Spring training is here, but it’s not clear the Guardians ever got the memo that the offseason began. Despite winning the AL Central in 2025, they made practically no additions and will enter the year with one of their lowest team payrolls — if not the lowest — in more than a decade.
Major League Free Agent Signings
- Shawn Armstrong, RHP: One year, $5.5MM (includes buyout of 2027 mutual option)
- Austin Hedges, C: One year, $4MM
- Colin Holderman, RHP: One year, $1.5MM
- Connor Brogdon, RHP: One year, $900K
Total spend: $11.9MM
Option Decisions
- Declined $6MM club option on LHP John Means
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired LHP Justin Bruihl from Blue Jays for cash (later traded to Cardinals for cash)
- Acquired minor league RHP Franklin Gomez from Mets for international bonus pool space
- Selected RHP Peyton Pallette from White Sox in Rule 5 Draft
Extensions
- José Ramirez, 3B: Four years, $106MM (on top of preexisting three years, $69MM; contract includes $70MM in deferred money which actually lowers the amount Cleveland owes Ramirez in 2026)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Rhys Hoskins, Ben Lively (two-year minor league deal), Kolby Allard, Pedro Avila, Carter Kieboom, Stuart Fairchild, Codi Heuer, Dom Nunez
Notable Losses
- Jakob Junis, Lane Thomas, Will Wilson (outrighted), Matt Krook (outrighted), Sam Hentges (non-tendered), Will Brennan (non-tendered), Nic Enright (non-tendered), Zak Kent (lost on waivers), Jhonkensy Noel (lost on waivers), John Means
Cleveland went on an improbable run to its third AL Central title in four seasons in 2025, rattling off a blistering 20-7 record in September to edge out Detroit, who’d led the division for much of the summer. Strong play from the Guardians alone wouldn’t have gotten the job done; they needed the Tigers to also collapse in epic fashion. Detroit obliged, going 7-17 in September to squander what been an 11-game division lead as deep into the season as Sept. 4.
Entering the offseason, it was easy to presume that a Cinderella run of this nature, coupled with practically no long-term commitments and one of the lightest slates of 2026 financial obligations of any team in the sport would have emboldened the Guardians to add to what was an anemic offense. Any such presumptions have been proven incorrect.
The Guardians hit .226/.296/.373 as a team last season. The resulting 87 wRC+ (indicating their offense as a whole was 13% worse than average) ranked 28th in the majors. Cleveland ranked 28th in baseball with 643 runs scored and 29th in each of batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Superstar third baseman José Ramirez and and slugging first baseman Kyle Manzardo (who was heavily platooned) were the only members of the roster to manage even a league-average offensive line, by measure of wRC+. Left fielder Steven Kwan was short by the narrowest of margins, at 99. Outfield prospect George Valera hit fairly well but did so in a sample of 48 plate appearances.
Not only was no one else on Cleveland’s roster even a league-average hitter — virtually no one else was even close. First baseman/outfielder C.J. Kayfus hit .220/.292/.415 — good for a 96 wRC+ in 138 plate appearances. No one else on the roster was even within 10% of average. Cleveland gave a total of 2757 plate appearances to Angel Martinez, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, Bo Naylor, Nolan Jones, Brayan Rocchio and Hedges. That’s 46% of their team-wide plate appearances. Those seven players combined for a .212/.280/.346 batting line (76 wRC+). They’re all back in 2026.
Cleveland does have some hope for better offense in 2026. They could receive a full year of outfield prospects Valera and Chase DeLauter, but betting on them to this extent is an immense risk. DeLauter was a first-round pick in 2022 and has been a top prospect since. He’s also been regularly injured. Since being taken in the draft three and a half years ago, he’s played all of 138 minor league games. His two playoff games with Cleveland in 2025 marked his big league debut. It’s a similar story with Valera, a former top prospect out of the Dominican Republic who has only once played 100 games in a season despite signing back in 2017. He played 60 regular-season games in 2025 between the big leagues and the minors.
The Guardians also have 2024’s No. 1 overall pick, second baseman Travis Bazzana, very likely to make his big league debut early in the 2026 season. Twenty-four-year-old infielder Juan Brito could also get a look, though he got into only 31 minor league games last season due to injury. Catching prospect Cooper Ingle could make his debut in 2026 as well, and he’d have only the lowest of bars to clear with the bat in order to be an upgrade over the current Naylor/Hedges tandem.
That group unequivocally gives Cleveland some near-term upside, but banking on them as the sole means of offensive improvement is the type of strategy one might see from a rebuilding club or a cost-conscious team whose payroll is already pushing franchise-record territory. Neither is the case in Cleveland. The Guardians are aiming to contend, despite their lack of investment in the club. And while projections will peg their payroll around $80MM or so, that doesn’t include the $10MM of deferred money for Ramirez or the $6MM they won’t be paying to closer Emmanuel Clase while he faces trial for rigging pitches in a gambling scandal that rocked the franchise (and also included starting pitcher Luis Ortiz).
Cleveland’s payroll is going to clock in around $65MM. Their franchise-record mark for Opening Day was about $70MM higher than that, back in 2018. They’ve been between $90-100MM in each of the past three seasons. The last time they trotted out a payroll this low was in 2021, the first year coming off the pandemic-shortened season when they’d just absorbed substantial losses. If we’re willing to set that aside due to unique circumstances, Cleveland hasn’t been this thrifty since 2011-12.
For a team coming off a division title and that type of late-season surge, it’s hard to reconcile. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that the Guardians need to leave space for young players to step up and that their clearest path to contending involves young hitters like Bazzana, DeLauter and Valera helping to carry the offense. There’s some truth behind those comments, but Antonetti surely didn’t want his priciest offensive addition of the winter to be a reunion with Hedges, either. It’s abundantly clear that this front office had little to no money to work with this winter, and that’s borne out when digging deeper into their slate of moves.
Hedges’ $4MM deal to return to the Guardians was surprising at the time and looks all the more confounding in the wake of an offseason devoid of activity. Cleveland seems to place a higher premium on catcher defense than just about any team in the game. In Naylor and Hedges, they’ll have one of the sport’s top defensive duos but also perhaps the least-productive catching tandem in baseball from an offensive standpoint. That pair is generally keeping the seat warm for the aforementioned Ingle, who slashed .260/.389/.419 with more walks than strikeouts as a 24-year-old in Double-A and Triple-A last season. Ingle should make his debut at some point in 2026.
The only other move to address the lineup was a late non-roster deal with first baseman Rhys Hoskins. The former Phillies standout had two pretty pedestrian seasons in Milwaukee in 2024-25 after returning from an ACL tear that cost him the 2023 season. He hit .223/.314/.418 with 38 homers in 221 games while calling the hitter-friendly American Family Field home. Hoskins was a perennial 30-homer threat in Philadelphia from 2018-22, hitting .241/.350/.483 with 130 round-trippers in 2665 plate appearances. He hasn’t approached that level of output since, which is why the market largely checked out on him this winter. He’ll make just $1.5MM if he cracks Cleveland’s roster. There’s obvious bargain potential there, but the 2024-25 version of Hoskins is more of a league-average bat than the difference-maker sorely lacked by Cleveland.
