Early Spring Training Thoughts And Disappointments

The Cleveland Guardians have been playing exhibition baseball for a little over a week now, and it is hard to believe the regular season will start three weeks from Thursday in Seattle. As we always say, the results of the games aren’t important, but how younger players perform does.

Since outside of Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, most of the Guardians don’t have a real track record, we do look through the box scores to see how the prospects are performing and also, we look at the players the front office should be ready to move on from.

Of course, the guy causing the most buzz and the most worry is Chase DeLauter. He has started off 5 for 8 with a home run and two doubles but also missed three days with leg soreness. His durability has been in question since he was drafted and having to miss a few days after playing in three games has to send up a warning flare.

George Valera is 5 for 14, but with five strikeouts and just a walk. We aren’t too concerned about the lack of walks, as we have seen he is a patient hitter, but if he keeps hitting, we would expect him to open the year on the big club.

It is also good to see Bo Naylor get off to a strong start (5 for 10, 3 doubles, two walks). After a solid September, perhaps he’s found something at the plate.

On the other hand, so far, it’s been more of the same from Gabriel Arias and Nolan Jones.

Arias is two for nine in his four games, but that’s not the problem. His issue has been making contact and he was already whiffed five times in those nine plate appearances and hasn’t walked. He’s coming off a year where he fanned at a 34.4% clip, the highest of his career. He walked only 27 times in 471 times at the dish.

His competition at shortstop, Brayan Rocchio has gone 4 for 14 early with a walk and just two punchouts. If Rocchio wins the spot, it could make room for rookie Juan Brito at 2B.

As for Jones, after hitting a homer in his first exhibition appearance, he has struck out six times without a walk in 17 plate appearances. He whiffed 113 times versus 39 walks a year ago. If he’s vying for playing time against DeLauter and Valera, it would seem he would be the odd man out.

The front office has a lot of faith in both Arias and Jones, and frankly we don’t know why. Forget the metrics, the eyes tell you both need to learn the strike zone better to be consistently successful.

Switch-hitter Angel Martinez is just 2 for 10, but with two walks, but his success vs. southpaws keeps him in the mix for Opening Day. We like the walks, but in both of the last two seasons when he came up, he was very patient and then started free swinging. We think he’d be better, especially from the left side, being more selective.

Petey Halpin is off to a good start too, going 5 for 10 with three walks and if he was a right-handed hitter, he’d probably would have a leg up on a roster spot, but the glut of lefty bats makes it likely he goes to AAA.

There are a lot of games and a lot of at bats for these guys to impress or turn it around. That’s the beauty of spring training baseball.

Hoskins Gives Guards A RH Stick

It took a long time, but the Cleveland Guardians finally signed a proven right-handed bat, inking veteran Rhys Hoskins to a minor league deal, but who is kidding who, barring an injury, Hoskins is going to break camp with the big-league club.

It kind of supports the old saying “good things come to those who wait”.

Hoskins will be 33 soon and seems to be exactly what the Guardians needed. The major league average OPS last season was 717 and Hoskins has been over that number every year of his career.

By the way, the 2025 Guards had two hitters who exceeded that average number, Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo. Yes, that’s how bad the Cleveland offense was last season.

For his career, Hoskins has an 882 OPS vs. left-handed pitching, with a .382 on base average, something the Guardians badly need, and even last year, when he was limited with a thumb injury, the veteran still had a 731 OPS vs. southpaws.

He did lead the National League in walks in 2019 with 119, but his walk rate has decreased from 16.5% in that season to a still respectable 11.6% a year ago.

As a frame of reference, no Cleveland player had a rate that high in 2025, the closest was Carlos Santana at 11.4%.

We don’t know the agreement (beyond contractual) the Guardians made with Hoskins, but it would seem to us that if you limit his at bats against righties, he should be productive for Cleveland.

