CLEVELAND, Ohio — Myles Straw needs to to work on how to make a comeback. He really does.

The story started so well.

The Guardians reached him about 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Straw and the rest of the Class AAA Columbus Clippers were taking batting practice in Toledo in preparation to play the Mud Hens.

The message was simple: Get to Cleveland as fast as you can. One of the clubhouse workers drove him.

Yes, the Guardians finally needed Straw. They had waived him late in spring training, outrighted him Columbus after he cleared waivers and left him there to stew. If not forever, then for three-quarters of forever.

Straw could have turned down the outright assignment to Columbus, but he would have forfeited the $19.25 million that remains on his five-year $25 million contract.

Things changed when the Guardians put leadoff hitter/left fielder Steven Kwan on the 10-day injured list with a sore back just before game time Tuesday against the Twins. Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco was designated for assignment to make room for Straw.

Back with the team for the first time in nearly a year, Myles Straw is aiming to excel in the role that the Guardians brought him up to fill. pic.twitter.com/i8th1zMHPc — Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 18, 2024

They needed someone who could catch a fly ball and steal base. Straw has a Gold Glove on his mantlepiece and 30 steals in 31 attempts on his current Columbus stat line.

The best-case scenario would have had Straw dashing out of the clubbie’s car in front of Progressive Field, throwing on a Guardians uniform and delivering the game-winning hit in the ninth inning to help his team push toward its 12th AL Central title.

OK, that script writer got fired.

Straw made his 2024 Guardians debut as a pinch runner in the seventh inning following a leadoff single by Kyle Manzardo. The G’s trailed the Twins, 2-1, but were very much in the game.

When Straw took the field there was a gasps, cheer and groans from the crowd of over 17,000. It was clear that more than a few people remembered that at one point during his previous stay with the Guards, Straw went 298 games and 1,040 at-bats between home runs.

Straw was undeterred. He took an aggressive lead at first with Will Brennan at the plate and was promptly picked off by right-hander Ronny Henriquez. First baseman Carlos Santana slapped the tag on him as Straw dove back to the bag. He was originally called safe by umpire Chad Fairchild, but the Twins challenged and the call was overturned.

“Unfortunately, that happened tonight,” said Straw. “That’s just part of being aggressive. Hopefully, that’s the last time it happens. But I’m going to look to stay aggressive and steal as often as possible.”

Then Straw talked about the nuts and bolts of the play.

“I haven’t been here this year,” said Straw. “In Columbus, I take my lead and see a cut of the grass every single time, and you kind of get familiar with some of these places.

“Being out there for first time was really fun. It’s awesome to see this place again. I knew I was out there pretty good. I wanted to be out there pretty good. He may have flinched a little bit. . .got me to take a half-step toward second base and it was too late (to get back).”

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said he’ll take advantage of Straw’s speed and defense. He added that he could get some at-bats against some left-handers. There’s a chance Straw could help in the postseason — once the Guardians clinch — in that role. That’s especially true if Kwan’s back injury lingers.

As for the pickoff, Vogt kept it short.

“He got picked off,” he said. “The guy made a pretty good move. He caught him leaning in between and unfortunately picked him off.”

Last season the front office felt like Straw stopped being aggressive on the bases and may have lost a step defensively. There also seemed to be a difference of opinion between former manager Terry Francona and the front office over how to use Straw.

Francona played him almost every day in center field. The fact that the Guardians have started eight different players in center field this year indicates the front office may have had a different opinion. Then again, they were the ones who signed Straw to the $25 million extension before the start of the 2022 season.

Straw said he spent a lot of time this season with Columbus bench coach Daniel Robertson working on his baserunning.

“I talked to D-Rob a lot,” said Straw. “We worked on knowing the times to go (steal) and just being smart. He does a really good job.

“The staff down there has done a really good job on preparing these guys to come up and help this team win. He told me to be aggressive.”

Straw said left-hander Anthony Gose, who has spent much of this season bouncing between Cleveland and Columbus, helped him stay grounded with the Clippers.

“I just kept working every day,” said Straw. “There are guys who have been through this. I talked a lot with Gose this year. He’s been down that road. He’s been back and forth.

“He talked to a lot of the young guys and myself as well. He’s done it all. I tried to keep with him. I’m not the only person this has happened to. He’s been a big help this year.”