Whether ownership-driven or a conscientious decision by the baseball operations staff — the former seems much likelier — improvements in the lineup will have to come down to the Guardians’ young players. Beyond Ingle, names to watch include:
- Travis Bazzana, 2B (No. 1 pick in 2024): .245/.389/.424, 17.6% walk rate, nine homers, 17 doubles, five triples, 12 steals in 84 games between Double-A and Triple-A
- George Valera, OF (international free agent out of the Dominican): .220/.333/.415 in 48 MLB plate appearances, plus .318/.388/.550 in 170 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A
- Chase DeLauter, OF (2023 first-rounder): .264/.379/.473 with a matching walk and strikeout rates of 15.8% in 177 minor league plate appearances (mostly in Triple-A)
- Juan Brito, INF (acquired from Rockies in 2022 Nolan Jones trade): .243/.355/.437, 12.8% walk rate, 23.1% strikeout rate in 125 minor league plate appearances (mostly Triple-A)
- C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF (2023 third-rounder): .220/.292/.415 in 138 MLB plate appearances, plus .300/.390/.539 with 14 homers, an 11.9% walk rate and 25.2% strikeout rate in 369 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A
In addition to the lack of big league experience, one thing that stands out among that group is a lack of games played in 2025 — at any level. Valera (60 games in 2025) and DeLauter (42 games) have been consistently hurt throughout their minor league tenures. A pair of oblique strains limited Bazzana to 84 games in his first full season. Brito played 31 games due to thumb and hamstring surgeries. Kayfus logged 130 games — the only one of the bunch close to a full season.
Cleveland needs so much to go right that it’s hard to see this club being even an average MLB offense. DeLauter and Valera seem ticketed for Opening Day outfield roles but need to prove they can both stay healthy and hit big league pitching. The options behind them (Angel Martinez, Nolan Jones, Johnathan Rodriguez, Petey Halpin) don’t inspire much confidence. Bazzana is probably starting the year in Triple-A, meaning the Guardians will go with a combination of Gabriel Arias (.220/.274/.363 in 2025) and Brayan Rocchio (.233/.290/.340) in the middle infield.
The entire Guardians offense hinges on superstar third baseman José Ramirez, so perhaps it’s fitting that he was at the center of the only truly notable transaction Cleveland made this winter. Ramirez signed an extension that guaranteed him four years and $106MM in new money (on top of his preexisting three years). He’s now locked up through age 39. It’s fair to wonder whether this was really necessary. He was already under club control through his age-35 season. If Ramirez slows down and this turns into a Miguel Cabrera/Tigers situation, the Guardians could live to regret the deal.
In the short term, it seemed to pay some dividends. Ramirez agreed to defer $10MM annually over the seven years of his contract. He has a $25MM salary for the upcoming season, but only $15MM will be paid out this year. In theory, that should’ve given Cleveland more room to add to the roster, but that didn’t pan out. As such, the most consequential deal of their offseason actually subtracted from the 2026 payroll.
Ramirez might be the most singularly important player to his roster of any team in Major League Baseball. An injury to him would decimate Cleveland’s entire offense, but there’s no real fallback plan if he gets hurt. They’ve been fortunate to keep him as healthy as they have. Ramirez has missed only four games in each of the past two seasons. Dating back to 2020, he’s played in an incredible 96.5% of Cleveland’s games. He’s a true iron man, but he’s now 33 years old. If he were to incur an injury, the infield would likely include a combination of Brito, Rocchio, Arias and Bazzana to the left of Manzardo.
The Guardians’ pitching staff is in better shape, as is frequently the case, but it’s not as dominant as it was when the Guards were habitually churning out borderline Cy Young candidates. The sextet of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, Parker Messick, Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo gives manager Stephen Vogt six solid options, but no one from the group feels like a true No. 1 starter. Williams’ 3.06 ERA gives him that look on the surface, but he walked more hitters than any qualified pitcher in baseball last year. Metrics like SIERA (4.35) and FIP (4.39) are far more bearish.
There’s some depth, primarily in the form of righty Austin Peterson and lefty Doug Nikhazy. Both are on the 40-man roster. Peterson had a strong showing in the upper minors but has yet to debut at 26 and isn’t an especially touted prospect. Nikhazy struggled in the upper minors and in the majors last year. Non-roster options include Kolby Allard and old friend Pedro Avila. Former top prospect Daniel Espino is finally healthy again, but he’s pitched a total of 19 innings since the 2021 season ended. Anything he contributes will be a bonus, but it’s hard to rely on him given that injury track record.
The one area Cleveland made some small additions is in the bullpen. Veteran Shawn Armstrong is coming off a big year in Texas. His overall body of work since 2020 is strong, but it’s been a roller coaster in terms of year-to-year ERA marks; he’s ranged everywhere from 1.38 in 52 innings with the ’23 Rays to 6.75 in 36 frames with the O’s and Rays in ’21. On a cheap one-year deal, he’s a nice addition — particularly for a club that has a good track record of coaxing strong performances out of unheralded pitchers.
That ability will be pivotal with the Guardians’ other big league signing in the ‘pen, too. Connor Brogdon had a nice run with the Phillies from 2020-23 (3.55 ERA in 142 innings) but has struggled since. He still sat better than 95 mph with his heater and notched an impressive 13.2% swinging-strike rate in 47 innings with the Angels last year, even while limping to a 5.55 earned run average. If the Guardians can help to curb his susceptibility to home runs (2.11 HR/9 with Anaheim), he could be a nice bullpen piece both in 2026 and 2027, as he’d be arbitration-eligible next winter.
Antonetti & Co. also rolled the dice on a $1.5MM guarantee for hard-throwing former Pirates righty Colin Holderman. He can be optioned, so he’s not a clear lock to make the roster, however. The 30-year-old righty, who sits 97.4 mph with his sinker, notched a 3.52 ERA while fanning nearly one-quarter of his opponents in 2023-24. His strikeout rate plummeted in 2025, however, as he was rocked for a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 big league frames.
There’s no sugarcoating the fact that this was an immensely disappointing offseason for Cleveland fans. Their 2026 chances rest entirely on Ramirez continuing his iron-man ways and several oft-injured prospects simultaneously staying healthy and breaking out in their first extended looks of major league action. The pitching staff should be solid or better once again, but the depth beyond the top six rotation arms isn’t great.
Cleveland’s blank-slate payroll (aside from Ramirez and Bibee) seemed to set the stage for at least a modest addition or two in the lineup. Instead, their offseason will be remembered more for its inactivity than anything else. It’s a huge bet on in-house improvements, and there’s little to no safety net if those prospects fall to injuries or struggle to adjust to major league pitching.
How do MLBTR readers grade Cleveland’s offseason?
How would you grade the Guardians' offseason?
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D 37% (646)
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F 37% (642)
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C 19% (325)
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B 5% (78)
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A 2% (42)
Total votes: 1,733
F. They did virtually nothing and just ran it back and certainly won’t be as successful.
Eh. I don’t think signing a few low-budget free agents would have made this team significantly better short term, and absolutely would have hurt long term.