It was definitely a concern here how Steven Vogt’s squad was going to do vs. lefties. They are very left-handed hitting dominant. Even the broadcast during the exhibition opener commented there were only four right-handed hitters on the 40-man roster: Austin Hedges, Gabriel Arias, David Fry, and Johnathon Rodriguez.

And no one has ever compared any of them to Joe DiMaggio.

We contemplated what Vogt was going to do with a tough lefty going for the opposition, after all, the two-time AL Cy Young Award Winner resides in their division in Tarik Skubal.

The signing allows the skipper to not have to expose rookies like Chase DeLauter and George Valera to a hurler of that caliber, at least early in the season. And for a historical comparison, remember that Jim Thome wasn’t in the lineup for the first game at Jacobs Field because Hall of Famer Randy Johnson was pitching for Seattle.

Now, Vogt can play Hoskins at first, DH Manzardo, and use David Fry in rightfield vs. a tough lefty, assuming Fry’s elbow has fully recovered. Of course, he could also use Fry behind the plate as well.

The move also probably means it will be very difficult for CJ Kayfus to make the opening day roster. We would rank him behind DeLauter and Valera as a hitter anyway at least right now. Besides, good teams need depth in the high minors. We are sure Kayfus will be in Cleveland at some point this summer.

We still wouldn’t mind adding another right-handed bat to this lineup, but getting Hoskins is no doubt a good move and is insurance in case one of the young guys show they aren’t ready to produce when the season begins.

Hard to find any reason to disagree with the move.

Guardians Need Production At The Plate To Make Playoffs Again

Exhibition baseball will be played at the end of this week; another indication spring and baseball are just around the corner.

Of course, we are all aware the Cleveland Guardians are two-time defending American League Central Division champions, but we are also aware it has been a very quiet off-season for the front office.

Overall, the Indians/Guardians have made the playoffs in seven of the last ten seasons, a time period we should start calling the Jose Ramirez Era. And in this decade, they’ve continued to win despite a payroll that keeps shrinking.

Despite the criticism we give them, we can also see the argument that they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Since 2021, the Guards have finished 9th, 6th, 12th, 7th, and last in the AL in runs scored, so basically it has been five years since the team had a real good offense. The seasons in which they made the playoffs are in bold.

So outside of last year, when they have pretty much a league average hitting attack, they make the playoffs. Last year? We loved the stretch run when they pulled themselves from more than 10 games out to the division title, but if asked how they did it, we would say “smoke and mirrors”.

In fact, we will go out on a limb and say that if the Guardians rank in the bottom three of the AL in runs scored in 2026, they will be sitting at home when the post-season starts. If you look at the last 10-15 years in major league baseball, the teams that score the most runs are the teams that play in October.

Right now, the front office is saying they are going to give their young prospects, they pretty much have universally been rated as a top ten farm system in the sport, a runway for playing time. And we agree they need to give Chase DeLauter and George Valera solid chances to not only make the team, but to be in the lineup more often than not.

But what we fear is what happens if and when their luck runs out. What does it look like if the offense ranks in the bottom three in the Junior Circuit again in 2026? Our guess would be a below .500 record and general discontent from the fan base after two straight division titles.

We keep seeing people project batting orders and rosters for the 2026 season and still keep seeing three proven hitters: Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Kyle Manzardo. Again, we feel if DeLauter stays healthy (a huge “if”), he won’t be overmatched.

And a reminder here the roster is still very heavy from the left side. And where is the hope for a decent right-handed hitter? They have David Fry, who had a very good ’24 season, but still has under 700 plate appearances in the bigs.

Angel Martinez was solid vs. lefties last season, but he’s also not a lock to make the team especially if DeLauter, Valera, and CJ Kayfus are on the roster. The other hope is Johnathan Rodriguez, who has performed well in AAA, but in 117 big league times at the plate (a horribly small sample size) has a 586 OPS.

Can the good luck continue for the Guardians? A better question is can the organization finally develop a legitimately good hitter? The success for this year is largely dependent on doing just that.

