It has been 174 days.
174 days ago, the Cleveland Guardians’ unprecedented season came to an end on a warm and cloudy October day within the confines of the Gateway Plaza. The end wasn’t the one that the Guardians and their fans would have hoped for, but to say that the journey that got them to that end wasn’t memorable or worthwhile would be a bold-faced lie. That Guardians team may have fallen short of everyone’s ultimate goal, but they did something never seen before, coming back from a 15.5 game deficit in the division standings, scaring the best pitcher in the American League so bad that he resorted to wildly long-snapping a throw between his own legs while fielding his position and securing their 3rd American League Central Division crown in the last four seasons.
174 days later, we have braved the cold and gray and dreariness of what felt like another un-ending Cleveland winter. Now, we get to start again. Opening Day is always a cause of optimism. There’s something poetic about the fact that it comes just as spring has begun. The earth is reviving itself. Foliage is blooming. All that was gray and dreary is turning to green and lively. At this juncture, everyone is on level footing. On this most holiest of days, even Rockies fans can convince themselves that the 162 games to come will be a great adventure.
So maybe my mind is just contaminated with that spring fever, but I have to say that while the Guardians have seen legitimate success in recent years, I feel especially optimistic about what the next 200 or so days could bring.
I feel this way despite what has transpired over those last 174. A lot of fans were underwhelmed with what the Guardians did this off-season. I can understand that. Quite frankly, I was disappointed in some ways myself. In 2024, Cleveland made an appearance in the American League Championship Series. They followed that successful season by trading away two of their most significant position playing contributors in Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez. They did this for perhaps unpopular but understandable reasons. Naylor was approaching free agency and his conditioning had come into question. Gimenez never lived up to a 9-figure extension he had been paid. The team traded these two players to try to provide depth to a starting rotation that had needs. So be it.
While not everyone loved the actions of that 2024-2025 off-season, there was at least action that could be perceived as trying to improve the ball-club. While the 2025 version of the team didn’t make it as far into the playoffs, they at least got as far as they did in spectacular fashion. What followed in trade talks, free agency and the waiver wire this off-season though could not be considered nearly as spectacular.
To begin, the best move Cleveland made this winter was extending their commitment to star third baseman, Jose Ramirez and the Guardians agreed to a $175 million, 7 year extension that will ensure he remains in Cleveland until he is 40 years old and gives him the potential to be the best Cleveland baseball player of all-time both by statistics and reputation. Optimism for baseball in Cleveland begins with Ramirez, and for great reason, as the 7-time All-Star and 4-time Most Valuable Player finalist will have his career last in Cleveland from start to finish.
Cleveland also signed a reliable reliever in Shawn Armstrong for about $5 million. They supplemented him with fellow relievers Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman, both making about $1 million and looking to re-establish themselves in their own ways. They added another reliever in Peyton Pallette via the Rule 5 Draft.
And… save for some minor league deals, that ‘s it. Despite the fact the Guardians were 28th in offense in 2025, that was the end of their off-season.
Media and fan reaction to this decision-making has been on a spectrum between frustration on one and and lack of interest on the other. At face value, a team that is just a year removed from being one of the final four teams in the race for a World Series looks like they are squandering their opportunities to get better.
I’ve grappled with this myself. The podcast I appear on (the AL Central Rundown, shameless plug) graded each team in the division’s off-seasons a few weeks ago. Only one of our five members didn’t give the Guardians’ off-season a D or worse grade, and I wasn’t the exception.
I’ve had some time to live with what the Guardians have done, or in this case, haven’t done though. Towards the end of the off-season, Team President Chris Antonetti stated publicly that the team had made competitive free agent offers to multiple players and it wasn’t a lack of money that cost the Guardians the opportunity to sign those players. It was the fact the Guardians couldn’t commit to playing those potential new additions every day while other teams were willing to make that commitment.
The reason the Guardians inability to make such a concession? Allow me to answer that with some names: Chase DeLauter. CJ Kayfus. George Valera. Parker Messick. Travis Bazzana. Khal Stephen.
Sure, they are just names. But Jim Thome, Albert Belle, CC Sabathia and Francisco Lindor were “just names” at one point too.
The point is that the Guardians have committed to playing their young, high-potential ballplayers in a way that they haven’t in past seasons. It is a value decision. Rather than bring in a veteran player to soak up playing time and maybe play well or maybe falter, the Guardians are trusting in themselves. They are trusting in their Player Development. They are trusting in the prospects that the have a reputation for hoarding.
What enthuses me about this is that while teams say this sort of thing on the regular, the Guardians really seem to be walking the walk. Maligned outfielder Nolan Jones will make $2 million this season. For a lot of teams, that is a negligible amount of money. However, Jones will be the 7th highest paid Guardian in 2026. His return to the roster this winter was a bit of a surprise as he did not perform well last season (.600 OPS). It was even more troubling when he struggled this spring (.525 OPS). In past seasons, Jones would be shoe-horned onto the Opening Day roster and would get ample playing time just off of the fact he is being paid arbitration. This year though he was designated for assignment as part of the roster being trimmed to 26 men. The Guardians were willing to pay him his cash while he tries to figure things out in AAA.