Arias/Rocchio aren’t good hitters. So you’d think they should get a middle infielder. Obviously they weren’t going to afford Bichette. Past him, there wasn’t a lot there. I don’t think anybody they could have gotten is a better bet to improve the team than Bazzana is. And they have Brito as something of a fallback option. And maybe Angel Genao later in the season.
Manzardo has 1B/DH, Jose has 3B. Kwan has LF. DeLauter has one of the outfield positions (he is nearly a lock to break camp given PPI reward rules). That leaves you wanting to fill out with more options for an outfield spot, a Dh/1B/OF spot, and the bench.
Their current options are Valera, Kayfus, Schneemann, Nolan Jones (don’t know why they tendered him but they did and he doesnt have options), and Petey Halpin. I don’t think they’ll learn much more about them in the minors at this point. I would have liked a Harrison Bader type righty to balance out the lineup, but I’m also not sure Bader is a safe bet to be better than either Valera or DeLauter. Also they had a guy like that the last two years with Lane Thomas and he hurt them.
Further, there’s prospect help on the way with that group. Brito is the first man up. You’ve got Khalil Watson on the 40. Bazzana also might end up in the outfield. They do need to sort through these guys a bit.
For their bench they’re carrying Hedges and Fry nearly guaranteed. Fry can play 1B and C, maybe some corner OF? The other two bench spots likely need to be RH bats. One needs to play IF. Hoskins was signed and more than likely will be one of them. Angel Martinez crushed lefties last year and seems like an obvious platoon candidate since he also plays IF and OF. I don’t think there was a better lefty smasher utility guy on the market than him.
Assuming they didn’t have the budget to grab like Bichette or Tucker I don’t see this free agent class having guys that would have done much. They’re going to live or die on young talent and that means they need to keep the door open for those guys to debut and contribute. I think that was the plan last year but the injuries to Brito, CDL, and Valera hurt that timeline.
Well said. Some pretty decent insightful thoughts. I just wonder how many people will actually read your entire comment. There’s way to many people on here that if the comment is more than 2 sentences they lose interest (or they just have that little of an attention span).
Well, we need not worry about narrow sound bite driven minds. It is a good analysis, it’s similar to mine but one thing Chestbridge didn’t get right to my way of thinking anyway is Bazzana ending up in the OF. He’s playing a nice 2B now so that prospect is very doubtful in the coming years. Beyond that who cares, we need an upgrade at his position. Moving Kwan to CF also helps bring in more corner bats, more offense. So much of the criticism that’s leveled is that the FO hasn’t made changes to a team that hit so poorly. But different bats, better bats imo, will be featured this year, so the team has as his analysis points out. If people can’t be bothered to read, oh well.
@Col_chestbridge
Exactly on-point. And Steve Adams whines about Cleveland’s offseasons and deadlines every single year, and every year the team makes him look inane. He’ll never get it. He keeps with the snide comments that imply the front office is helplessly muzzled or tortured by the circumstances, yet there’s never a mass exodus from this “hopeless” situation.
Acting like Fry doesn’t exist, or that Hedges is worthless, or Bo Naylor (who just turned 26) is a finished project just waiting to by shoved aside by a guy like Ingle who has a lot to learn to become a major league catcher just demonstrates that Steve Adams has a lot to learn about what makes this team tick. His annual shallow analysis is an embarrassment. Cleveland remains competitive with one of the youngest rosters in the game; you can’t sign veteran bats and put them in a cupboard waiting for failure. Who worthwhile is going to go to a club to play that waiting game? There are things to criticize about this team, but Adams’ drivel seems to be limited to payroll standings rather than anything insightful.
In 2025, they won 88 games, 20-7 in September, won the Division, made the postseason for the 7th time in 10 years.
They are running back the same team and are adding 3 1st round draft picks 1 of which is 1st overall.
In which universe are they going to be less successful, especially when they have 2-time MLB AL Manager of the Year, Stephen Vogt returning to manage his 3rd season in the big leagues?
D. They didn’t do very much to get better.
They don’t have to do anything they’re the Guardians, a walk is still as good as a hit in Cleveland. 🤣
Yet another Pirates fan casting stones at perpetual low revenue winners. Envy is a powerful thing.
Cleveland is a better team than Pittsburgh for sure, that doesn’t mean they had a good off-season.
When spending money constitutes a “good offseason” or not, we’ve lost our ability to critically think. The only time in the last four offseasons that the national media applauded Cleveland is the year they finished third. The other three years when they were shredded by the media for “doing nothing” during the offseason and at the deadline, they won the division. Sometimes depending on the young, talented guys no one outside of CLE knows makes sense, rather than overpaying “name” guys for their declining years. But go ahead, be excited about O’Hearn and Ozuna and all the wins those guys guarantee you. We’ve been there before with those types of signings and they are a complete waste of money. You’ll learn soon enough.
You are I’m assuming in the 2% of people who gave them an A?
I am speaking for myself, I gave them a B, they didn’t get the A cause they didn’t get their major piece that they needed, but they also didn’t get into any bad contracts either. They will have 4 top 100 prospects this season likely get their debuts with a former top 100 prospect finally healthy with multiple other prospects who can play baseball… This team is also still one of the youngest in the league, if not the youngest once again… They will have 5 players age 30 or higher on the roster… Hedges, JRam, Fry, Festa and Armstrong… This team is young still and been overachieving… People forget they are what 70-80% made up of pre-arb players which really do not take up payroll space in a sense…
So we both agree they didn’t do much to improve, you just see that as not bad because you believe in the in-house options.
You can understand why less than 10% of people are as optimistic as you about that.
Trust me I get it 100% why, but I wish they would actually look at the whole picture before they go Dolan is cheap attitude… They have a solid rotation and solid bullpen… They are spending more on the bullpen than their starting rotation and their rotation is actually pretty dang good. Bibee signed an extension, but everyone else is league minimum… Cade Smith is still league minimum and he is a legit late inning guy etc… Their payroll is mostly low due to the fact majority of the roster is pre-arb… Heck they spent more signing Holderman and Brogdon than almost everyone else in the bullpen together in a sense (outside of Armstrong) and those two might not make the team.
Personally I wanted another big bat, but tell me who was within reason for a smaller market team and/or available… Like Donovan was but he plays 2B/3B/LF and they publicly stated they wouldn’t trade for someone that blocked 2B, 3B and LF are definitely taken plus Donovan is eh against lefties which was one of their issues last season. Outside of that, tell me who could they have acquire in trade?
@SportCoach
Sound, well-reasoned commentary…rare when it comes to Cleveland.
Most people especially national pundits don’t get it. Building from within with the lowest payroll in MLB is a legit strategy to win the WS.
The Dolans are the 9th wealthiest ($5.5 B) owners in MLB plus they have a minority owner. They don’t spend because building from within is a better long-term strategy. They have been a top 5 team for the past decade. By cutting payroll, they are poised to step it up a notch.
