GOODYEARS, Ariz. — Myles Straw, as expected, cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Class AAA Columbus.
Straw, who won a Gold Glove for his play in center field in 2022, leaves for Columbus on Monday.
The Guardians placed Straw on waivers Friday. He went unclaimed and cleared waivers early Sunday afternoon.
During the Bally Sports Greats Lakes broadcast of the Guardians-Reds game on Sunday, they showed Straw and Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, talking in the stands at Goodyear Ballpark.
It was a long conversation.
Straw could have declined the outright assignment, but he would have forfeited the $19.25 million left on his five-year $25 million contract that runs through 2026 with club options for 2027 and 2028.
The Guardians acquired Straw from Houston for right-hander Phil Maton and catcher Yainer Diaz in July 2021. Straw hit .285 (68 for 239) after the trade and played great defense in center, which had been a weakness for Cleveland.
Straw, however, went into a serious decline offensively in 2022 and 2023, which led to him being waived.
Manager Stephen Vogt said telling Straw that he was going to be placed on waivers and not make the opening day roster, “Crushed all of us. It’s never fun to hear that news. I’ve heard it a number of times in my career. It was a really rough morning for all of us.”