Spring Training Starting. Guards Still Need A RH Bat

The Cleveland Guardians had to play all 162 games before clinching the American League Central Division title over the Detroit Tigers last year. That’s a pretty slim margin.

Now imagine a key series at Progressive Field on the first weekend in September in a tight race for a playoff spot and Tigers’ skipper A.J. Hinch maneuvers his rotation to have his pair of left-handed aces, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and free agent signee Framber Valdez face the Guardians.

And Steven Vogt’s counter is…what?

Team president Chris Antonetti has said twice in the past few weeks that he wants to give the Guards’ young prospects a runway for playing time this season. The problem with that is all of those hitters, Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and C.J. Kayfus hit from the left-side and another, Juan Brito is a switch-hitter.

In 2025, Cleveland hitters batted .224 with a 647 OPS against southpaws. Keep in mind, the league average OPS against all pitching was 719. So, against lefties, the offense was pretty mediocre.

Consider that the Guardians’ resident superstar, Jose Ramirez, batted .322 vs. LHP and had an 896 OPS. That means that when Ramirez isn’t in the equation, the Guardians’ hitters batted .212 against lefties.

If we limit the numbers to right-handed hitters vs. LHP, it’s a little better, a .233 batting average and a 695 OPS. But again, removing Ramirez’ numbers, the batting average falls to .215 and he belted six of the team’s 37 homers against southpaws.

Clearly, the Guardians need to hit left-handers a heck of a lot better in 2026. But they also haven’t done anything to address the situation in the off-season.

If you look at the current roster and rank the hitters by OPS (limiting the list to players with over 200 plate appearances), the list will go like this:

Ramirez (S)
Kyle Manzardo (L)
Steven Kwan (L)
Bo Naylor (L)
Carlos Santana (S) and of course released

The best right-handed hitter was Gabriel Arias who had a 638 OPS and if you are a regular reader, you know how we feel about him as a hitter. His numbers vs. LHP? Try a .211 batting average and a 666 OPS with 51 strikeouts and just seven walks in 135 plate appearances.

Having David Fry back will help. In his career he is hitting just .234 vs. lefties but has a .342 on base percentage and slugs .465 with 17 homers in 336 plate appearances.

Kwan hit .246 vs. lefties with a 581 OPS.

Angel Martinez was the next best hitter against LHP, batting .279 with a 792 OPS. They need another player with that kind of production, maybe two.

But it’s most definitely an issue. The Guardians need a proven right-handed bat. So, if it comes down to another race to make the post-season, will the team have a stick from the right side they can rely on?

So, while we appreciate the brass wanted to give DeLauter, Valera, and Kayfus a runway to get at bats, can Steven Vogt count on them against a lefty like Skubal? They would argue that nobody has much success against a pitcher like him but know this–he gave up 18 homers last season. Only one to a left-handed hitter.

Heck, Jhonkensy Noel took him deep.

We know the regular season doesn’t start until the end of March, but usually a contending team seems to make a move to counteract something their main competition does. The Cleveland Guardians can want to see their young players, but they need a right-handed bat.

Surely, the front office can see that.

The Cleveland Franchise Icon: Jose Ramirez

We have always looked wistfully at baseball teams that have a franchise icon. Kansas City has George Brett and Milwaukee has Robin Yount. Pittsburgh, of course, has Roberto Clemente. A fan of the Cleveland Indians/Guardians never had that.

When Jim Thome was elected to the Hall of Fame, the team erected a statue of him in Heritage Park at Progressive Field. But as we all know, Thome left Cleveland to sign with the Phillies as a free agent, then was traded to the White Sox, and played for several other teams, and did come back here for a cup of coffee in 2011.

There have been a lot of great players here especially in the Jacobs/Progressive Field years: Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, C.C. Sabathia, Francisco Lindor. None of them stayed.

We think the last position player to play 10 years in Cleveland and never play for another team was Al Rosen. He retired in 1956.