@jrbertsch
Actually, while it’s quite true that recurring revenue drives budgets everywhere in MLB, and Cleveland’s MLB payrolls over the long term will be capped by what revenue the team generates in one of the two or three worst markets in the game, it is not true that the current ownership is wealthy. Were they, perhaps it could extend a bit more operationally–better fill in gaps over the short term–but the truth is, Cleveland ownership mirrors the market; if it’s not the least wealthy in the game, it’s very close. The Cleveland Dolans ran a local law firm; there’s no mountain of wealth there, not even close, and the poorly researched national assessments of their wherewithal conflate them with the New York Dolans (Knick owners) who were media moguls and are billionaires many times over. Family yes, but the bloodlines don’t extend to bank accounts (unless you have access to your cousin’s money?) These lazy appraisals have always unfairly affected the way the Cleveland ownership is viewed; very few folks have the wise perspective you have despite being misled by inaccuracy of the appraisal of ownership wealth.
It has been asserted the entire Dolan family has consolidated their wealth. Said another way they can be treated like a corporation.
It is true the money is tied up and most likely can’t be used for buying free agents. They have a minority owner too. In short, they have money, can buy free agents, and have bought them.
Whether it is voluntary or involuntary, the decision to drive down payroll to levels no other MLB team can match without tanking the team is a smart strategy.
They have been a top 5 team for a decade with $100 M payroll. The fact they chopped off 1/3 suggests they are ready to take it to a whole new level. WS here we come!
@jrjbertsch
I’d like to know exactly how wealthy family members and their poor cousins consolidate in the manner you describe, but hey, I’m willing to listen to some informed evidence of such. I just highly doubt it exists. The debt service alone on loan the Dolans took out to buy the baseball team has been killing ownership, as they have no source of revenue aside from the ballclub at this point.
I’ve believed all along that Chris Antonetti has the ability to take on additional payroll if it makes sense, but if there’s anything that makes less sense than free agency spending, I’d like to know what it is. Cleveland has been aggressive in extending players where the player is receptive to the shared risk such arrangements imply, but Cleveland is hesitant (and rightfully so) to take on contracts where the risk entirely shifts to the club. That’s just shrewd management of resources, as the team’s performance demonstrates (as you have so aptly pointed out!)
Just wondering why some off season in reviews are “subscriber only” and some are open to everyone.
Not all of them have been released. And even non paying users can see the article, but just can’t read it.
Rhys Hoskins gives the potential for a big power bat to team with Ramirez but beyond a few bullpen additions they didn’t do much of anything. It’s the same nickel and diming ownership does every winter
Same winning ballclub too.
Top 3 in wins over the last ten years… Also, Dolan literally gives Antonetti the budget and does nothing else… Antonetti has 100 to 120 to spend every single season. He has room to let the young guys play in the first half and trade for someone to finish the roster with a top 5 farm system…
Dolan gave Antonetti a budget of $80 million for payroll. How do I know that? Because that’s what Antonetti spent. Every executive officer or GM is going to spend the very last dollar they are allotted. That is a fact.
That is not true at all and this is not a very good statement… If the guys in charge spend to just spend, you end up like the Angels… Antonetti has 100ish million he can use on this roster for this season, but he will have pay raises as players hit into Arb in the future, so he isn’t going to put out large multi year deals if they aren’t actual needs. There is a reason why Cleveland has one of the best FOs and like a fourth of the league has guys from that FO… Antonetti isn’t signing just because he can… He has targets and has a price point set for all targets. Cleveland is notoriously hard to trade with since they don’t compromise well.
Who gave them an A? Just wondering.
Probably 10 team employees.
I gave them an A. I’m kidding to some degree but because of how down on the organization the article was I thought they needed a boost. I’d probably give them a B- but that’s not for the reasons most might suspect. For a team needing offense you don’t sign Hedges again. Last year I wanted Carson Kelly but he signed for 2 years. Danny Jansen maybe, just spend on s RHH catcher who can hit and play decent defense.
As for the rest the only way for this team to grow is for it to give their young talent a shot. In 2018 I hated that we spent 16 million over bringing in Yonder Alonso which blocked Yandy Diaz. It’s not always about money. We’ve never had a better potential nucleus ready almost at once in Bazzana, Delauter, Valera, Brito and Kayfus so even if it causes some growing pains, it’s tome to air these kids out.
Hedges
The people who agree Cleveland shouldn’t spend just to spend… Do not forget majority of their fairly strong rotation and bullpen are still Pre-Arb players… What about 70-80% of their 26 man roster are pre-arb players…
They are running back the same team — 88 wins, 20-7 in September, Division winners (again), 7 post seasons in 10 years.
1) They added depth to the bullpen
2) They have 6 reliable Starters, with several more in the wings awating their call up.
3) They have 3 1st round draft picks (1 is 1st overall) joining the team.
Detroit was shellacked by this team in September 2025. The rest of the Division didn’t fair well either. MLB should be on high alert!
Without a doubt in my mind they get an F. They did basically nothing to improve in any meaningful way. Only reason I can see why some people gave them a D instead of a F, is because they somehow got Jose Ramirez to sign another extension.
I gave them a D because they didnt do anything, to me an F off-season is one where you hurt the team’s future
See Oakland trading Sean Murphy for Esteury Ruiz w Contreras going to Milwaukee, the off-season LA signed Rendon, the Rockies signing Bryant, etc, etc.
I mean you really can’t grade a teams offseason based on how players perform during the season as that would be a year in a review rather than a offseason review.
Like absolutely no one could’ve predicted that the Rendon and Bryant contracts would’ve aged as badly as they did.
Heck I remember seeing comments on the Rendon signing on how the Angels got an absolute stud of a player.
The Guardians depend on september ticket sales. You can expect a lot of roster churn until august. In the end it always comes down to luck and injuries. There are too many teams and too few great players. All teams have too many exchangeable parts. Id rather watch a young player than a 39 year old bum. The difference between winning and losing is three great players on a roster. Cleveland has 1.
If they win their 3rd straight division championship, does that still mean they get an ‘F’ or ‘D’?
Yes, Yes. Because it would mean that their roster over-achieved. That’ll be a great story though.
Not even Cleveland ownership can objectively give themselves an A, B, or C for their efforts to be competitive for the upcoming season.
Is this the shortest off season in review article ever written?
@yes
Heck no. But you’ll see the same “analysts” disparage the team next spring after they’ve won another title. Punching way above your weight means nothing to pundits who slavishly applaud signing mediocre players to absurd deals. But that keeps the meters spinning at MLBTR! Action for action’s sake, regardless of merit.
F for me. They have underrated horrible ownership when people name the A’s and Pirates. Yes they win games but they simply don’t spend or even trade to get many legit bats to go with J-Ram who they at least keep as a cornerstone. I understand small market, whatever, but how many times are they going to hold onto the same no bat infielders instead of trading them for an impact bat? Starting pitching is always ok and they find a way to have a nasty pen every season no matter what. Just a shame to the fans because with a little more, they would be a legit threat.
‘Yes, they win games…’
Thats kind of the idea.
The Cleveland FO has been burnt often with free agent signings…some fairly major…over the last dozen years or so.
