First Check In For The Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians completed one sixth of their schedule over the weekend, playing game #27 in a dismal 12-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The Guards finished this portion of the slate at 15-12, a pace where they would end the year at 90-72, which would likely get them into the post-season.

Cleveland is 8th in the American League in runs scored, averaging 3.95 runs per game, a little below the 4.05 which is league average. Their OPS is at 694, slightly above the AL mark of 691.

All in all, the offense is average, about where it was when the 2024 season concluded.

The pitching staff has been an issue, with a staff ERA of 4.37, 12th in the junior circuit. The Cleveland hurlers have allowed the 5th most walks in the AL, and Tanner Bibee and Luis Ortiz both rank in the top ten in the league in issuing free passes.

And Guardians’ pitchers have also had problems keeping the ball in the yard, as they are tied for 3rd in allowing the most home runs. Giving opponents walks and allowing home runs in Exhibit A in giving up a lot of runs.

What has been particularly disappointing about this edition of the Guardians to date has been the defense. This organization has prided itself in this area, even overpaying for gloves in the recent past.

Brayan Rocchio, a finalist for a Gold Glove a year ago has made six errors and seemingly misplays one routine play per game. We understand gloves go into slumps as well, but the club needs Rocchio to come out of it. The usually reliable Jose Ramirez has also made four errors and has other misplays that haven’t shown up in the box score.

So, it’s not losing Andres Gimenez, okay!

Rocchio is clearly the best defensive shortstop the Guardians have, so they need him to start making the routine plays. We do wonder if the consistent shuffling players around to different positions on pretty much a daily basis hurts the overall defense though.

We doubt that is going to change though.

Back to the pitching, there is no question the team needs Bibee and Gavin Williams to pitch better. Both have been very inconsistent, although for the latter, that has been the norm in his career. Ortiz has to throw more strikes. In his two worst outings of the season, he’s walked four (in 4.2 innings) and five (4.1 frames).

When he throws strikes, he can be very effective.

The bullpen has been in a bit of flux because of Emmanuel Clase’s struggles, allowing 20 hits in 11.1 IP. He looked better in an outing on Saturday, so perhaps he’s turned a corner.

Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herrin have mostly been good, but we wonder how much of a burden they can continue to carry, especially after last season.

Offensively, it’s still the same story, but with a different name. Last year, it was about Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor. Kyle Manzardo is off to a solid start, with an 840 OPS and team leading totals of 7 HR and 18 RBI. Unfortunately, the Guards dealt Naylor, so the offense still has just three solid bats.

Angel Martinez has provided a lift with a .365 OBP, but that’s based on hitting .360. He and Kwan are the only players with an OBP of .350 or higher.

They do have some pop as five players have slugging percentages over .450. Gabriel Arias has provided nine extra base hits, and a solid .272 batting average. His defense at 2B has been very good as well.

Considering the holes, Steven Vogt’s team is off to a solid start. No one can complain about 15-12 at this point. The starting pitching still needs to be better, meaning more consistent, and providing more outs.

A Good Homestand Buoys Some Concerns For The Guardians

When the Cleveland Guardians came home after their season opening nine game trip, it seemed like the team was running in quicksand a bit.

The defense was shaky, the offense only had four players (Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, and Kyle Manzardo) hitting, and the pitching, usually the hallmark of any Cleveland team was not very good.

Then they came back to Progressive Field, and the pitching found itself, allowing only 10 runs in a six-game span, although to be fair, the horrible Chicago White Sox were the first three games, and they only tallied three times in the trio of games.

This is not to say everything is fine and there are no worries, but the Guardians sit at 8-7 now after 15 games, sitting a game behind Detroit in the AL Central standings.

The starting pitching was much better, but the number of innings the rotation is providing is a problem. The farthest any starter went on the homestand was the six innings provided by Ben Lively on Sunday. Luis Ortiz went 5.2 on Saturday and was outstanding, striking out 10 Kansas City hitters.