That will change thanks to Jose Ramirez, who signed an extension with the Guardians over the weekend through the 2032 season. Unless something drastic happens, Ramirez will retire here and will never wear another big-league team’s uniform.

Everyone around baseball should be aware of Ramirez’ six top five finishes in the MVP voting, the most by any player who has never won the award. It will be difficult for him to win now because the voting seems to be based on WAR, and the nuance of how much impact he has in the clubhouse won’t be figured in.

By the time he retires, Ramirez will likely be the greatest position player in the history of the franchise. Soon after the season starts, he will take the field for his 1620th game, breaking Terry Turner’s franchise record.

He is just 65 at bats shy of breaking Napoleon Lajoie’s record for at bats. He is currently 7th in hits with 1668 and could be 4th behind Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Earl Averill by the end of the season.

He is third in runs scored and will likely be second behind Averill by season’s end. He is 53 home runs away from passing Thome as the franchise home run leader and is second in RBIs and should pass Averill in that category in 2027 (if there is a season).

Oh yeah, he’s also second all-time in stolen bases behind Kenny Lofton.

And for the sabermetric crowd, Ramirez is 5th in WAR behind Lajoie, Speaker, Feller, and Lou Boudreau and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility he will pass all four by the time he is ready to hang up his #11 jersey, which we don’t think it is going out on a limb to suggest he will be the last player to wear that number with Cleveland.

And although we are frequent critics of the Dolan ownership, hats off to them for making sure Ramirez will not play someplace else. However, it also takes two to tango, and no doubt Ramirez’ desire to be in Cleveland is a huge factor in getting this extension done.

What would really be great is improving the current roster so Ramirez can continue to play for winning teams and what would even be better, have a chance to compete for a championship, which he had said he wants to bring to this city.

Perhaps the biggest testament to that is the number of intentional walks issued to Ramirez over the last four seasons. He been given over 20 free passes in three of those seasons, leading the American League in 2022 and 2023.

Hopefully, the front office can get him some help. He deserves that for all he has done for the Cleveland franchise.

Spring Training Nears And Guardians Offense Is Still Subpar

As of today, spring training opens for the Cleveland Guardians in one month. The regular season is about nine weeks away. Yes, snow covers the ground in northeast Ohio, but in a few weeks, baseball will be in the news.

Actually, it is in the news for some franchises, as those teams have made moves to try to improve weaknesses from last season. Other franchises are making news by pushing the sport toward a work stoppage after the 2026 season. Yes, we are talking about you, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After the season, Steven Vogt talked about improving the bullpen and the offense. The front office has signed some bullpen arms, the most notable being Shawn Armstrong, but it looks like basically they are trying solve that issue with quantity, signing Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, and most recently Yorman Gomez.

We don’t necessarily disagree with that because bullpens are arguably the most volatile part of any team, and it is quite possible that by the end of the season, one of the mainstays of the Cleveland bullpen will be someone who isn’t on the radar right now.

But perhaps the bullpen won’t matter because the Guardians had the worst offense in the American League last season, and third worst in all of Major League Baseball, and simply haven’t done anything about it.

Yes, team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will tell you they are trying to provide a runway for the Guards’ top prospects, meaning Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and Travis Bazzana, and to a lesser point, C.J. Kayfus and Juan Brito.

And we will offer the usual opinion we have about this organization at times: Wishing and hoping is not a plan. It’s a great song by Dusty Springfield.

If the Guardians were a 90-loss team, going with the young players and giving them a long leash to see what they can do, should be the plan. But that’s not where they are, they are the two-time defending champions in the AL Central, and the goal, the plan, should be how do we go from being ousted in the League Championship Series in ’24 and in the Wild Card Series in ’25 to get to the World Series.

A particular area where the Guardians need help is right-handed hitting. As a team, they had a 647 OPS vs. left-handed pitching and their hitters from the right side against righties batted just .186 with a 545 OPS.