Michael Bourne
Nick Swisher
Mark Reynolds
Juan Uribe
Marlin Byrd
Edwin Encarnacion
Cesar Hernandez
Eddie Rosario
Mike Zunino
Josh Bell
All, but Encarnacion and Hernandez, were nothing but holes in the water that you pour money into.
Cleveland is never going to shop in the Saks Fifth Avenue Free Agent store, so the FO has decided that what they have is likely to be just as good as what’s in their shopping aisle of mid level FAs.
We shall see.
Antonetti and Chernoff claim that the club did make competitive offers to several free agents, but the players wanted playing time that the club couldn’t guarantee…which makes some sense.
But the proof of that will be in the pudding when the active roster is announced. If some of the failed vets, like Nolan Jones, are still around, so much for freeing up playing time for the kids.
You continue to forget Jones actually isn’t old… Though I agree we shouldn’t have kept him…
Jones will be 28 in May.
Thats pretty darned old for an unestablished position player in his fifth year with over 1200 PAs.
Still not old either… Though he does need to prove himself this spring since Valera DeLauter etc are looking pretty dang good…
Espino, Delauter, and Bazzana have All-Star ceilings. Kwan, Fry and Ramirez have been All-Stars.
Cheap cheap cheap
@DarlSide830
Smart, smarter, smartest.
Only thing dumb are fans who continue to underestimate them.
Who were they supposed to spend on… Guys who blocked position of their best prospects? I mean they have a strong starting staff and bullpen, oh yeah a closer making 740k who any team would take as their closer…
Only reason they aren’t an “F” is because of the JRam extension
The Guardians actively worked to lower their payroll.
The three players listed in the article-
Acquired for cash, then traded for cash.
Acquired for Bonus pool space (more money they don’t have to spend).
A rule 5 pick up.
That’s it. What are they thinking?
It must be related to some financial maneuvering associated with the upcoming ownership succession plan set for 2027 or 28.
It’s pure profit-taking. Based on Forbes MLB valuations and CBA estimates, Cleveland received at least $200M in revenue-sharing for the 2025 season. That figure projects to be slightly higher this season. Granted that they have numerous other expenses beside payroll, they also have revenue from the ballpark, sponsors, and TV.
@YankeeBleacherCreature
1) That you actually believe that CLE ownership pockets a greater % of its revenue than the Yankee ownership does of theirs is hilarious.
2) That you think CLE should spend a significantly larger % of its revenue on major league payroll (and take it out of the developmental side of the organization) is big market arrogance at its finest.
3) The only thing truly embarrassing here is not the payroll standings but the actual performance on the field by the NYY (hell, throw the Mets in there) considering all the largess and advantages they have compared to teams like CLE.
@Avory
1) Where did I say any of that regarding the Yankees?
2) Nobody knows what percentage of revenue Cleveland is spending on development.
3) This may be the only thing I can agree with you on. I’d rather be embarrass at the end of the season than feel hopeless at beginning of each.
Cleveland keeps the same percentage of revenue as any other team would, but their revenue is way lower so their payroll is way lower. Dolan literally lets Antonetti decide how much of the budget he uses and it is well north of 100 million Antonetti can use. Dolan just let’s a baseball person decide how to spend the budget. Dolan just gives him the upper end and that’s all he does. Cleveland also spends more in the draft than any other team and they focus heavily on drafting and developing. They have to cause they cannot spend in free agency… Heck 25 of their 40 man roster were always in the Guardians organization and 9 more developed by the Guardians organization. 3 acquired in pre-arb status… Armstrong and Jones were both drafted and made their debuts with the Guardians and have been reacquired by them… Hedges, Brogdon and Holderman were the three not acquired by Cleveland during their pre-arb years… Guardians win/losses is based off of their drafting and developing…
Its coming in november2026 ownership change when blitzer takes over from dolan trusts. Book it !
@Chrome 8550
Nothing will change, book it!
I never cease to be amazed by fans who think owners will spend out of their own pocket for ballplayers for our enjoyment.
That’s some high-level delusion!
There’s a far greater chance the team will decline in performance after a new owner takes over in CLE than improve. But dream on!
Meet the new boss same as the old boss. New ownership does not guarantee spending or better retaining of talent. What makes anyone believe Blitzer will spend an additional dime than the penny pinching Dolans? Or maybe better yet you have an owner who spends lots of money in all the wrong places. Cleveland should be familiar with that with the Browns
MLB teams are billionaire toys. They want the newest shiniest toy with a trophy as a bonus. The fans are a distraction.
Imagine if they spent just a bit more. They are always very high on the list of wins per dollar spent.
This is a surprisingly scathing piece for MLBTR, but as a Guardians fan it’s justified.
I’m sure that they at least have SOME money earmarked for a potential deadline addition, but they also haven’t really shown a recent history of adding at the deadline since about 2016. (And no, Lane Thomas doesn’t count.)
There are enough players who could conceivably step up that it’s fun to dream on any of them breaking out, but banking on several of them doing so is an incredibly risky strategy.
DeLauter is capable of being a difference maker if he’s healthy, but he pretty much never has been. Valera is ideally a strong-side platoon bat who only occasionally plays the outfield, but he could be decent in that role. I like Kayfus but don’t know where he’ll play. I’m lower on Brito than most of the fanbase seems to be, but I can squint and see a switch-hitting, bat-first utility guy. Naylor could build off of how he ended last season. I’m willing to invest in Angel Martinez and I’m an irrationally big fan of Brayan Rocchio, but DeLauter is likely the only one who has the ceiling of being an impactful everyday player until Bazzana arrives.
They’ll be in the playoff mix and might mess around and win the Central again, so I give them a D because they theoretically didn’t get worse. This team is always greater than the sum of its parts and I expect them to still compete, but I don’t think it’s much to ask for them to field a payroll even in the 20-25 range. They’ve been adamant that they don’t want to block their young hitters which makes sense to a small extent if we’re talking about a guy who only marginally raises the floor (like a Mike Yastrzemski type), but they’ve never faced the issue of having too many guys hitting well so I’m sure they’d be able to find at bats for everyone if that ever happened.
I’m not surprised at the scathing-ness at all. Hardly anyone (including Guardians fans, sadly) respects what the Guardians have done in spite of their ownership. They may not have won a World Series since 1948, but they’ve consistently been competitive for a while now, making the playoffs more often than not. And it should be noted that the author is a fan of a considerably less competitive division rival, so there may be a degree of jealousy.
@layventsky
If someone can’t respect this team’s achievements despite its disadvantages (I submit this team should always be around last in payroll…someone has to be last in a list of 30, why not a team based in an impoverished region that is the smallest market to have all three of the major North American sports?) then those observers are willfully blind or ignorant to what has been accomplished all these years. There’s never been a mass exodus from this excellent organization and players like Ramirez stay because they know it is a good place to play and managers like Francona and Vogt know they can win here and get recognition for it.