The biggest issue is that the starters are throwing a lot of pitches to get through five innings. Friday night, Tanner Bibee held the Royals scoreless for 4.2 frames but had to come out after tossing almost 100 pitches.

The same was true with Gavin Williams last start. The opposition isn’t scoring, but the pitchers aren’t being economical about it.

Bibee has walked seven in 14.1 innings this year. Williams has six in 13 frames, and Logan Allen seven in 10 innings.

Of course, this puts an enormous load on the bullpen. Paul Sewald, Jakob Junis, and Cade Smith have already been in 8 of Cleveland’s 15 games to date, and Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herrin have been in seven. We know the Guardians are very protective of these relievers, but they had to carry a huge load a year ago.

Something to keep an eye on as the season goes on.

We also think at times; Steven Vogt creates this issue. Allen was pulled after 83 pitches and two out in the fifth with a 3-1 lead. Yes, there were runners on second and third, but why not give the young pitcher a chance to get out of it?

The offense is still struggling, hitting just .222 as a team, but they received a boost this week from Angel Martinez, who was called up because Lane Thomas has a bruised wrist after getting hit by a pitch.

The switch-hitter went 5 for 10 in three starts, with a pair of doubles and three runs knocked in. Gabriel Arias had a solid week as well, getting 5 hits in 17 at-bats with a pair of home runs.

There are still too many players who are simply not contributing at the plate. Daniel Schneemann has started 2 for 22. Nolan Jones has drawn six walks, tied for third on the team, but is 5 for 35 with 16 Ks. Jhonkensy Noel is 6 for 32 and has only fanned six times but doesn’t have an extra base hit.

Still, Ramirez has not gotten hot, outside of his three dinger game against the Angels.

But the length of the lineup was a concern coming into the season, and it doesn’t look like it has gotten any longer. Cleveland still has a below average offense. The league is scoring 4.12 runs per game, the Guardians are at 3.93.

It’s a good sign the Guards have started out 7-2 vs. the Central, but they haven’t played Detroit or Minnesota. The Orioles should be a good test for the pitching over the next three days.

Hopefully, the starters can start going at least six innings on a regular basis.

Starters Throwing Strikes, Hitters Striking Out. Two Early Problems For Guards

It’s early folks, it’s extremely early.

We know the MLB Network is already making projections on how many home runs the Yankees will hit this year with their new torpedo bats, and have also started the ridiculous MVP Ladder, but the reality is the Cleveland Guardians and most Major League teams have played just six games.

There are still 156 to go. Remember, one of the sport’s old adages: You can’t trust what you see in April or September.

However, since we wanted to have some discussions about the Cleveland Guardians’ start to the season, we have just those half dozen contests to go on.

Our impressions? Nothing that would differ with anything we thought going into the season.

The starting pitching, save for Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, has been for lack of a better term, shaky.

Luis Ortiz, who came over for Pittsburgh in the three-way deal involving Andres Gimenez, had problems throwing strikes, walking four in 4.2 innings, and also allowed nine hits. The concern is Ortiz had the same issue in exhibition play. Logan Allen wasn’t bad in his first start holding San Diego scoreless for four innings, but he walked five in 5.1 innings, and eventually the free passes came back to haunt. He had control problems in 2024.

And the impenetrable bullpen been shaky, with Emmanuel Clase blowing a save in the season openers, and Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis had some issue in the loss in Kansas City.

Oh yeah, and Joey Cantillo, who probably should be in Columbus starting games for the Clippers, has had issues throwing strikes out of the bullpen.

Offensively, things looked good in KC with the Guards garnering almost as many walks as strikeouts.

But against the Padres, Cleveland hitters whiffed 33 times, including 16 in the middle game of the set, and walked just five times.

You aren’t going to score many runs with that ratio, and the Guardians didn’t, crossing the plate just four times in the three games.

The usual contributors offensively have been fine. Steven Kwan is off to an 8 for 23 start and a .400 on base percentage. He still hasn’t seemed to earn any respect for the men in blue, being called out on strikes on several questionable calls.