In short, they need a right-handed bat.

All of the young players mentioned earlier hit from the left side outside of Brito, who is a switch-hitter. The Guardians need someone to hit from the right side of the plate.

And what happens if DeLauter or Valera struggle when the season opens, if they even open the regular season with the team? The Guardians are notoriously conservative having young players open the year with the big club, choosing to keep them out of the cold weather.

So, as of right now, get ready to see the same group who struggled to score runs last season getting a lot of at bats.

Remember, the Guardians finished 88-74 last year. Based on their run differential, they should have been 80-82. They had luck on their side.

The best right-handed hitter Cleveland had a year ago was Gabriel Arias. Think about that and think about should the front office be satisfied with that.

Looking At Local Teams Heading Into ’26

Happy New Year to everyone and here’s hoping we will all be a little nicer to each other.

As we start 2026, we wonder what the sports year will hold for northeast Ohio with the three professional sports teams.

Looking at the Cavaliers, certainly there is some concern because last year’s regular season was so good with a 64-18 record, but a disappointing second round loss to Indiana in

the playoffs.

This year has been filled with injuries to key players, but still, something is different. It is true that Kenny Atkinson is doing some experimenting, but it can also be true the league has changed since Koby Altman put his team together with the emphasis being on Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

The NBA has gotten more long and more athletic and those teams seem to bother this group. With the Cavs over the second apron in terms of payroll, it will take a lot of creativity on Altman’s part to tweak the roster.

To the president of basketball operation’s credit, he did find a gem last year in Jaylon Tyson, who is averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game playing the wing. If Atkinson hasn’t realized it yet, he is one of the Cavs’ best players.

The Cavaliers will probably make the playoffs this year barring injuries, but how much they can advance will depend on what tweaks Altman can make before the trade deadline.

The Cleveland Guardians have won back-to-back AL Central Division titles, but the latest came despite one of the worst offenses in the game. With spring training about six weeks away, the front office hasn’t addressed this problem, but we do think a move is coming.

The front office has talked about not wanting to block the development of some young prospects, but they need to have a “Plan B” in case those players don’t pan out.

What they should be doing is going into the season planning for Chase DeLauter and/or George Valera to have significant roles in 2026, but getting a couple of right-handed bats, proven hitters, to be improve the offense. And if the young players are as advertised, it will make for a group that can finish in the top half of the AL in runs scored.

And we wouldn’t mind getting another starting pitcher to add some depth.

One more wish. Increase the payroll to a level where they are on par with other smaller market teams like Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.

That shouldn’t be an issue.

That brings us to the Browns. So much of what will happen in ’26 depends on what happens after Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. They could (and should) be looking at a new GM and new coach, but based on what has been reported, we don’t think that will occur.

To think an NFL team, bring back a duo that has gone either 7-27 or 8-26 over the last two seasons seems ludicrous. Especially in their fifth and sixth years in charge.

And then you have the cloud of Deshaun Watson, who the Browns keep talking about to the media, hovering over the franchise. This is a team that has made three playoff appearances in the last 26 years and won just one post-season game.

Of course, keeping Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski would fall in line with the lack of accountability the Browns have had recently. And we are looking at you Bubba Ventrone.

On the other hand, we are thankful to witness the greatness of Jose Ramirez and Myles Garrett, two surefire Hall of Fame players, who play for our local teams. It would be nice for them to play for a title someday.

2026 will mark ten years since the Cavaliers won the NBA title. That’s not the 52 years we endured from 1964 to 2016, but when we started being aware of sports in 1965, it was just a year removed from the Browns’ title in ’64.

Ten years is long enough.

Adding Relief Arms – Good. Still No Bats? Bad

After the season ended, Cleveland Guardians’ skipper Steven Vogt spoke about how the team needed to reconstruct its bullpen for 2026. We are sure part of that is knowing Emmanuel Clase will never throw a pitch for the team again.

