Looking At Guardians’ Battles With Just Over Two Weeks Left

When spring training started for the Cleveland Guardians, there were a few position battles to watch, and the makeup of the starting rotation was unstable. With the exhibition slate about half over and the regular season starting in a little over two weeks, here is an update.

Second base. We think the front office was hoping rookie Juan Brito would take the spot, although others figured Gabriel Arias would get a good shot since he is out of options.

Brito has struggled to date, going 2 for 21 with seven strikeouts, but two homers. More than likely, we will go back to AAA to start the year. Most insiders think Arias will be the opening day starter, but he hasn’t set the world on fire, going 6 for 24 with just one walk.

Perhaps the guy who should get the gig is Tyler Freeman (8 for 19 with 3 doubles and a home run). We like Freeman, who has always hit in the minors, and last year played mostly in centerfield, and we will get to that later.

Our opinion? We think we know what Arias is. He has some pop in his bat but doesn’t make enough contact. Sometimes, the front office ignores evidence.

Rightfield/Outfield. Steven Kwan is the leftfielder. Now it gets complicated. Lane Thomas will be somewhere in the outfield on an everyday basis. The Guardians were no doubt hoping Chase DeLauter could be a factor, but injuries got in the way again.

Going into camp, the hope was rightfield would be a platoon of Will Brennan and Jhonkensy Noel. We aren’t a fan of the former because singles hitters who don’t walk are kind of useless.

And our concern about Noel is the swing and miss in his game, and he has fanned 10 times in 26 plate appearances this spring.

If Arias wins the 2B job, does Freeman become involved here as the platoon partner for Brennan? We think Freeman is a hitter (Bo Naylor is another) who didn’t mesh with Chris Valaika last season, and perhaps he is getting back to his natural swing/approach at the plate.

A long shot would be Johnathan Rodriguez, who had a cup of coffee with the big club last year. He is just 3 for 15 and a home run, but has walked seven times.

Starting rotation. Coming into camp, Tanner Bibee and newcomer Luis Ortiz were the only locks. Through three appearances in Arizona, Gavin Williams looks like he did as a rookie and seems to have sewn up a spot. Williams has fanned 16 in eight innings, allowing just five hits and a single run.

Ben Lively has had three solid starts and would seem to be the fourth starter. The hope was Triston McKenzie would claim the fifth spot but walked five batters in an outing and gave up seven hits in 3.2 innings yesterday. His WHIP is 2.21.

Who gets that spot? Joey Cantillo has been starting but has walked six hitters in six innings. On the other hand, Logan Allen has been strong, giving up just one run in 10.2 innings, striking out 10 and more importantly walking only two and only allowing one home run.

Rookie Doug Nikhazy is the sleeper, although we would expect him to open at Columbus. The southpaw has pitched seven innings allowing just one hit thus far. However, Allen has faced the more experienced hitters thus far.

The lack of minor league options though probably puts McKenzie on the roster anyway. Perhaps he’s used as a mop up option until he can find the strike zone.

The Guardians always seem to paint themselves in a corner with these players who have no options left. We would like to see them trust their judgment a little earlier in the process.

Thinking Like A Coach Or GM

At times we are asked why we think Cleveland area teams should look to add to the roster. It has come up recently because we have written several pieces about how the Guardians should sign a veteran starting pitcher because there are several available on one-year deals.

We would also like the Cavaliers to add another big man, either on the buyout market or from the G-League.

First of all, and this probably comes from our coaching days, we have been trained to look for what needs improvement on a given team. We think there isn’t a team out there that doesn’t have either a weakness or could use a slight improvement to its roster.

Sometimes, it would be a subtle move, such as could you find a better “last man” on the roster. That seems silly to some, but it is how coaches and general managers need to think.

Fans look at players and teams and think if everything goes right, the team they follow will be very good. For example, there are people (influencers, since they were kind of in the spotlight this week) who believe Kyle Manzardo, Juan Brito will become all-stars, and Bo Naylor will return to his 2023 form and the Guardians will repeat as Central Division champions.

Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are probably hoping that is indeed the case, but they also should be coming up with a contingency plan in case everything goes in the other direction. We believe they are concerned, but perhaps their hands are tied from making such a move.

There is an old adage in baseball that at the end of the year, a players’ numbers will be close to what the back of their baseball card says. But when a player only has one or two lines on that card, it is tough to judge him or her.

Not having a track record is likely the thing that worries an executive more than anything else.

We discussed the starting rotation for Cleveland the other day and really, there is only one hurler, Tanner Bibee, with any kind of record of success as a starter, and he only has two years in the big leagues. Every other candidate for the rotation should be viewed as huge question marks.

And, by the way, we are fans, just like you, and we want all of those pitchers to do well. But we haven’t seen any evidence that calms our fears.

As for the Cavs, on Friday night, we saw Jarrett Allen leave the game with a hand injury. Hopefully, all is good, and Allen plays tonight, but what if this happened near the end of the regular season or the playoffs?

If Allen were to miss a significant amount of time in the post-season, the Cavs probably are in trouble, but if it would be a game or two, you can’t just have Tristan Thompson as the only alternative. That’s why we (and the Cavs’ brass) would be looking for another big man.

They don’t need a starter, just someone who could provide five to ten minutes in an emergency situation.

The coaches and executives need to plan for any problems that should arise, and that’s how they are trained to think. It’s also why they have a lot of stress in their jobs and feel more relieved than happy when things go well.

Where Will The Innings Come From For Guardians’ Rotation?

With spring training underway and exhibition games starting this Saturday, we have spent a lot of time discussing the Cleveland Guardians.

Today, we look at the pitching staff, primarily the starting rotation. The bullpen was outstanding last season and remember that might be the most volatile spot of any team, but Cleveland seems to have built up some depth if the primary late inning relievers (Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith) take a step back.

And one of them probably will.

That’s where names like Andrew Walters, Erik Sabrowski, who we saw at the end of the season in ’24, and veterans Paul Sewald and newly signed Jakob Junis figure in.

The question is where will the innings come at the beginning of games? Do the Guardians have enough depth among the starters?

Tanner Bibee is the clear ace right now. He’s made 56 starts over the past two seasons and threw 173 regular season innings in 2024. But he’s the only hurler with anything close to a track record.

Luis Ortiz was acquired from the Pirates this winter, and he should have a spot in the rotation. However, his high in innings pitched was last season and he still only reached 135 frames. He had a 3.22 ERA in his 15 starts in ’24, but has still started only 34 big league games.

Gavin Williams in the wild card. Almost everyone agrees he should be a top of the rotation starter, but last year missed the beginning of the year with an elbow issue and finished with a 4.86 ERA in his 16 starts. Overall, he’s made only just 32 big league starts and has fanned 160 in 158 innings.

But what Williams will Steven Vogt get this year? A microcosm of Williams’ season was at the beginning of September. On September 2nd, he threw seven one-hit innings against the Royals. His next start? Couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Dodgers.

Ben Lively made 29 starts last year with a 3.81 ERA, pitching 151 innings. That total almost doubles the next most innings he pitched in the big leagues. Other pitchers have figured it out later in their career, would we bet on Lively being one of those guys? Not sure we can say that.

The questions continue for the rest of the candidates.

Can Triston McKenzie find the strike zone? He walked 49 hitters in 75 innings last season, after pitching just 16 innings the year before. His control was worse at AAA, where he issued 33 free passes in 53 frames. Tough to count on him to make 25-30 starts.

Logan Allen was solid as a rookie (3.81 ERA), but last year allowed 113 hits and 41 bases on balls in 117 innings, compiling a 5.73 ERA. Which Allen pitches this season?

Slade Cecconi came over from Arizona in the Josh Naylor deal, and we have read a lot about how good his stuff is. So far, it hasn’t translated to success because he had a 6.66 ERA in 77 innings a year ago.

Then you have the rookies. Joey Cantillo has less than 40 big league innings and had problems with control (15 walks) and giving up home runs (6). He has a good arm but is far from being someone to count on.

Another lefty, Doug Nikhazy is a long shot to break camp with the team but could be an option later in the season.

