Guardians staying in the hunt for the division claiming Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, and Matt Moore off waivers

Photo courtesy of ESPN

Cleveland- On Thursday the Guardians picked up three former Los Angeles pitchers off waivers. Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore were added to the Cleveland roster. To make room the Guardians designated pitcher Peyton Battenfield and catcher Eric Haase for assignment.

The Guardians won the series against Minnesota and sit five games back from the Twins. Chris Antonetti spoke to the media, Thursday afternoon, and stated that the moves were made to try and close the gap on the Twins and make a postseason run.

Giolito, 29, has spent the majority of his career with the Chicago White Sox, posting a career mark of 60-58 with a 4.35 ERA in 174 games/172 starts (983.0IP, 856H, 475ER, 1038SO, .232 avg).

He has split the 2023 season between Chicago-AL and the Los Angeles Angels, posting a combined mark of 7-11 with a 4.45 ERA In 27 starts (76ER/153.2IP), last pitched on 8/28). He is currently seventh in the AL in strikeouts (165) and 10^th in batting average against (.238). He was Washington’s first round pick (16^th overall) in the 2012 MLB Draft out of Harvard-Westlake HS (LA, CA) and was acquired by the White Sox in Dec. 2016 along with López before being shipped to the Angels on July 26 (also with López). He was an AL All-Star in 2019, finishing the year 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 starts (228SO).

López, 29, owns a career Major League record of 38-49 with a 4.39 ERA in 229 games/97 starts with Washington, Chicago-AL and Los Angeles-AL since debuting in 2016. Also splitting the season between the White Sox and Angels, the San Pedro de Macoris, DR native has fashioned a 3.93 ERA (24ER/55.0IP) with 71 strikeouts and 30 walks, along with an 11.6 SO/9. Over his last 37 outings dating back to May 14, he has posted a 2.09 ERA (9ER/38.2IP) with 47 strikeouts while limiting hitters to a .180 average (25-for-139), including an 11-game, 13.0-inning scoreless streak from June 27-August 3.

Moore, 34, is in his 13th Major League season, appearing in 309 MLB games with Tampa Bay (2011-16), San Francisco (2016-17), Texas (2018), Detroit (2019), Fukuoka (2020), Philadelphia (2021), Texas (2022) and Los Angeles-AL (2023). The 6-3 lefty has split his career between a starter and reliever (268G/164GS), holding a career 65-63 record with a 4.38 ERA (528ER/1085.2IP). He has solely been a reliever since 2022, appearing in 104 games between Texas and Los Angeles-AL, posting a combined ERA of 2.21 over the two seasons (29ER/118.0IP). Has spent the 2023 season in relief with the Angels, going 4-1 with a 2.66ERA (14R/13ER, 44.0IP) with 49 strikeouts in 41 games. The St. Petersburg, Florida native has led the Halos in ERA this season, holding opponents to a .208 average against.

As the weather is set to heat up in Cleveland the Guardians look to get on a hot streak of their own.