As for improving his comebacks, the bar is pretty low. We’re not talking about Harrison Ford returning to the role of Indiana Jones at age 79. Just don’t get picked off first again.

Cleveland Guardians center fielder Myles Straw catches a fly ball off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco in the fourth inning Saturday at Progressive Field. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There is a certain sense of calm that settles over the crowd when a batted ball is headed toward Myles Straw in center field. It’s almost as if Guardians fans are aware of their own breathing while the ball is in the air.

Straw took the air out of Tampa’s sails early in Saturday’s series-clinching victory, recording six putouts through the first five innings while Triston McKenzie piled up seven of his eight strikeouts. He kept a run off the board late when he got a good jump on Francisco Mejia’s liner to the gap in right center that he caught head-high to end the 10th with the potential go-ahead run at third.

Oscar Gonzalez ended the game in the 15th with a walk-of solo home run, advancing the Guardians to the AL Division Series on Tuesday against the Yankees.

At one point in the fifth, Straw, McKenzie and catcher Austin Hedges were the only defenders on the diamond that had touched a ball in play for Cleveland, recording all 13 Tampa outs via strikeout or a fly ball to center. Rays infielder Isaac Paredes snapped that streak with a base hit that broke up McKenzie’s no-hit bid with one out in the fifth.

Where was @myles_straw during Oscar’s walk-off homer?

He was in the clubhouse getting some chicken broth! 🤣#ForTheLand | @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/wawi4xyAtR — Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) October 8, 2022

In the first inning, Straw was steady on a deep fly ball off the bat of Yandy Diaz that took him to the warning track in center. In the fourth, he cruised in front of left fielder Steven Kwan to snag a Randy Arozarena pop that looked like it might drop for a base hit.

Straw is tied with teammate Andrés Giménez for seventh in the majors with 17 defensive runs saved, according to Fielding Bible, and is credited with seven arm outs saved. But it was his ability to calmly cruise to fly balls on the warning track, or a ball that looked like it could drop in front of Kwan that kept momentum going in Cleveland’s favor early against Tampa.

An elite defender by any number of defensive metrics, Straw provides peace of mind more than anything else for manager Terry Francona, who is fond of pointing out that when the ball is hit in Straw’s direction, it typically ends up an out.

“On a good team, when a ball is hit to center field, you need to be out,” Francona said. “That’s what he does. And that’s really important.”

President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti targeted Straw at the trade deadline last year partly because of his high-caliber defense.

“I can’t tell you how much confidence we have that when a ball goes up in center field that if there’s anyone on the planet who can catch it that Myles is going to be that guy,” Antonetti said.

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2024

Myles James Noble Straw…Resides in Palmetto, Fla., with his wife, Lily Herrmann, and their daughter, Rylee…Graduated from Braden River High School in Bradenton, Fla…Attended St. Johns River State College in Palatka, Fla., playing there for two seasons (2014-15)…In his time in Cleveland, served as the Guardians youth baseball and softball programs as an ambassador…Was clocked at a 6.25-second 60-yard dash coming out of college…Also ran the 40-yard dash at 4.4 seconds…His favourite player growing up was Evan Longoria, and his favourite road city is Seattle.

Spent the majority of the campaign at Triple-A Columbus, batting .240 (104-for-434) with 18 doubles, six triples, three home runs, 47 RBI, 30 stolen bases, 10.7% walk rate and a .651 OPS in 123 contests…At the Triple-A level, recorded a .982% fielding percentage with four outfield assists…Against left-handed pitching at Triple-A, hit .298 (34-for-114) with eight doubles, a triple, 17 RBI, a 13% walk rate, .377 OBP and a .763 OPS…Had his contract selected by the Guardians on Sept. 17, making seven appearances in the Majors, recording a hit in four at-bats with a pair of stolen bases.

2023

Offense improved incrementally, increasing OPS from .564 in 2022 to .597 in 2023…Reached in last seven games of the season via hit or walk and batted .237 (14-for-59, 5RS) in 22 Sept…Did not record an OPS above .675 over any month of the season…Enjoyed a 10-game hit streak, March 31-Apr. 10 (second-longest streak of career)…Was fifth in the AL with 21 infield hits, T3rd in the AL with six sac hits…Made 137 starts in center field and was once again a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove…His six OF assists were second in AL among CF…Owns a 154-game errorless streak dating back to the end of 2022 (9/23)…He and Nick Castellanos were the only players in MLB to appear in at least 145 games and make 0 errors…Credited with six Defensive Runs Saved (five outs above avg.)…Did not HR from Aug. 27, 2021-Aug. 10, 2023, a span of 298 games, 1040AB…Was longest active streak in MLB at the time (Aug 11 HR at TB off Jason Adam).

