Angel Genao is getting the call that’s been coming since he signed out of the Dominican Republic five years ago. The Cleveland Guardians will promote their No. 2-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline rankings, from Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, putting the 22-year-old shortstop in line for a big league debut against the New York Mets.
Cleveland’s move, reported by MLB.com, comes as third baseman José Ramírez battles lingering soreness in the same left wrist he had surgically repaired in June, leaving open the size of the role Genao will occupy immediately.
Angel Genao’s Path Through the Cleveland System
Genao signed with Cleveland as an international free agent in January 2021, just over a week after the club traded away the shortstop he’d patterned his own game after, Francisco Lindor, as Tim Stebbins of MLB.com detailed. Cleveland shipped Lindor to New York the same month Genao signed.
The switch-hitting infielder climbed steadily through the system, posting a strong showing between High-A and Single-A in 2024 before a right shoulder strain limited him to a .714 OPS at Double-A Akron last year. Cleveland still protected him on the 40-man roster that November, shielding Genao from the Rule 5 draft and betting the setback was temporary. Winter ball with the Águilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Republic that offseason sharpened his approach against advanced breaking pitches, and that work paid off this season.
Genao has slashed a .300 average with 13 home runs across 96 games between Akron and Triple-A Columbus, a stretch that includes 20 doubles, 53 RBIs and 60 walks against 68 strikeouts. He punctuated it with a two-homer night against Syracuse on Tuesday. MLB Pipeline ranks him the No. 39 overall prospect in baseball, while Baseball America places him 20th among all prospects.
Genao has played mostly shortstop in the minors but logged enough time at second and third to give Cleveland a versatile option behind Brayan Rocchio and Travis Bazzana, the club’s everyday middle infielders.
José Ramírez’s Wrist Issue Leads to Genao Call-Up
Ramírez sat out Tuesday’s loss to the Mets after coming out of Sunday’s win over Arizona with a sore left wrist, the same wrist that sidelined him in June and required hamate surgery. He returned from the injured list on July 22, skipping a rehab assignment altogether, and has started 10 of Cleveland’s 12 games since. Manager Stephen Vogt labeled him day-to-day and made clear the club isn’t taking chances with the franchise cornerstone.
“I just can’t give him enough kudos for what he’s playing through to help us win ballgames,” Vogt said of Ramírez’s wrist.
Gabriel Arias, the only other third baseman on Cleveland’s active roster, has a .670 OPS with 57 strikeouts in 134 plate appearances and is out of minor league options. That leaves Genao as a cleaner alternative if Ramírez needs extended rest, even with Rocchio and Bazzana blocking his natural shortstop position.
The Guardians sit at .500, 57-57, but only three games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central race, having reshaped their bullpen and lineup with a flurry of trade deadline moves on Monday. Genao’s call-up adds another bat to a lineup that has ranked among the league’s weakest in runs scored, and it sets up a debut potentially against Lindor himself.
Guardians Call Up No. 2 Prospect Angel Genao Before Mets Game