Jose Ramirez missed a game with an injured wrist but is 5 for 17 with a homer and two other extra base hits.

We were concerned about the production of the team against right-handed pitching, and a few of the players Steven Vogt needs to be solid vs. those arms have struggled.

Kyle Manzardo, who surprisingly has been a terror vs. southpaws is just 1 for 14 vs. righties. Bo Naylor is just 1 for 12 with seven whiffs, and Carlos Santana, who struggled from the left side last season is just 3 for 14 with just one walk.

And two of the three hitters we have contact concerns about, Gabriel Arias and Nolan Jones, have accumulated 13 Ks and two walks. Arias has had success though, getting off to a 6 for 19 start.

Cleveland travels Los Angeles this weekend for a series against the Angels, who are off to a surprising 4-1 start before finally getting home, and hopefully, the starting pitching does a better job, particularly in throwing strikes.

And they get to come home, which should help the team get comfortable.

Four Guys Who Need To Show For Guardians

Spring training numbers don’t matter if you are Jose Ramirez or Steven Kwan, or even someone like Lane Thomas, whose spot on the roster is assured.

But when you are trying to establish yourself as a Major League player, you probably need to put up some numbers to get big league at-bats when the season kicks off next week.

The Guardians have several players who are in that boat, they haven’t really proven anything at the big-league level, and some of those guys are struggling in Arizona.

Other guys have done well in exhibition play, but how they have performed thus far in the majors have a casting a jaundiced eye.

We have really like Tyler Freeman since he made his major league debut. His minor league pedigree says he should be a solid bat. His AAA numbers are .399/.403/802. Overall in the minors he has a .384 on base percentage.

But he’s had 637 plate appearances with Cleveland and has a .223 batting average with a .304 on base and 632 OPS. He’s been solid this spring going 10 for 32 with two homers and four walks.

How much does the brass trust him?

Then you have someone the front office is giving one last shot to, Gabriel Arias, who is out of options. Arias’ minor league numbers aren’t as impressive as Freeman’s (.337/.456/793 at AAA), but he has the metric the new age folks love–exit velocity. He hits the ball hard. When he hits it.

And that is Arias’ problem. His strikeout rate is 32.3%. The league average is 22.6%.

He hasn’t been strong in the spring training games either, going 8 for 35 with nine whiffs and a 707 OPS. However, most people feel he will open the season at second base.

Will Brennan is another player that needs to start showing something. Brennan came up during the stretch drive in 2022 going 15 for 42 with a HR. That followed a minor league season in which he hit .314 with an 850 OPS. That got people excited.

In the two years since, he’s had over 800 big league at-bats and put up numbers of .308/.377/685. That’s a below average OPS. He’s been solid during the spring, going 9 for 34 with a couple of homers and an 806 OPS.

What would we like to see from Brennan? More patience. He seems to swing at the first pitch a lot and if you don’t have a lot of pop you need to be able to draw walks. Singles’ hitters who don’t walk are very replaceable.

Bo Naylor doesn’t have to worry about making the team, he’ll be the primary catcher, but it remains to be seen what kind of hitter he will be in the bigs. In the second half of ’23, Naylor hit .252 with 10 home runs and an 893 OPS.

His strikeout to walk ratio was 35:25.

Last season, he hit .201 and that ratio was 122:29. Which hitter is he going to be? This spring he has gone 8 for 37 and has drawn three walks with seven punchouts.

For a team that seems to have offensive questions, it would be great if Naylor is a viable hitter. And it would be great for Naylor because 2023 draftee Cooper Ingle will start the year at Akron and is showing signs he can swing the bat.

These guys are on the spot both now and for the first month or two of the season. Can any of them emerge for the Guardians

Talking Leadership (Or Lack Of It) In Cleveland Sports

Leadership is a tricky thing. You can’t quantify it, and we know there are classes which teach it, it is really something you have to be comfortable with.

For the Cleveland Guardians, there is no question that Jose Ramirez is their leader on the field. Ramirez plays the game the right way and even though he’s had several top five MVP finishes, and is likely headed to Cooperstown, he still plays like he did when he was a rookie.