2022

Was a difference-making player all season long in the field, winning a Fielding Bible and Rawlings Gold Glove Award, leading all ML CF with 24 Good Fielding Plays and seven Outfield Arm Runs Saved, as well as all Major League outfielders with 385 total chances while compiling a .995 (385TC/2E) fielding pct…He finished second in Defensive Runs Saved (17) among ML CF and led the AL with 12 outfield assists…His dWAR (B-R) of 2.3 was sixth-most in the AL and second on the team to Andrés Giménez, 5th, 2.4)…Made 144 starts in CF, appearing in 152 games in center…2022 AL Leaders: AB/GDP (3rd, 133.8), SB (T10th, 21)…Despite his offensive struggles he was ranked eighth on the club in bWAR (2.7)…Season got off to a hot start, batting .291 (23/79) in 21 April games (13 BB, 17 runs)…Led the club in runs and walks in April (tied for AL lead with Ohtani; 6th-most walks)…Struggles began in May, batting a combined .164 (30/184) in April and May (51G, 7 2B, 6 RBI, .459 OPS)…His .412 June OPS (14/94, .149) was the third-lowest June OPS in club history (min. 90PA)…Rallied back some in July (.278, 25/90) before bottoming out in August, hitting .093 (7/75) w/a slash line of .115/.107/.222)…Was the fourth-lowest recorded monthly OPS and the lowest since Ed Gagnier’s .213 August OPS in 1914.… Hit lead-off in most games through June 19 before transitioning to the bottom of the order thereafter…Finished season strong, batting .313 (30/96) in 27 September games (13 RS) and .308 (33/107) after Aug. 31…Career-high 11-game hit streak, 9/13-22…Reached base safely in 25 of last 28 games after 9/4 (32-for-97, .330, T10th-best in AL)… 5 XBH over his last 20 games after not recording one, Aug. 6-Sept. 13…Club was 40-14 (.741) when he scored a run…The last qualified hitter to go a full season w/o a HR was Ben Revere for MIN in 2012…Last HR came on Aug. 26, 2021 leading off the game against Texas’ Jordan Lyles (187G, 755PA since).

2021

Split the season between Houston and Cleveland and was a tremendous addition to the outfield, posting a 1.9 bWAR during his two months with the club, good for seventh on the club despite only playing 60 games…Acquired on July 30, he ranked among American League leaders in walks (T7th, 29), hits (T8th, 68), runs (T4th, 42) and doubles (T5th, 16) during his tenure…Overall on the year, he finished tied for second in the A.L. in steals (30) and T-9th in games (158)… Overall on the year, he appeared in 156 games (149 starts) in center field, finished second among MLB outfielders in putouts (394), ranked in 98th percentile in Outs Above Average & was credited w/5 Defensive Runs Saved (Fangraphs)… Hit .330 (29-for-88) in June w/17 runs in 26 games in his last full month in Houston…Had a pair of 4-hit games, one with each team (last Sept. 26 vs. CWS)…First career leadoff homer, Aug. 26 vs. Texas (Lyles)…Enjoyed a productive final month, batting .288 (34-for-118) from Sept. 1-on, scoring 20 runs over his final 31 games…Over his last nine games he batted .350 (14-for-40) after Sept. 24…His 4.16 pitches/PA were 10th-best in the A.L. while his .285 avg vs. RHP was 12th-highest…5th-best pct. of swings that missed (13.6; 146/1071).

2020

Spent his first full season in the Majors, hitting .207 (17×82) with four doubles, eight RBI and six stolen bases…appeared in 28 games…started 19 games in CF and appeared in one game at SS…Got off to a hot start in Spring Training, prior to the COVID-19 shutdown…homered three times in 23 at-bats…hit those three homers in his first two games, which included a two-homer game on Feb. 26 vs. STL…one of those three homers in the spring was an inside-the-parker…Made his first career OPENING DAY roster…Recorded his first career walk-off hit on Aug. 18 vs. COL, singling in the winning run in the 11th inning…Made an appearance in six games during the POSTSEASON, but did not get an at-bat.