Do you just spend money to spend money? Bader was not worth 10+ million per season… They offered guys contracts, but not a true starting spot… Anjubar, Hays, IKF all took the contracts that offered a legit starting spot… None of those guys are a true upgrade since metrics were okay, not great for them. Antonetti had money to spend, but he decided since he couldn’t find a true upgrade/ complimentary piece to this roster why spend just to spend… Fairchild and Hoskins actually may end up being two legit signings for this roster since they both bring something to the table that is a need… If Hoskins keeps doing what he did yesterday then that may be the best signing of any team this offseason…
I gave them a D only because they gave Jose Ramirez an extension but that’s it.
If you wanna give them a D for the extension, fine. But really anything but an F is crazy.
It takes a LOT of spin to make this winter look like anything other ownership punting the season. Hard to speculate how much the impending lockout factored into the decision to do basically nothing. Also frustrating is the FO’s irrational fixation with Nolan Jones and Gabriel Arias. I don’t think either one would be on any other major league roster, but they keep running them out there like they’re on albatross contracts.
Folks like you think they “punt” on every season, but there they are, laughing at you at the end of the year. But that won’t stop you, you’ll say exactly the same thing again next spring. It’s hilarious.
@Solaris Both Jones and Arias both have those loud tools. I am not sure how far that gets them this year.
Personally, I still see the appeal for Arias. He is a really good defender, has a rocket arm and has plenty of defensive flexibility. Still only 26 too. He has a lot of ugly swing-and-misses though.
I am amazed that Nolan Jones finished the 2025 season on the roster, let alone being tendered a contract for 2026.
Of course, I hope they both have breakout years. That would be awesome to see it pay off.
Arias would be on a lot of teams since the dude, can play just about anywhere on the field with no qualms… Now, is bat has been crap, but utility INFs with plus defense always end up playing long careers… Jones I wanted cut, and he might not make it out of spring.
I’d say 1948 will forever be the last time Cleveland won a World Series. They’re just not capable of winning it again, unlike Detroit, who is much more capable.
@CuriousEyes8
And how many division titles has Cleveland won since the last time Detroit did? I’ll wait…
Really tired of the big offseason signing being goddamn Austin Hedges
@RKOCle
Oh, poor, poor you.
Guess you should run off and be an Angels or Rockies fan. Or a Twins or White Sox fan. Or Pirates or Marlins or Padres fan. Or Mariners, who’ve never even been to a World Series. Or a Royals fan for most of their miserable existence.
Poor, poor pitiful you, having to “suffer” being a Cleveland fan. You’re so “tired” of it all.
You seem fun
Who has any fun when they have to listen to perpetual whiners?
Who can have any fun when perpetual whiners are in our midst? It’s one thing when complaining about a consistently poor team, but one that consistently contends? Good grief.
I was expecting to see an empty article… Kudos to be able to say this much about the off-season.
The won the division thanks to the Tigers having that collapse towards the end of the season and still got ousted by them in the playoffs. This team needs more slugging and a rundown Hoskins isn’t the answer
The Guardians won the division because over the course of a 162 game season they won the most games. In the end, when and how they won those games makes no difference.
They also won the season series against every team in the division.
How dare you let facts get in the way of almost everybody’s narrative.
@Prospectnvstr
Steve Adams acts like Cleveland won the division in isolation, just moseying along winning games while the Tigers were off somewhere else, valiantly losing games while Cleveland “somehow” just won them.
In the last two weeks of the season, with the division on the line, Cleveland beat Detroit five of six times to TAKE the division from Detroit, not backdoor their way to the title. Detroit was immensely fortunate the Astros didn’t win one more game, otherwise they wouldn’t have even made the playoffs.
If anyone backdoored their way into the postseason, it was Detroit, not Cleveland. But that’s clearly not the way Steve Adams sees it, because he can’t stand watching CLE win on a shoestring. Because it EMBARRASSES everyone else.
I mean, what’s there to say when Austin Hedges is your second biggest acquisition of the offseason?
It says this front office smart. Player perfomance is not a stat line. It is a human experience that impacts the win column.
2017 jay bruce. 2018 brad hand and adam cimber.
Hand, Cimber, and Bruce were all acquired in deadline deals.
I have no hallucinations about him becoming an all-star but Bo Naylor “could” have a breakout season. This will be his 4th MLB season. He’ll be 26 for the entire season. In ’25 he had his lowest BA but his XBH & RBI #’s were career highs. Most importantly he’s solid defensively.
He made some changes at the plate last year and his hitting was decent in the second half. Hopefully a sign of things to come.
Bo also had terrible numbers against LHP. Having Fry healthy will help limit the number of ABs Naylor gets against tough LHP in key spots.
I know that it’s water under the bridge now, but Cleveland still has to be kicking themselves over Caminero especially given how cheap they are!
To be fair, how could they have known back then? He was a teenager playing in the DSL.
Caminero was a lottery pick that hit the jackpot.
Umm. No. Caminero was an international signing (under 100K) that Cleveland traded away for a pitcher that is now in Milwaukee.
@Sean P
No, he’s not. Tobias Myers will be a part of the New York Mets roster on opening day.
Whatever. Obviously wasn’t the point. Didn’t take time to look and see where Tobias Myers is these days.
@Avory
Random question, you on RealCavsFans forums Guardians area?
Yes (not a random answer!)
Then you can kind of guess who I am then since I don’t have access to my original account here anymore so I had to take out a letter… lol
Definitely a franchise-altering trade. That’s the worst but also bad moves with Yainer Diaz, Yandy Diaz, and Ernie Clement.
It was EE plus Diaz for Santana and Bauers… Saved Cleveland some money and Bauers was a top 100 prospect, so on paper wasn’t a horrible move… Clement got cut again after Cleveland cut him so Clement it was finding the right coaching… I cannot defend the Myers move though mostly because I didn’t think they needed pitching that badly and it wasn’t in favorable light from the guys who pay attention to the DSL stats since he was tearing the ball off the cover down there… Cleveland wins most trades, so a loss is expected now and again…
Woof what a terrible offseason
The biggest decision they made was tendering a contract to Nolan Jones. Of course, the dollars are small but that roster spot and playing time really limited what they could do in free agency.
We heard from Anonnetti that they had competitive offers to Free Agents, in terms of year/$, but players ultimately signed elsewhere because of more playing time.
I know it is only March.. but in his first Spring game, Jones hit a double and a HR. Since then, he has 20 plate appearances.. 0 BB, 1 H, 0 XBH, 10 K’s.
The Guardians, including their guys from the minors, hammered White Sox RHP last night.. while Jones went 0 for 3 with 2 K’s and a ground out.
Still time to turn it around but that is looking like a really bad decision.
@CKinSTL
Oh, for crying out loud, who cares? Nolan Jones is cheap insurance. If he’s half as bad as you think and doesn’t make the team and gets DFA’d and someone else picks up that $2m, you didn’t lose anything. If he gets through waivers and goes to Columbus and works on his game, he’s there if someone gets hurt.
Jones is much ado about nothing. He’s not blocking anyone for very long if at all.
It is a simple matter of opportunity cost with that roster spot.
I specifically mentioned that the monetary cost was low. No where do I mention that he going to block prospects. Not sure why you are arguing on those points.