If you are a guy who doesn’t play much and you see Ramirez doing that, no doubt you will do the same, or you won’t be around long. Add in that he also talks to teammates during games, telling them what to look for and giving them tips on how to be better, and it is a perfect combination.

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell had a meeting with Kenny Atkinson before the season started and they discussed reducing his minutes and “workload”, thus empowering his teammates. Mitchell did just that and you see him during games encouraging and cajoling the other players.

That’s leadership.

On a team, no one has to step up and say he’s the leader. The other players know who it is. One thing we always say is a leader doesn’t have to say he’s the leader, in fact, someone who tells you they are the leader usually isn’t.

Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. We had an interesting discussion the other way with someone who didn’t like the Browns paying Myles Garrett what they did because he’s not a leader.

Our response was it would be nice if your best player was the leader, like in the case of the Guardians and Cavaliers, but it’s not a necessity. The Browns are paying Garrett because of his ability, the fact that every team has to gameplan for him. And that’s alright.

It’s an issue for the local football team because there is a serious leadership void throughout the organization. We have recently referenced the phrase “collaborative effort” when it comes to decision making. That approach does not foster leadership for anyone.

In the recent NFLPA poll, head coach Kevin Stefanski received a grade of C from the players. We don’t know how many players on the Browns responded to the poll, but a few people we have talked to said the grade could stem from none of the players knowing who is in charge.

Is it Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry? Is it Jimmy Haslam? Or even the mysterious Paul DePodesta? Who is the ultimate guy? Perhaps the players feel that void.

It was very telling that backup quarterback Jameis Winston spoke to the team before games. The starting QB didn’t have that gravitas.

Does the organization not want any vocal leaders? They don’t seem to have drafted any recently. Is that because Stefanski doesn’t want or like players like this.

Going back to the Guardians, Terry Francona always liked a veteran player in the clubhouse to echo what he wanted, so it was better coming from a fellow player. It was important to have Jason Giambi and Mike Napoli on the team for that reason.

The Browns haven’t had that. Yes, everyone in the locker room respects Nick Chubb for his work ethic and toughness, but he doesn’t seem like a vocal presence.

Filling the leadership void might be the biggest need the Browns need to address. It is just as important, if not more important than the measurables.

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.

A Pair Of Puzzling Moves For The Guardians

Hopefully, the Cleveland Guardians let us in on the grand plan pretty soon. All of their fans would like to think the organization wouldn’t take a step back after a trip to the American League Championship Series, but right now, there has to be some anxiousness.

That’s what has to be the thought after the Guardians traded Josh Naylor, who hit 31 home runs and knocked in 108 for Cleveland in 2024 to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi, who had a devilish 6.66 ERA last season.

The Guardians ranked just 7th in the AL in runs scored for the season, and in the second half of the season they were near the bottom, and yet they dealt one of their best offensive players.

There are extenuating circumstances to this deal.

First, Naylor would be a free agent after next season, and with Kyle Manzardo ready to play first base, the odds of signing Naylor long term were slim, especially because it’s the Guardians.

The return wasn’t much. Cecconi is 25 years old and has pitched 104 big league innings, sporting a 6.06 ERA, allowing 117 hits. We would guess unless he has a tremendous spring training, he will open the season in AAA.

Since the season ended, the organization shed a large contract and a potential free agent for a young pitcher who should be in the starting rotation, although he has only 30 big league starts.

Not really looking like an organization that is “going for it” in terms of taking the next step and getting to the World Series.

However, the Hot Stove season is not over and hopefully there is a big move coming soon.

It does appear the ownership wants to stay in the same area as last year in terms of payroll, despite an attendance boost and some nice post-season gates. We’ll probably soon hear from the local media defenders of the Dolan family and how tough they have it financially in a small market.

Making the trade even more confusing was the signing of veteran Carlos Santana, whom the Guards will be paying $12 million next year, albeit on a one year deal. In his third stint with Cleveland, he seems to be a platoon partner with Manzardo, having hammered right-handed pitching with Minnesota last season at a 934 OPS.

