often stays in that role. That is especially true when a manager’s team is in contention and every win is important.

Yet, it is not impossible to change roles.

The departed Naylor, a left-handed hitter like Manzardo, is proof of that.

“It’s hard to succeed in the major leagues, especially for a young player,” said Chris Antonetti, Guardians president of baseball operations. “Vogter tries to put players in the best position to be successful and go from there.

“Josh Naylor is a great example. He was a guy who bounced between the outfield and first base and played primarily against right-handed pitching. Over time, he earned those at-bats (against lefties) to be in the lineup regularly.

“He struggled against left-handed pitching, but was determined to find a way to improve. We gave him those opportunities. He succeeded so we kept giving him more.”

Manzardo could take the same path.

The Guardians acquired him from the Rays on July 31, 2023, for right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale. They were excited about the deal then, and still feel the same way.

“At the time we acquired Kyle, we liked a lot of attributes he had as a hitter,” Antonetti said. “We were hoping that would translate into a really productive major league hitter.

“We were encouraged to see him start that transition last year, especially when he came back after being optioned. He had a meaningful impact on our team, helping us win games down the stretch and he had some really big swings in the postseason.”