Because you said it was “looking like a really bad decision.”
No it’s not. It’s a decision. A flyer. A shot in the dark that the guy would suddenly revert to a facsimile of 2023 form. For $2m they might not even have to pay.
So where’s the “really bad decision”?
A bad decision is guaranteeing $38m a year for two years to Framber Valdes past his peak AND giving him the right to stay for a 3rd year too, no matter how poorly he pitches. A bad decision is making a qualifying offer to Gleyber Torres. A bad decision is giving Jack Flaherty a player option for $20m. And yet Nolan Jones is a “really” bad decision? C’mon now.
You are addressing everything but my point… A roster spot is a very valuable and scarce resource. I get it, the financial cost is negligible. We have now both stated this multiple times.
Antonetti explicitly said that they missed out on free agents due to playing time concerns. No doubt Jones being in the fold played into that – to some extent. That is just one example of how a roster spot could have been used elsewhere.. they could have kept Brennan or Hentges, made waiver claims, etc.
Of course, I hope the dude mashes this year.
Hentges still hasn’t been able to pitch this spring and Cleveland has a ton of left handed hitting OFs so they decided to stay with the left handed hitters that have more upside. Brennan is coming off of Tommy John as well so it seems like he is able to go, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him not playing everyday right away. Brennan is more of a high floor type as well…
I don’t agree with keeping Jones, I thought it was best to move on from him, but they kept him so RF is his spot to loose especially with DeLauter and Valera never staying healthy long… But strong springs from DeLauter and Valera (plus them staying healthy), with Hoskins and Fairchild having legit chances to make the team, yeah, he is going to be a guy who could be the first to be DFA’D… The one person stated even at 2 million another team could take Jones just because of the upside of his potential…
Now, when it comes to Jones effecting the signing of FAs… They were targeting complimentary players aka RH bats to mix in. It sounded like Antonetti envisioned Andujar, Hays etc types to be playing around the field, DH’ing etc which would put them getting 300-400 ABs and not everyday ABs… Hence why I said Cleveland should target a Miguel Rojas since he would take the utility role while being able to mash lefties.
No one will pick up the $2 M. He effectively has a minor league contract.
Precisely.
This summary is a perfect analysis of the Guardians ‘ off-season. Ownership made the FO sit on their hands. It’s not the best way to give confidence to your fan base.
This is definitely wrong… Dolan did not change the budget for Antonetti… Dolan actually likely upped the budget for Antonetti. The FO chose not to spend more money because Bader was too pricey and the guys they did offer monetarily equal or better contracts to, took guaranteed everyday Jobs, which they weren’t offered in Cleveland. Antonetti publicly stated he offered fair if not better contracts to multiple FA, but they took jobs elsewhere due to the fact they didn’t have guaranteed ABs here since they didn’t want to block their top prospects… This FO gets the benefit of the doubt on that…
It would have been nice to see them add a guy like Harrison Bader or Miguel Andujar. Those guys could have fit into the roster, without blocking DeLauter, Kayfus, and (eventually) Bazzana.
If DeLauter, Kayfus and Bazzana are healthy and productive this year.. I think their 2026 contributions will be far greater than anything they could reasonably expect to get via free agency.
I think the return of David Fry is being overlooked too. He was recovering from TJS last season and it was pretty much a lost year. If he can return to his 2024 form and mash LHP – that is a big addition. Beyond that though, having him in the catching mix allows Vogt to easily PH for Bo Naylor (vs LHP) and Hedges in key spots.
Perhaps foolish optimism but I haven’t given up on Angel Martinez and Bryan Rocchio being steady everyday players.
Even optimistically, this offense is going to be in the bottom-third of the league in runs scored and even worse in power numbers.
Underwhelming offseason, for sure, but I wouldn’t write them off quite yet.
@Reply to CKinSTL
Bader wasn’t going to go to a team where he was going to be platooned; he wanted to be paid like the everyday player he thinks he is (which he’s not; take a look at that BABIP-fueled performance last year compared to the three years before that.)
Miguel Andujar is precisely a guy you avoid as well; one decent (limited) year doesn’t invalidate the fact that he’s a butcher with the glove and at 31 years of age has a career WAR of 2.3. You think he’s ever going to be patient in a short-side platoon role?
I absolutely expect Bader to regress significantly at the plate.. but he checks a lot of boxes. Plays a solid center field, hits LHP, and he is a bit of a spark plug.
Some injury and age risk but the price was low. Good floor, with some upside.
I certainly wouldn’t give Andujar everyday ABs but would take him in a bench role over Hoskins. I don’t dislike the Hoskins signing, I am just not sure how you carry 3 DH/1B-types on the roster.
The price was not low for Bader. Certainly not for the guy he was in 22, 23, and 24. And is the guy ageless? He’s at the point where his defensive skills will begin to erode. He’s not an every day player, but the Giants are surely paying him like one. Good luck with that.
Hoskins does present roster problems. I wouldn’t have signed him since it means one of Kayfus or Valera (or even DeLauter) is ticketed for Columbus if Hoskins is rostered.
Anjubar didn’t sign with Cleveland because he wasn’t going to have an everyday role, plus his main position is honestly 3B… I don’t doubt Anjubar, IKF, Hader ect were all offered something fair value wise… Hader we were outbid on, Anjubar and IKF Cleveland likely wasn’t outbid on, but both Anjubar and IKF had everyday spots open when they signed with their perspective teams.
I meant Bader, sorry it defaults to Hader in my phone for some reason lol
I am a Guardians fan because they remain an outlier in the MLB with how well they allocate resources. They have like the 4th most wins of all MLB teams since 2012. It’s impressive. This offseason, I understand what they are doing. They have a glut of AAAA superstars that they need to evaluate with playing time at the MLB level. Maybe there is a breakout among that group, or maybe it’s just a bunch of blah like last season. Can’t really know until the trials occur. I prefer this strategy VS the multi-year signings of “stars” that stretch well into their over-the-hill seasons.
It is truly a fun team to watch. It is an exciting brand of baseball and they have some fun players
“They have like the 4th most wins of all MLB teams since 2012. ”
3rd
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&st…
I couldn’t remember off the top of my head the exact rank, but they also have like the 24th highest cumulative payroll during the same period. I know they have the 26th lowest cumulative payroll since 2016, since I made a spreadsheet for that. I cannot remember what 2012-2015 looked like as far as payroll compared.
People don’t seem to understand the Guardians put in offers for guys and they didn’t get outbid monetarily, but outbid because of playing time the other teams were offering… Cleveland has a ton of prospects who can play RF and 2B so they didn’t want to block them… They need them to play… CF was the only position they really needed someone in.m and guess what other teams overpaid for FAs. Cleveland’s only bad contract is Stephen, otherwise they don’t have bad contracts and majority of their players are pre-arb so honestly they are gambling, but they also don’t just spend money needlessly…
Another Dolan apologist. There is no excuse for running out a payroll less than half of what Dick Jacobs invested a quarter of a century ago in today’s dollars.