Also, in today’s game, you can never have enough bullpen arms, and frankly, the Guardians had available spots on their 40-man roster, so they weren’t losing productive players by adding to the relief corps.

So, the additions of Peyton Pallette, Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, and Shawn Armstrong are fine. Sometimes, there is strength in numbers. Armstrong is a veteran, and has the biggest track record.

He probably had a career year last season with Texas with a 2.31 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 74 innings, but he has a lifetime ERA of 3.82 and more Ks than innings pitched over an 11-year career that began with Cleveland in 2015.

But if one or two of the other newcomers and another prospect from the farm system emerges, Vogt should have solid options at his disposal for the 2026 season.

Holderman was someone we looked at in 2024 when the Guards were marching to the AL Central Division title when he had a 3.16 ERA and 56 punchouts in 51.1 innings for Pittsburgh, but he had a terrible year in ’25 with an ERA over 7.00.

If he’s healthy, he’s a solid candidate to bounce back.

Brogdon, who will be 31 next season, has struggled since the 2023 season. He can strike people out, but has been vulnerable to the gopher ball recently, giving up 11 in 47 innings with the Angels last season.

While the bullpen has added depth, the hitting still hasn’t been addressed. Spring training is still two months away, so the front office still has time, but some bats that could have been useful have either come off the market or the rumors are the Guardians aren’t in play.

President Chris Antonetti has said the organization doesn’t want to block the progress of the club’s top prospects, but if the Guardians have designs on winning the Central Division for a third straight year, that cannot be the only plan.

Remember, the Guards had the third worst offense in baseball last season and the absolute worst in the American League. They simply cannot depend on players like Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and C.J. Kayfus, players who combined have less than 200 major league at bats.

What if none of them turn out to be good players? Before you think we are crazy, check most teams’ list of Top 10 Prospects from 4-5 years ago. Probably about half of those players don’t ever turn out to be solid MLB players.

So, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that none of the trio winds up being an everyday player, and for the record, we really like DeLauter, whose problem has been health more than anything else.

That’s why as a contending team; the front office has to plan for the worst-case scenario. And that’s why they have to get at least two proven hitters, in our opinion.

We are sure there will be plenty of disagreement here, but we would look at Luis Arraez as an option although the defensive positioning could be an issue.

The 28-year-old left-handed hitter had a down year last season, but that might make him very affordable. And he’s just a year away from a .346 on base percentage, and his career mark is .363.

We just imagine having Steven Kwan and Arraez at the top of the lineup hitting in front of Jose Ramirez. That ain’t bad.

As we said, there are still six weeks before spring training starts so there is still time. But Guardians’ fans would still like to see some offensive improvement.

Understand Seeing Prospects, But Guards Need A Proven Stick

The Cleveland Guardians are usually very tightlipped when it comes to talking about making changes to their roster, so when in an interview Chris Antonetti talked about balancing giving the current inexperienced players on the roster a shot with going out and bringing veteran players in, let’s hope that is just front office speak.

In 2025, the Guards ranked 28th in all of Major League Baseball in runs scored, 29th in OPS, on base percentage and slugging percentage. It really is kind of a miracle they made the playoffs with that bad of an offense.

Cleveland has some prospects that are on the cusp of helping the big-league team. We saw many of them in September and in the Wild Card Series. We are talking about guys like Chase DeLauter, George Valera, C.J. Kayfus, and Juan Brito has had some solid years in AAA and deserves a look.

However, outside of Kayfus, availability has been a big problem for those guys, and as we always say, the job of the front office should be to have a backup plan. What happens if those young players get hurt or aren’t ready to handle big league pitching?

We know what the alternative is for that, and quite frankly, it’s not pretty. Do the Guardians really feel like they can contend giving extensive at bats to players like Jhonkensy Noel (480 OPS in ’25), Nolan Jones (600 last year), or Johnathan Rodriguez (career 586 OPS)?

