Saturday, December 06

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and 2025 was my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

CLEVELAND -- The World Series is behind us, and we’re through the first full week of November. In other words, we are officially full speed ahead into the MLB offseason.

Though the Hot Stove typically ramps up in the back half of November, the Guardians were busy last week, when they made a flurry of moves that have implications for their offseason and 40-man roster.

Here are a few takeaways on the maneuvering:

The John Means decision
The Guardians declined a $6 million club option for 2026 on Means’ contract, which made the lefty starter a free agent after one season with Cleveland.

Means did not throw a pitch for the Guardians, who signed the 32-year-old to a one-year deal with the option on Feb. 19 during his recovery from June 2024 Tommy John surgery. Means was ready to return in late September, after he made seven rehab starts in the Minors. But the Guardians had a full six-man rotation that was dominant in the final month.

The Guardians would welcome the opportunity to bring Means back, but they were not prepared to commit $6 million to him. They have a strong foundation in their rotation and have other needs this winter, No. 1 of which is bolstering their offense.

A team can never have enough starting pitching depth, of course, and Means has a good track record. He has a career 3.68 ERA over 78 games (including 73 starts), which includes a 2.75 ERA in 52 1/3 innings over 10 starts since 2022 -- while working through two Tommy John surgery recoveries. Should the Guardians look to add to their rotation mix, perhaps there could be a fit here.

The bullpen is an offseason need
Beyond MLB extending Emmanuel Clase’s non-disciplinary paid leave “until further notice” on Aug. 31 and him being indicted on Sunday on charges related to an alleged betting scheme, the bullpen is a key area for the Guardians this winter.

Jakob Junis and Kolby Allard were reliable contributors in 2025. Both are now free agents. Junis was on a one-year deal, and Allard (who signed a Minor League contract on Feb. 3) elected free agency on Thursday after the Guardians outrighted him to Triple-A Columbus. Right-hander Nic Enright will miss next season due to Tommy John surgery.

Junis recorded a 2.97 ERA in 2025 over 57 relief appearances, a workload that ranked fourth on the Guardians. He had a 2.03 ERA in 20 outings after the All-Star break. Junis came on in a bevy of situations, from the middle innings to high-leverage spots to when the Guardians needed some length.

Allard had a 2.63 ERA in 65 innings over 33 appearances, including two starts. He was reliable even as his appearances came sporadically. Allard pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the Guardians’ 3-1 win over the Tigers on Sept. 18, his first appearance since Sept. 4.

Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis were a solid foundation for manager Stephen Vogt’s bullpen down the stretch. They are poised to return, along with Erik Sabrowski, Matt Festa and Tim Herrin. But it could make a lot of sense to add a reliever or two, whether it’s reuniting with Junis and/or Allard or otherwise.

40-man roster flexibility
Nov. 18 is the deadline to protect Minor League players from the Rule 5 Draft, which will be held Dec. 10. The Guardians’ 40-man roster stands at 37. They have space that will afford them flexibility later this month and perhaps even down the road this offseason.

Along with Allard, lefty Matt Krook, infielder Will Wilson and catcher Dom Nuñez elected free agency after the Guardians outrighted them to Columbus. Right-hander Ben Lively was on the 60-day injured list amid his Tommy John surgery recovery and not on the 40-man. He also elected free agency after being outrighted.

Among Guardians prospects who need to be added to the 40-man to avoid the Rule 5 Draft are infielder Angel Genao (ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s No. 3 prospect and baseball’s No. 59 overall), infielder/outfielder Kahlil Watson (Guardians No. 18) and right-hander Austin Peterson (Guardians No. 30). Cleveland could open more 40-man space later this month, ahead of the Nov. 21 non-tender deadline.

The Guardians released their 2026 Spring Training schedule last week. It includes split-squad action to begin things on Feb. 21. The Guardians will face the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark and the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix.

Cleveland’s Cactus League slate includes 15 home games at Goodyear Ballpark and 16 overall. The Guardians will play the Reds on March 17 as the visiting team. There is a second split-squad day on March 1, vs. Rockies and at the D-backs.

The schedule also includes Spring Breakout -- the prospect showcase game that will return for the third year. Guardians and Angels farmhands will play on March 19 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The Guardians will wrap their exhibition slate with two games against the D-backs at Chase Field from March 23-24. More information on Spring Training, including tickets, schedules and workout times, is available at CLEGuardians.com/spring. 

• The outfield is one area in which the Guardians could target external upgrades for their offense this winter. Read more >>

• Former Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz met the Baltimore media last week for the first time since he was named the new Orioles skipper. Who had a front-row seat to his introductory press conference? Vogt. MLB.com reporter Jake Rill has the story on Vogt supporting his longtime friend. Read more >>

• If you’re heading to Arizona for Spring Training, you’ll have a chance to see some fun matchups between MLB clubs and international teams that are preparing for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Read more >>

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