'Heart and soul' Fry doing it all for Guardians

CLEVELAND -- Guardians manager Stephen Vogt knows that every day, someone will ask him a question about José Ramírez. That was something he could’ve expected the day he accepted this job. He often jokes that he’s out of adjectives to use to describe the superstar because he has to come up with a new answer every 24 hours.

David Fry has joined this category, too.

Vogt spent an evening coming up with new ways to talk about Fry -- a utility guy who fought for a spot on the roster in Spring Training -- on Monday night after he knocked in two crucial runs on a single. That was two days after Vogt chatted all about Fry’s three-hit performance (including a homer) against the Twins.

And now, after Fry solidified the Guardians’ 7-6 victory over the Mets on Tuesday night at Progressive Field with his first career pinch-hit homer, Vogt was forced to find new ways to sing his praises yet again.

“He's kind of the heart and soul behind the scenes,” Vogt said after the series opener. “Whether he's going well, going bad on the bench, in the game, moving positions eight times during the game, he wants to play and does it well. He means a lot to us.”

Vogt will gladly flip open a thesaurus and learn a couple of new adjectives if it means Fry continues the success he’s had all season. In the 15 games leading up to Tuesday, Fry slashed .385/.500/.667 with three homers and 10 runs scored. That was before he added the two-run blast in the sixth that ended up being the deciding swing after the Mets cut their deficit to one in the eighth.

“When I’m going well, I’m not thinking about my swing,” Fry said. “Just how I’m going to attack the pitcher and his plan.”

It was the same setup as Fry has gone through countless times this season. He was told to be ready to pinch-hit in the sixth. He knew he’d be facing lefty Jake Diekman. Fry went up to the batting cages to get his game plan ready. When he got in the box, he pivoted a little, and ended up with an opposite-field homer.

“Some guys I’m looking to get out in front,” Fry said. “That was somewhat the plan against Diekman and then he threw me a changeup and I was like, 'Wow, I looked really terrible on that, so let’s maybe look to go the other way.' Then I was able to get a pitch out over, and a little crosswind didn’t hurt.”

Fry was fighting for his utility role during Spring Training. Since then, he owns a sparkling .338 average and 1.064 OPS in 33 games, and his .406 average and 1.405 OPS against lefties are even more stellar.

“It’s crazy, because we’ve always known he’s been this type of player,” Guardians center fielder Tyler Freeman said. “No matter what his role is, he’s going to show up and he’s going to give you his best at-bat.”

But what’s most impressive about Fry’s hot start to the year is that he’s doing it with sporadic playing time. He's a a third-string catcher who can spell other players at the corners in the outfield and infield. Coming into the season, he wasn’t guaranteed to be in the lineup every day. Now, he’s forcing the coaching staff’s hand to make sure he steps into the batter’s box at least once each night.

“He just continues to just have a slow heartbeat and go up and have a professional at-bat every time out,” Vogt said. “But to be able to drive the ball the other way he has and be ready to pull the ball when it needs to, he’s just really confident right now.”

Maybe his at-bat comes midway through a game in a pinch-hit appearance, like it did on Tuesday. Maybe he’ll start at four different positions in a single week. Or maybe he’ll just work behind the scenes some nights to help the catchers establish their game plans. Whatever he’s asked to do, Fry has delivered this season. And because of that, this team knows it has a hidden gem on their bench.

Or, as Vogt chose to describe him on Tuesday night, “A complete baseball player.”