2019

Played in 56 games with the Astros across four stints with the club…went 8-for-9 in stolen base attempts (88.9%)…played in 18 games in the outfield (12 starts: 8 in CF, 3 in LF, 1 in RF)…made his first career appearances in the infield, appearing in 26 games at shortstop (14 starts) and four games at second base (1 start)…began his season at Triple A Round Rock…was recalled to Houston on May 29…optioned to Triple A on Aug. 1…recalled to Houston as the 26th man for the club’s doubleheader on Aug. 13…optioned to Triple A following the games on Aug. 13…recalled to Houston on Aug. 21 and optioned to Triple A on Aug. 25…recalled to Houston for a final time on Sept. 5…went 3×4 with three stolen bases and three runs scored on June 2 at OAK…set single-game career highs for hits and steals…marked the first three-stolen base game by an Astros player since Jose Altuve on May 8, 2016 vs. SEA…scored the game-winning run in the 12th inning…became the fifth player in Astros history to have a game with at least three hits, three runs and three steals, and the first since Altuve on Sept. 10, 2013 at SEA… played his first-career Major League game at shortstop on June 4 at SEA…struck out for the first time in his career on June 5 at SEA…went his first 24-career plate appearances without a strikeout, the longest start-of-career streak by an Astros hitter since C J. R. Towles in 2007 (42 plate appearances)…hit his first-career triple in the 14th inning on June 6 at SEA, before scoring the game-winning run on Yuli Gurriel’s sac-fly …flew around the bases at 30.5 feet/second, and made it from the batters box to third base in 11 seconds flat for the fastest triple by an Astros player in the Statcast era (since 2015)…made the Astros ALDS roster but did not appear in a game.

2018

Made his Major League debut with the Astros as a September call-up…played in nine games in the outfield, making two starts (1 in LF, 1 in RF)…pinch-ran four times, scoring three runs, with one stolen base as a pinch-runner…per Statcast, posted an average sprint speed of 25.8 feet per second, the top mark on the club… began the season at Double A Corpus Christi before moving up to Triple A Fresno in June…was selected to the Astros Major League roster on Sept. 15…made his Major League debut on Sept. 15 vs. ARI as a pinch-runner… scored the first run of his career on Sept. 21 vs. LAA…recorded his first-career steal on Sept. 22 vs. LAA…went 2×3 in his first Major League start on Sept. 26 at TOR, going 2×3…recorded his first-career hit on a single in the 5th inning…homered in his next start on Sept. 29 at BAL in Game 2 of Houston’s doubleheader…made the Astros roster for the ALDS…did not get an at-bat, but scored a run and a stole a base in two games…entered both games as a pinch-runner (Games 1 and 2)…split his minor league season between Triple A Fresno (66g) and Double A Corpus Christi (65g), combining to hit .291 (150×516) with 95 runs, 17 doubles, six triples, one homer, 31 RBI and a .381 OBP…led all of minor league baseball with 70 stolen bases…went 70-for-79 in steal attempts (88.6%)…marked the most steals by an Astros minor league player since Delino DeShields Jr. swiped 101 bags in 2012…had separate five-hit games at Double A, going 5×5 on May 26 vs. Tulsa and 5×5 on April 21 at Frisco…was a Texas League Midseason All-Star.

2017

Received Class A Advanced Carolina League Midseason and Postseason All-Star recognition after hitting .295 (129×437) with 36 steals and a .412 onbase percentage in 114 games with Buies Creek…led the Carolina League in on-base percentage…was promoted to Double A at the end of the season, playing in 13 games with the Hooks…named the MiLB.com Carolina League Player of the Month for June…hit .375 (36×96) with 12 steals and a .958 OPS (.479 OBP/.479 SLG) in 24 games during the month.

2016

Tabbed by Baseball America as a Low Class A All-Star after leading the minors with a .358 (124×346) batting average…added 21 steals and a .423 on-base percentage in a season at Class A Quad Cities (68g) and Class A Advanced Lancaster (19g)…named Quad Cities Player of the Month for June and July…hit .326 (28×86) in June, and .423 (44×104) with a .478 OBP in July.

2015

Hit .268 (56×209) with 22 stolen bases and a .355 on-base percentage in 58 games with Rookie Level Greeneville.