Yes, reinforcements will come in the middle of the season with Shane Bieber due back from elbow surgery and it appears John Means will be inked to a deal soon, and he is in the same boat as Bieber.

Both are solid pitchers if healthy, especially Bieber, who of course has won a Cy Young Award.

But what happens until they are ready? There are several veterans who can soak up innings still out there on the market and we bet they could be had on one-year deals.

Perhaps Vogt and the brass are going to lean heavily on the bullpen until the reinforcements are ready. Don’t know if that strategy will work again.

Do People Really Think A New Guards’ Owner Would Replace The Front Office?

Whenever people are critical of the Dolan ownership of the Cleveland Guardians (and we are among that group), one of the retorts from the Dolan supporters is they leave the front office do their job without interference.

The secondary theory is if a new owner that was willing to spend more cash were to buy the Guardians, they would get rid of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, despite the way they produce winning seasons on a shoestring budget.

Talk about living in your own fears.

If anything, wouldn’t the new owners want to see what kind of magic Antonetti and Chernoff could perform if they had an extra $30-$40 million to spend? Because we would. That’s only logical.

Baseball’s new villain, the Los Angeles Dodgers are a great example to look at, $350 million payroll notwithstanding.

When the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman as president of baseball operations following the 2014 season, they did so based on the job Friedman had done in his tenure as vice president of baseball operations with small market Tampa Bay.

Friedman took over the Rays following the 2005 season, and took the downtrodden franchise to its first playoff appearance in 2008, as they made it all the way to the World Series.

He also was in charge as Tampa made the post-season in 2010, 2011, and 2013.

The Dodgers felt like if Friedman has this kind of success guiding a team with a small revenue stream, imagine what he could do with all of the money a team in a huge market has.

Now no one can be sure, but we would bet when the Dolans’ sell the team to minority owner David Blitzer (or someone else, who knows?), the new person holding the purse strings would take notice of the job Antonetti and Chernoff have done and would think (we think correctly) they could do more with more money to spend.

Especially if Blitzer takes over because he’s seen the results first-hand.

And that would be seven playoff appearances in the last 12 years, including going to the seventh game of the World Series in 2016. That team ranked 17th in the majors in payroll.

Cleveland got as high as 11th in players’ salaries in 2019, a season in which the Indians went 93-69, missing the playoffs after three consecutive playoff appearances.

When they missed, the payrolls were sliced, dropping to 20th in ’20, 27th in ’21 and ’22, the latter season being a division title team, 29th in ’23 (following a division winner, a forebearer to this off-season) and last season.

NOTE: Payroll numbers are from baseballreference.com

We know the Guardians’ owners have justifications for reducing the cash spent on players, but frankly, we don’t believe them. We believe the money is there.

Some of the reasons for supporting an owner that doesn’t spend or better yet, doesn’t seem to have an overwhelming desire to win a title, are crazy. We have said before that the Dolans seem to be nice people, and we are sure it makes it difficult to be critical, especially by media members.

We also understand the goal of owning any business is making a profit but also think winning and making a profit aren’t mutually exclusive.

In fact, if the Guardians won the World Series, the owners would make even more cash.

But giving them support because you think they will fire people who are very good at their jobs seems silly. Come up with a better reason.

After A Great Season, Guards’ Ownership Cuts Spending

Regular readers of this site can figure out our age by when we started following sports in northeast Ohio. The starting point for us was 1965, and we recently were thinking about our relationship with the Cleveland baseball team in that period.

From 1965-1990, the Indians were poorly financed and poorly run. The ownership and front office wanted to win, but they had no money, forcing management to trade many young players because they couldn’t afford them.

Think about players like Chris Chambliss and Graig Nettles, who became mainstays of a couple Yankee World Championship clubs. They had Dennis Eckersley, Buddy Bell, and Julio Franco who were all either great (Eck is in the Hall of Fame) or very good, but were traded for prospects or the dreaded “we’ll get three average players for one real good one” move.

From 1991-2001 were the halcyon days. Jacobs Field opened in 1994, and attendance was at a franchise peak for a sustained time. The Indians were well run, well financed, and ownership was motivated to break the at the time 40-year drought between post-season appearances.