Dolan has given Antonetti the green light for 100 to 120 million payroll… When will people understand Dolan is the type of owner who literally just gives Antonetti the budget and Antonetti does what he thinks is best with the budget… Dolan is barely involved at all with the day to day, heck he may be the most hands off owner in all of professional sports. Cleveland cannot afford to sign a Tucker and Ketel’s Marte’s contract was just to heavy to acquire since he is due a lot of money here soon in age of seasons that most player badly regress. They put out legit monetary offers for Andujar, Hays, IKF etc, but they weren’t starting roles but utility roles offered by Cleveland, while the teams they signed with offered starting roles. Bader was really the only one that maybe Antonetti should have tried to outbid on, but Bader’s xBA/xwOBA/xSLG has been dismal so Antonetti wasn’t going to put out a two year contract on a guy who is likely to regress a ton in 26… They have a top 5 SP staff and bullpen already… They have what 4ish top 100 prospects bats due for their MLB debuts this season with a former top 100 prospect finally healthy who can hit. Then a fast riser in Watson and a legit hitting prospect who lost last year… Fry is back healthy as well and playing C… Naylor has a new swing… Cleveland also has the assets to get an All-star at the trade deadline. People also forget to factor in more teams are looking to acquire veterans than trade them than every before due to expanded playoffs that hurts the Guardians since it is way harder to acquire pieces via trade which is their main way of getting players.
LOL! Unless you are a Dolan or work in the front office, you have NO IDEA what budget Antonetti has been given.
Umm… It was publicly stated Antonetti would have about 100 million to use and greater than that for true playoff seasons… Aka 100 million for most season and if we needed to get a Miller again, Dolan would say yes if they were a legit contender…
Link? I don’t recall that EVER being published anywhere.
He stated he should have about the payroll he had last season for the next season and stated Dolan is willing to put out more in playoff years. You never truly know with Antonetti, but Guardians had money to spend but Bader wasn’t worth 10 million a year… Not an opinion but a literal fact on that one and He did publicly state he actually had the highest offer for a FA but they took less money to play elsewhere since they weren’t guaranteed an everyday job… You’re team has to be the Angels since the Guardians win without spending… Must be jealousy…
@thedrewf
Spoken like someone who pays attention and gets what the team is doing, unlike those who insist payroll standings are the “real” standings.
anyone who tries to analyze what the CLE front office does from a distance by looking just at numbers is going to miss out on a lot. for example, anyone who actually follows CLE regularly would know that hedges is valued most for what he contributes in the clubhouse and how he influences team morale. they’d also know that the FO places a high priority on pitching and defense and considers run prevention as a viable means of improving run differential. and that’s how they’ve managed to win the third or fourth most games in the AL over the last 12 years or so despite having a payroll of maybe a third of the three teams that were the top three.
the loss of their previous cable deal had more of an adverse impact on revenue than people seem to realize and they’re never going to get more than maybe 13th in attendance in the AL in this economy. and the reality that the mouth breathers in the fan base will never accept is that revenue drives payroll.
On the money beeceeinla, well said.
bc
“anyone who tries to analyze what the CLE front office does from a distance by looking just at numbers is going to miss out on a lot…they’d also know that the FO places a high priority on pitching and defense and considers run prevention as a viable means of improving run differential. ”
Why do you think looking at numbers is going to make people miss out on… Run differential?
It’s not like Cleveland fans have some frustrations, but tell us, who they could have signed… They needed an upgrade at CF and SS honestly, all of their best hitting prospects can literally play 2B or LF/RF so they weren’t going to spend money on starters for those two positions… Cleveland was never going to get Tucker and quite frankly Bader’s underlining stats with xBA/xwOBA/xSlG were horrid. Anjubar, Hays, IKF all were likely offered contracts by Cleveland and all were equal to or even exceeded the contract they signed (I know IKF was offered that’s for sure). They weren’t offered starting jobs since none of them play the positions that were open in the offseason (outside of IKF who isn’t a strong hitter) Cleveland spent money on Hedges and Armstrong. Hedges because he is the captain and Armstrong to replace Clase with a veteran RP arm… They have a top 5 rotation and Bullpen on paper before they went and added 6 guys to the bullpen mix. Tell me does a team need to spend just to spend money?
The Dolan apologists out in force below. Okay, people. Here is a FACT: Dick Jacobs payroll in TODAY’S DOLLARS would be $160 million. Dolan, 25 YEARS LATER – THAT’S A QUARTER OF A CENTURY BOYS – IS LESS THAN HALF THAT!
Go ahead! Defend that!
After winning the division two years in a row and drawing over 2 million fans each season, DOLAN CUT PAYROLL BY $20 MILLION. Only Miami has a smaller payroll.
Go ahead Dolanistas! Defend THAT!
Ah 4 players in Arb years, 2 players in extension years and 4 players signed in free agency… 3 of those players might not even make the team… 30 players of their 40 man roster are making league minimum… Their closer is making league minimum… Their rotation has 6 legit big league starters, 5 are league minimum… They have multiple top 100 prospect that are at or MLB ready that can 2B or RF and the free agent that was available for CF took a major overpay and the other took less money elsewhere for more ABs… Angels can attest to the fact spending doesn’t mean wins… Top 3 in wins in the last decade… Also they did sign Hoskins who had a OPS of 108 last season for 1.5 million dollars and Fairchild who fits the need for a RH OF… On top of that, how young is this team, once again one of the youngest… I guess none of that matters since Dolan and Antonetti should just spend money needlessly…
You’re not as clever as you think. You evaded the point. Defend Dolan spending less than HALF what Jacobs did despite drawing 2 million fans two consecutive years plus playoff income, the franchise has quadrupled in value, and Dolan is raking in tens of millions more in luxury tax money than Jacobs ever did. You can’t defend that and that’s why you evade and gaslight. Are you a Dolan or one of his employees?
You’re not as clever as you think. You still haven’t rationalized Dolan’s payroll being HALF of Jacobs’ 25 years ago. Don’t give us the bs line about winning records over the last blah blah years. There isn’t any way to defend Dolan’s cheapskate ways when the franchise has quadrupled in value and he’s raking in hundreds of millions more in luxury tax money than Jacobs ever did. I’ll wait for your defense of that!
Man, it’s gotta be exhausting attacking a team that wins all the time, am I right?
Dude payroll doesn’t mean wins… Guardians are 3rd in wins in the last decade… Angels have a payroll twice Cleveland’s size and doesn’t even sniff a wild card spot in 10 years. Guardians are a team that lives through developing and not signing FAs. They will be drafting a heavy amount of pitching this season to replenish their SP depth… This organization actually knows what they are doing. They need to add another bat for sure, but do you really think that Anjubar or Hays is really enough of a difference maker to say Dolan is cheap? Your comments just show ignorance is all it is. All you look at is the dollar numbers and say they are being cheap… Win-Loss record is what matters.
Less than half Jacobs’ payroll 25 years ago. That’s the only figure that matters. I don’t blame you for not trying to defend that indefensible number.
Dude, give it a rest… Guardians win… That’s all that really matters isn’t it?
Not for those “fans” for whom payroll standings mean more than the actual ones.
There shouldn’t be a comma before “either.”