Again, we remind you with those guys and we can add in Daniel Schneemann’s 636 OPS and Gabriel Arias’ 638 figure, Steven Vogt’s squad had one of the worst offenses in the game.

That’s why the front office needs to add someone with a track record of offensive production. If DeLauter and one of the other prospects wind up being solid bats as rookies, then you have added depth and also you have the ability to protect them when they are in tough stretches at the plate, which most rookies go through.

In particular, the Guards could use a right-handed hitter with some pop and at least two hitters who can get on base. Arias led the team in homers by a right-handed hitter in 2025 with 11. As a comparison, their chief division rivals, the Tigers had four players that exceeded that total.

Of the four young players listed previously, Brito is a switch-hitter and the other three hit from the left side. Even if they all emerge, the Guards need a solid right-handed hitter.

As for getting on base, Jose Ramirez (of course) had a .360 OBP last season and the next highest was Steven Kwan at .330. The only other hitters over .300 were Kyle Manzardo (.313) and Carlos Santana, who was released in late August and is 39 years old.

That’s a lot of hitters making a lot of outs.

And we would prefer the organization to not take flyers on hitters who have declined over the past few seasons with the hope they can have a renaissance. That rarely works either.

The farm system has some depth, move some prospects to get a hitter who was productive last year. That’s what is needed.

We know there are a lot of people out there who put blind faith in anyone who has ever had a decent month or two in the minor leagues. We still go with the axiom that prospects are suspects until proven otherwise.

Guardians Have Roster Flexibility For Sure

There was baseball news this week as teams had to set their 40-man rosters to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 Draft at the winter meetings and the deadline to decline to offer players contracts for the 2026 season also took place.

The Cleveland Guardians allowed three players to become free agents on Friday, and all three, OF Will Brennan, and relief pitchers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright are coming off injuries.

Brennan missed most of last season due to Tommy John surgery, getting just 11 at bats with the big-league club, and Enright had the same procedure towards the end of the season. Hentges had a shoulder problem.

Our guess is the front office will try to keep all three with Brennan and Hentges being offered minor league deals with invitations to spring training. Enright likely won’t pitch at all in ’26.

Cleveland also added pitchers Yorman Gomez and Austin Peterson as well as shortstop Angel Genao and OF Khalil Watson to the 40-man roster. Genao, a switch-hitter, is regarded as a top 100 prospect.

However, reviewing the current roster, there are some very easy decisions for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to make if they make a trade bringing back more players than they dealt or if they sign a free agent.

It kind of says a lot about the talent level of the big-league team that there are so many players that can easily be identified.

Matt Festa was signed for next season, and his best talent is probably his rubber arm. He made 63 appearances after being acquired from Texas at the end of April, but he also had a 4.12 ERA.

David Fry was a no-brainer to bring back as he battled through after having elbow surgery after the 2024 season. He probably was put on the major league roster too soon, as he hit .140 in his first 43 at bats (445 OPS), and had just one homer. After that, the average still wasn’t good (.184), but he had 7 dingers.

Nolan Jones was also signed for ’26, despite hitting .211 with a 600 OPS. It is looking more and more like Jones’ 2024 campaign (20 HR, 931 OPS) is the outlier. Since then, he is hitting .218 with just eight homers. We just aren’t sure what the attraction is from the Cleveland front office.

In addition to Jones and Festa, the Guardians still have players like Jhonkensy Noel (643 career OPS), Johnathan Rodriguez, Zak Kent, and even Daniel Schneemann still protected.

The latter is versatile, but will also be 29 next season, and in two years with the Guardians, has batted just .210 with a 648 OPS. You have to think you can get a player like that from the minor leagues or from another organization.

With players like Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and even Juan Brito knocking on the door, you have to wonder what the future is for all of the players we mentioned. The Guardians didn’t have to protect Travis Bazzana yet, which probably saved some of these players, but that may just be temporary.

The point is heading into the Hot Stove season, the Guardians have a lot of flexibility. The question is, will they use it?