Cleveland was in the top ten (some years top five) in payroll. Big name free agents signed here, first veterans like Eddie Murray, Dennis Martinez, and Orel Hershiser, and later coveted ones like Jack McDowell, Kenny Lofton, and Roberto Alomar.

And then we have from 2002 to the present. There is no question the team is well run. The front office, especially with Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff is charge does a solid job. Financially, in spite of the constant whining and moaning about the lack of money, they are solid, the biggest difference between now and the previous two eras is this ownership doesn’t seem to have an overwhelming desire to win.

One of our tried-and-true theories is the everyone likes to win. Who wouldn’t? It’s fun. However, there is a huge difference between liking to win and hating to lose. Our favorite athletes are the one who will do anything to avoid a loss.

As owners, the Dolans are the former, they like to win. However, we don’t think they are obsessed with ending the franchise’s World Series drought, which has now reached 76 years.

This comes up again because of a report that the Guardians payroll being reduced from the beginning of the 2024 season, after a season where the team won a playoff series and got to the AL Championship Series, baseball’s Final Four, if you will.

Also, attendance was up. After years of the ownership saying they would spend when the fans showed up (that’s not the way it works in business by the way), slightly over 222,000 folks went to Progressive Field in ’24, the 6th highest increase in the majors.

And they are spending less on players.

This is not to suggest the Guardians can spend like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and a few other big market teams. But reducing the payroll after a wildly successful season is a slap in the face to the fans.

It’s not like this Guards’ roster doesn’t have holes. Impartial observers see problems with both the everyday lineup and the starting rotation.

Even the staunchest defender the Guardians’ owners should be appalled by this development. We’ve already heard the excuse about the television broadcast deal, but it should not stop them from trying to get to another World Series.

We don’t know what will happen during the ’25 baseball season, and we have been a fan of this baseball team for 60 years. We want them to win. We’ve said it before, but wishing and hoping isn’t a plan. Get the payroll to the level of other teams of this size market, like Milwaukee or Kansas City.

Do something to make another team have the longest span since winning a World Series.

Where Are Runs Coming From For Guardians?

The Cleveland Guardians’ will start their defense of the American League Central Division title in a few weeks when spring training starts and frankly, it’s difficult to see where the team has improved.

Several fans have pointed out to us that the Guardians’ front office moves stealthily, so maybe something will happen in the next few weeks. However, we think it is safe to say the ownership really doesn’t want to spend money, so maybe not.

Last season, the average Major League team scored 4.39 runs per game. Cleveland scored 4.40, ranking 14th in the majors. The average OPS was 711, the Guardians were 16th with a 703 mark.

Let’s look at the 711 figure, again which is what the average major league player does. Among players with 100 or more plate appearances, the Guardians had five: Jose Ramirez at 872, David Fry, who will miss the first half of the season, at 804, Steven Kwan (793), Josh Naylor, since traded, at 776, and Jhonkensy Noel at 774.

They added Carlos Santana to replace Naylor, and he had a 749 OPS.

So, a look at the Guardians’ opening day lineup, assuming a right-hander starts probably looks like this–

LF Kwan (793)
DH Kyle Manzardo (703)
3B Ramirez (872)
1B Santana (749)
CF Lane Thomas (709)
2B Juan Brito (no MLB at bats, but 807 at AAA)
RF Will Brennan (697)
C Bo Naylor (614)
SS Brayan Rocchio (614)

Remember, that Santana last year vs. RHP had a 676 OPS, not good. So what you have is two solid bats in Ramirez and Kwan, Thomas is average, but another player with an extreme platoon split (878 vs. lefties, 647 vs. righties), and a bunch of guys who really have no track record.

We like Manzardo’s potential, he had a 946 OPS in AAA last season, but he has less than 200 MLB plate appearances. Brito has never stepped into the box in a big league game. Brennan has over 800 plate appearances and a career 685 OPS.

He’s the worst combination as a hitter thus far, a singles hitter who doesn’t walk. If you are going to be that, you have to hit .330. Brennan does not.