Young starting pitcher Parker Messick looked excellent down the stretch for the Guards last season. As part of the six-man rotation that helped propel Cleveland to the post-season, he had a 2.72 ERA in 7 starts. Messick looked like the odd man out coming into this spring as the Guardians had an established rotation with Logan Allen as the incumbent #5 starter. But Allen really struggled this spring (18.00 ERA), perhaps being out of sorts after participating in the World Baseball Classic (he was bad there too). Messick was solid (4.12 ERA) by comparison in Cactus League play.
Allen is the more senior player while Messick is a rookie. Additionally, due to how Messick was called up in 2025, it would behoove the Guardians to play service time games with Messick and keep him in the minors. Instead, Messick will be in the Guardians’ dugout on Opening Day and Allen won’t.
The same can be said for outfielder and team #2 prospect Chase DeLauter, who is technically a true rookie despite playing in the AL Wildcard Series last year. DeLauter has never played in a regular season game, and if he can stay healthy (admittedly a big if as he has a reputation for being injury prone), he could be a potentially Rookie of the Year candidate. Fellow outfielder and former top prospect George Valera will start the season on the Injured List, but he should be in the Majors once he has a clean bill of health as well. Another young hitter in CJ Kayfus made the team despite the Guardians having a log-jam at his primary position of first base and despite the team already being heavy on left-handed hitters. Cleveland could have sent Kayfus down in the name of getting him everyday at bats in Triple A. They could have gone for round 3 of the Johnathan Rodriguez experience or added spring invitee Stuart Fairchild to the roster to provide some right-handed balance and, in Fairchild’s case, add another player who can play center-field. The same thinking could have been used to demote DeLauter and Valera.
The Guardians could have chosen a number of off-ramps from the decisions that they have made regarding these young players and it wouldn’t go against the baseball orthodoxy. They could have taken it slow with any and all of them, played a little bit with their service time and given them more seasoning in the minors. A few fans would be disgruntled, but otherwise, doing so would still fit well into the mindset of managing an MLB roster in 2026.
Instead, they’ve actively chosen none of this. And from my perspective, the message is received. This organization really likes its young players. They like them enough to not do things that they have done in the past to protect themselves financially. Quite frankly, they think their best 26 includes DeLauter and Kayfus and Messick. At some point in the near future it will also include Travis Bazzana, Khal Stephen and perhaps a few others. So, you know what? Those are the guys that are going to be on this roster as soon as they are ready to be part of that 26.
In the same spirit, the Guardians did make one additional move after Spring Training began when they signed first baseman Rhys Hoskins to a minor league deal. Hoskins was a quality slugger for Philadelphia from 2017 thru 2022 before missing all of 2023 with a torn ACL. He missed some of 2025 too with a thumb injury, but his production when healthy in the last 2 seasons was more than worth a look on a minor league deal. Hoskins hit really well this spring (.968 OPS) and earned his way onto the team. He will make $1.5 million this season having converted to an MLB deal.
The Chicago White Sox signed outfielder Austin Hays this winter, a ballplayer some fans would have liked to see as a Guardian and perhaps one of the players that would fit the bill Antonetti described when he talked about making competitive offers. Over the last two seasons, Hays and Hoskins are of nearly identical offensive production. Both have produced an OPS+ (100 is average; higher is better) of 102 since the start of 2024. The difference is that Hoskins has shown more ability in his career to hit both righties and lefties where Hays has done more of his damage solely against lefties. Hays will also make more than 3 times what Hoskins will this season and the Guardians didn’t need to compromise on their commitment to play their young talent in signing Hoskins.
This is just one of many ways that the Guardians front office seems to minimize mistakes and does more with less. I know it is frustrating that the team needs to do more with less in the first place, but I take solace in the fact that they really are exceptional at it. If they weren’t they wouldn’t have come back from a 15.5 game deficit last year (despite losing arguably the best closer in the sport). They wouldn’t have 3 divisional crowns in the last four seasons.
So yeah, this off-season may have been the furthest thing from splashy. The Guardians definitely didn’t “win the off-season”, but how many times have the New York Mets “won the off-season” in recent years? Even better, how many times have the Mets won anything any more meaningful than the off-season in recent years?
I’m not calling the Guardians World Series contenders this year, but I do think this new commitment to youth could have them headed that direction, especially when you consider that there is yet another layer of young talent in Ralphy Velazquez and Angel Genoa (among others) to come. And of course, this team is still led by one of the most talented players and best leaders in the sport in Ramirez.
Optimism can come from many sources in this sport. Adding broad-shouldered, free agent stars is only one of those sources. The possibilities of a young team with a lot of potential led by one of the best players in the game abound in their own way. So again, on this most sacred of days, I’m not only choosing optimism. I am feeling in my bones the optimism that comes with following a young team full of potential on the precipice.
Or maybe I’m just feeling the sun finally shining and the grass turning green. Either way, spring and the inevitable 180+ days of baseball is finally here. And the possibilities are endless.
Pick-Up Sports Talk: Cleveland 