He had a .354 on base percentage vs. righties.

The switch-hitter has played 1334 games with the organization and ranks tied for 6th in homers with 216, and second in walks.

Right now, the Guardians aren’t as good as they were last season. We like Manzardo, but he’s still not a proven player, so Cleveland has question marks on the right side of the infield.

They are still short in the starting pitching depth as well. We have maintained we were okay with a deal for Naylor if it were a baseball trade for a proven starter, but that’s not what it was.

So, the front office is still on the clock. They need to improve this team, which won 92 games a year ago in a surprisingly tough division.

Fans will be understandably upset, but they aren’t the reason another move needs to be made. The front office traded one of their leaders, which won’t sit well in the clubhouse.

It also may not sit well with Jose Ramirez, who took a hometown discount to remain here.

Hopefully, Guardians’ fans won’t have to wait long for some much-needed good news.

Do Guardians Overpay For Gloves?

Both of these things can be true. The Cleveland Guardians can and should spend more money on players, and the World Series between two big market behemoths indicate baseball needs to do something to even the playing field for all franchises.

In looking at the Cleveland projected payroll for the 2025 season, the highest paid player is of course the team’s resident superstar, Jose Ramirez. The next two are players known for their glove more than anything else in Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw.

This begs the question: Do the Guardians overpay for defense?

If the franchise is going to limit the amount of money spent on players to less than $100 million, we believe they need to examine where they would get the most bang for their buck.

We have noted this before, but offense (meaning scoring runs) is what gets teams into the playoffs. Of the top seven teams in runs scored in the American League this past season, six of them made by the post-season.

The same holds true in the National League.

So, if you are going to spend cash on something in the game, it should be on good hitters.

We aren’t saying defense isn’t important. Heck, the fifth inning of the fifth game of the World Series is proof of that. But, let’s face it, guys who can hit are extremely more difficult to come by. On the other hand, there are players who are tremendous defensively scattered all over the minor leagues.

We also say that no matter how good players are defensively, in order to hold a regular job in the big leagues, you have to be able to swing the bat.

The proof of that is the current third highest paid play on the Guardians’ payroll, Straw. Why did Straw spend most of last season at AAA and was recently outrighted to the minor leagues? He simply cannot hit.

Which brings us to Gimenez, who the Guardians will be paying $10.57 million next year, $15.57 million in 2026, and then $23.57 million in ’27, ’28, and ’29.

There is no question at all that Gimenez is the best defensive second baseman in the game. He has won three consecutive Gold Gloves and also won the Platinum Glove in 2023. The play he made in game four of the ALCS was just spectacular.

However, does he provide enough offense considering what the Guardians are paying him?

He has spent 3-1/2 years with the team and provided one excellent offense year in 2022 (.297/.371/.466/837) and one year at around league average in ’23 (.251/.314/.399/712).

Last season, his OPS slipped to 638, well below league average, mostly due a big drop off in power. Gimenez had 46 extra base hits in his very good ’22 season, and 47 in ’23. In 2024, that figure fell to just 32.

He is an excellent base stealer, swiping 80 bases in the last three seasons combined.

The Guardians probably were too quick to give him a big contract after 2022, much like they were with Straw after he came over from Houston and had a 739 OPS (.362 on base percentage) in 2021.

However, now the front office has a huge decision. If Gimenez doesn’t rebound offensively, they will be stuck with another huge contract without matching production.

We feel you need six or seven solid hitters in a contending lineup, so maybe the front office can build up the rest of the lineup so they can afford to pick Gimenez and his outstanding defense in the lineup.

And if the organization is trying to keep salaries under $100 million, and we would be surprised if they went over the threshold (not because they can’t, they could), then it might be prudent to move the second baseman this winter.

Maybe the Guardians would be better with a better bat, and a glove a tick below Andres Gimenez. Paying big cash and not getting offense doesn’t seem like a good way to allocate your resources.