Naylor has had two seasons with Cleveland, one good with the bat, last season, not so good. And also, Rocchio had a very good post-season, that 614 OPS isn’t good.

We have always maintained that although pitching is king in the playoffs, you have to score runs to get there. If you look at the teams who score the most in the regular season, more likely than not, those teams get to play in October.

Our question for the Guardians is where will the runs come from? Yes, yes, the people who believe in every prospect will tell me Manzardo and Brito are going to be productive, and things will be just fine.

But what’s the alternative? If Brito doesn’t hit, the Guardians have to go back to the likes of Gabriel Arias (608), Tyler Freeman (626), and Daniel Schneemann (671). And if Manzardo isn’t hitting like he did in September and October, then who? Chase DeLauter? Noel? Johnathan Rodriguez?

And by the way, we like DeLauter, but he’s had 23 at bats at AAA. And Noel? We aren’t warm and fuzzy about a guy with a 63:13 K/BB ratio.

A bigger question is what if Santana doesn’t recover his stroke vs. RHP and becomes dead weight against those pitchers?

Front offices have to build teams, contending teams, with an eye on what if things don’t go right? We ask this question…where are the runs coming from?

Guards’ Free Agent Signing Addresses A Strength?

The Cleveland Guardians dipped their toes into the free agent market this past week and suprisingly did not address what we consider to be their weaknesses.

Instead, they added to a strength, signing veteran reliever Paul Sewald, a right-hander to a deal. The Guardians have coveted Sewald for years. At one point while he was a young pitcher for the Mets, it was rumored Cleveland was interested in moving Jason Kipnis to get him.

That was probably around 2018 as Kipnis was starting to decline.

Sewald is solid, pitching in 42 games last season with a 4.31 ERA for Arizona, and he saved two games in the National League Championship Series for the Diamondbacks in ’23 as they went to the World Series.

He has saved 84 big league games, with his career high of 34 coming in that 2023 campaign.

He’s a proven solid reliever. But that’s the strength of the Guardians’ staff. They still need starting pitchers and unless the addition of Sewald means someone currently in the bullpen will be given a shot in the rotation (we would like to see Hunter Gaddis try it), it’s difficult to see where this makes sense.

On the other hand, there is an adage that if you can’t fix a weak spot, bolster your strength, so maybe that’s what the plan is here.

There are still plenty of starting pitchers out there who seemingly could be had on a one- or two-year contract. We say this because right now the Guards’ rotation consists of Tanner Bibee and a whole lot of ifs. Gavin Williams and newcomer Luis Ortiz should (should) fill two spots, but the rest of the starters are question marks.

Ben Lively has had one good season and is 33. Can Triston McKenzie find the strike zone?Can Logan Allen be effective? Signing a veteran who can soak up innings, like a Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana, or even Kyle Gibson would make us feel better about the starting staff.

And we haven’t even mentioned the offense, which struggled in the second half of the season and since then has traded their third best bat (and second-best power bat) in Josh Naylor.

Yes, we remembered Cleveland also signed 39-year-old Carlos Santana. Let’s just say that doesn’t have visions of October celebrations dancing in our heads.

There aren’t a lot of appealing bats still available in free agency, but we don’t feel real comfortable about a lineup that has two tough outs in Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, and frankly little else that has proven anything at the major league level.

As it stands right now, the Guardians will have two players with less than one year experience in the bigs in their everyday lineup in Kyle Manzardo and Juan Brito. Brayan Rocchio has a solid post-season, but still had a 614 OPS in 2024.

Lane Thomas is better as a platoon piece but will probably be in there every day in centerfield. And of course, Santana will be playing, trying to find the fountain of youth.

Someone in the front office said the organization feels confident in their young players. We would guess most organizations do. However, the job of the executives should be to find alternatives in case something doesn’t work out. Because they never do.

Spring training starts in a few weeks. It’s hard to see the Guardians being better than they were when they were eliminated by the Yankees in the ALCS just three short months ago.

Guardians Good At Saving Cash, Now Need To Spend It.

