The Guardians have declined their $6MM option on left-hander John Means, per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Means is now a free agent. Additionally, left-handers Kolby Allard and Matt Krook, right-hander Ben Lively, catcher Dom Nuñez and infielder Will Wilson have been outrighted off the roster and elected free agency, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
Means signed a one-year, $1MM free agent deal last winter. He was rehabbing his second career Tommy John procedure and hoped to make it back for the final few weeks of the ’25 season. That didn’t happen. Means was able to make five rehab starts with Triple-A Columbus but struggled to a 7.97 earned run average over 20 1/3 innings. The Guards weren’t going to make a $6MM commitment off that limited body of work.
The 32-year-old Means was an All-Star with the Orioles in 2019. He pitched to a 3.68 ERA over parts of seven seasons as a generally reliable mid-rotation arm with Baltimore. Injuries have unfortunately robbed him of most of the past four years. He’s looking at minor league offers or an incentive-laden MLB deal.
Of the outrighted players, Allard made the most significant contributions to the 2025 Guardians. He put up a 2.63 ERA across 65 innings as a long reliever. Allard throws roughly 90 MPH and doesn’t miss bats, though, so there’s generally been skepticism about his ability to churn out strong results. This is the second time this year that he went unclaimed on waivers.
Lively was Cleveland’s Opening Day starter this year. He carried a 3.22 ERA over his first nine outings but blew out in May. He underwent Tommy John surgery that’ll cost him the bulk of the ’26 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Lively for a $2.7MM arbitration salary. That’s not outlandish but not exactly a drop in the bucket for a low-payroll franchise to devote to a journeyman starter who’ll miss the majority of the season. This serves essentially as an early non-tender, but it’s possible Lively has shown enough to command a cheap big league deal from another club.
Krook was claimed off waivers from the A’s in May. Cleveland kept him in Triple-A for the rest of the season. He turned in 34 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with Columbus. Nuñez is a depth catcher who only made it into two games behind Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges. The former Rockies backstop hit .176 in 76 Triple-A contests. Wilson is a former first-round pick of the Angels who never panned out with the Halos. The North Carolina State product earned his first big league look this year with Cleveland, batting .192/.267/.244 in 34 games.
Definitely a Pirates type of bounce back veteran LHSP on a cheap 1-year deal.
Bummed the Guards are moving on from Lively and Allard.
I sort of understand Allard – they have three good relief lefties and that’s not counting Cantillo. And long relief can be found elsewhere. For the same reason, Krook was a foregone conclusion.
Lively I was hoping they would stick with. I know he’ll miss most of next year but there is still another year of club control on him after that. And he had proven to be capable back of the rotation help.
Means is a minor surprise. I would think $6M is a small price to pay for the upside he has, and they could at least use some rotation depth. Perhaps they saw something in that rehab that alarmed them.
The most surprising to me is Will Wilson. Not because he’s anything special but because they’re otherwise kind of starved for guys with options. Everybody else here had no options left.
In the future, this date could be called Scrub Day…
That’s Means, tony! 😆🍻
Hope 2026 doesn’t turn into a good season for him like it did matthew Boyd, what a waste, traded bieber, let Boyd and means go,
Tigers can fix him up
Just like they did with Cobb.
That means Means is cooked. I’m not even kidding. I loved, loved, loved Means during some dark Baltimore years but he is made of glass and not coming back.
He made 5 rehab starts towards the end of the minor league season. The last being 5 IP.
Yeah, and then Cleveland declined his ultra-affordable option.
This has Red Sox written all over it.
@WadeBoggs
I hope you’re wrong. I love John Means as well for the same reasons (bright light in some dark times). I hate that it’s CLE that is letting him walk bc if it were another less pitching sharp org, I’d just chalk it up to impatience or ignorance. $6MM really isn’t much in the scheme of things.
So my hopes that he still has a little run in his left arm is not going have to rest on, “well, that’s just their opinion”.
Come’on John… you show’em.
Yeah I hope I’m wrong too but with his skillset, $6M is half of market value. They must have seen something in his rehab medicals. I can’t rationalize it any other way.
Orioles should try to bring him back on a minor league deal with an in season opt out or incentive filled contract. Can never have enough pitching and he’s familiar with the pitching staff and players, so it could be a good opportunity to make a come back.
Im rooting for Means to get healthy and pitch well. He has pretty good stuff and a no hitter under his belt.
The Os have resurrected some careers – John time to come home! If there’s nothing left – then retire where you belong.
Lively was the opening day starter this uear… because Bibee had the flu.
I am surprised they are moving on from Lively though. I know he has fringey stuff but he had good results with Cleveland.