The Cleveland Guardians made another logical move in shedding payroll trading some international pool money to the Toronto Blue Jays, who were trying to sign international free agent Roki Sasaki.

In order to make the transaction, the Jays had to take Myles Straw’s contract off their books. The veteran outfielder was designated off the 40-man roster at the end of spring training in 2024, received just four big league at bats, and the Guardians owed him $13.8 million over the next two years.

Including the deal of Josh Naylor, who was to be a free agent after the ’25 campaign, it was the third move based on saving money made by the front office after winning the division.

They also moved Andres Gimenez, owed almost $100 million over the next five seasons to Toronto.

Depending on what kind of deal Naylor would have settled for on a one-year basis, let’s say conservatively $10 million for him, the Guardians would have had to be this trio almost $27 million in 2025.

They moved that money out and signed veteran Carlos Santana to a $12 million deal for the upcoming season.

For the mathematically challenged, that’s a $15 million savings in payroll, and the biggest question for fans of the franchise is will the ownership put that saving back into the team?

And our question is this: After a season with a significant attendance boost and a run to the League Championship Series, we would say matching last year’s expense on payroll simply isn’t doing enough.

Again, we agree with the Straw and Gimenez moves. We have said several times in the past 12 months that the Guardians as an organization overpay for defense. Both of those players are very good defenders, Gimenez is without a doubt the best second baseman in the game, but neither are good enough with a bat in their hand.

Getting out of being on the hook for almost $100 million for a below average bat at 2B makes total sense, and as noted, Straw wasn’t even on the 40-man roster anymore.

The problem, as is always the issue with the Dolan ownership is they frequently make these smart moves to save payroll, but too often the cash saved goes into their pockets, not in order to help the ballclub.

The 2025 Guardians are not some rebuilding team. They won 92 games and once again were one of the four teams still playing at the end of the season.

The also have a superstar player who took a hometown discount to stay with the franchise who is getting older. Jose Ramirez is 32 years old and is no longer in him prime, and not to be maudlin, we don’t know if he is going to keep putting up MVP-like seasons.

It would be nice if the ownership would give the green light to spend some money to give Ramirez some help in winning a World Series, and by the way, Cleveland’s drought in this regard is 76 years, the longest of any current franchise.

Not only hasn’t the ownership not added payroll from last season, it seems they are going backwards.

Yes, we know…boo hoo, the local TV revenue, etc. The Guardians could have shopped for their own deal, and no doubt they will get money from somewhere. But let’s also remember that attendance is up, the 6th highest increase in the sport from 2023 to 2024.

There’s about a month to go before players start spring training. It would be nice to help the players who helped your fan base love your team.

Time Is Running Short To Improve The Guardians

The calendar has turned to 2025 and the holidays (and winter meetings) has passed, so we think it is appropriate to ask exactly what is going on at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Besides the construction on Progressive Field.

We understand spring training hasn’t started yet, and a big move could occur tomorrow, but as of right now, it doesn’t seem like the Cleveland Guardians are building on their success of last season.

This is a team that went to the American League Championship Series. They won 92 games and beat Detroit in the Division Series. But honestly, we don’t think anyone could say the Guardians are a better squad than the one that was eliminated in five games by the Yankees.

Although we understood the major moves made by Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, the truth is the Guardians who were 7th in the AL in runs scored in ’24 traded their third best hitter in Josh Naylor for some magic beans.

And they moved their Gold Glove second baseman in Andres Gimenez, but in that deal, they did get a much-needed starting pitcher in Luis Ortiz

They did sign veteran Carlos Santana for a third go round with the franchise, but his numbers from the last three seasons suggest he should be a platoon player, with the bulk of his production coming from the right side of the plate.

According to the messages being put out there by the front office, the Guardians view him as an everyday player, and we wonder how quickly a sub 700 OPS vs. righties in the lineup each game will get old. Perhaps as old as Santana, who will be 39 next season.

Even with the deal with Pittsburgh for Ortiz, who should be in the rotation to open the season, the rotation is filled with question marks outside of Tanner Bibee.

Gavin Williams has the look of a top of the rotation pitcher, but he has 32 big league starts and 4.06 ERA. Ben Lively was solid last season but has the profile of a journeyman.

And the organization cannot have any true idea what they have in Triston McKenzie, who battled elbow issues in ’23 and control issues in ’24.

Of the everyday players, there is the incomparable Jose Ramirez at 3B, Steven Kwan in LF, and ????? Lane Thomas should hold down another outfield spot, but he’s kind of a platoon player, great vs. lefties, so-so vs. RHP.

Kyle Manzardo and his 145 big league at bats should be a regular. Brayan Rocchio has a great post-season but had a 614 OPS in the regular season. And at 2B and RF, we are sure this will be a spring training competition.

Right now, the biggest strength of the roster is also the most volatile, the bullpen. We believe it’s a reach to think Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Tim Herrin will all perform on the same level next year.

Once again, the ownership isn’t investing in the team. We understand the situation about the local broadcast revenue, and we know the Dolan family cannot spend like the Dodgers and the Yankees, but they have the cash. They simply choose not to put it toward the ballclub.

We sometimes feel that the Guardians’ ownership doesn’t deserve the great fans they have because they do nothing to build excitement. Heck, they even cancelled the winter meet and greet with the players this off-season.

Yes, there is still time, but it is under 50 days until spring training starts. On paper, the Guardians are a team full of more questions than answers.

Still Concerned About Guards’ Off-Season

Yes, we know spring training for the Cleveland Guardians doesn’t start for another six weeks, but as the calendar is ready to change to 2025, it does appear the franchise is continuing with their frugal ways, forcing the front office to continue with their Dusty Springfield philosophy (Wishin’ and Hopin’).

After winning 92 games and advancing to the American League Championship Series last season, the Guards have dealt two mainstays of that team, Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor.

We supported the Gimenez move as Cleveland owed him $97 million over the next five years, a lot to pay for excellent defense and a mediocre bat.

We understand the Naylor move too. Naylor is eligible for free agency following the season, and much like Prince Fielder twenty years ago, there is concern about how his body type will age.

The problem is so far, the front office (and we include ownership here) has only spent the savings from trading Naylor and did it by signing 39-year-old Carlos Santana.

Santana has been a very productive player in his career, but it seems like Cleveland is banking a lot on A). someone who is 39, and B). someone who hit .219 with a 676 OPS vs. righties last season.

Do they view Santana as an everyday player or a possible platoon partner with Kyle Manzardo?

Many fans have a poor opinion of the current ownership because they have been reluctant to push the chips in the middle of the table. After a 92-win season and a spot in MLB’s “Final Four”, it would seem to be the time to loosen the purse strings.

As of today, the Guardians still have a starting rotation with a lot of question marks. They have Tanner Bibee, but Gavin Williams hasn’t made the jump to reliable starter yet. They did trade for Luis Ortiz, who should open the year in the rotation, but who is the other proven starter?

They did re-up with Shane Bieber, but he won’t be ready until mid-season.

Pitching wins in the post-season, but you have to score runs in the regular season, and last season, the Guardians were 7th in runs scored, ahead of only Detroit among playoff teams.

But they traded their third best offensive player in Naylor.

Right now, the lineup has just two proven everyday hitters in Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. We view Santana as a platoon piece. Lane Thomas is a little above average (741 career OPS) and still has a concerning strikeout to walk ratio.

No matter how high people are on Manzardo, Jhonkensy Noel, Brayan Rocchio, and even Chase DeLauter, none of them have a proven track record in the big leagues.

To have a productive batting order, we feel you need six to seven solid bats. Perhaps Manzardo and Juan Brito can give Steven Vogt’s lineup some length, but how can they feel that way for sure?

We have always felt the front office’s job is to have a contingency plan should the young players not be doing the job. We don’t see that right now. The lineup has too many large questions.

As for ownership, once again they are failing their fan base. Attendance was up last season, and the franchise gained a lot of buzz as the season went on because of the way they played. But it appears they are still holding on to money with a tight fist.

Perhaps by the end of January, they will make a financial commitment and bring in some players who can fill in some holes.

Hope is not a plan. The Guardians need to do better.