Thursday, November 06

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

CLEVELAND -- Even in a matchup featuring the Blue Jays and Dodgers, there was a sense of familiarity from a Cleveland lens on Saturday, in the sixth inning of Game 7 of the World Series.

Ernie Clement led off the sixth with a single and then stole second base. Andrés Giménez drove him in with an RBI double. The two onetime Guardians’ performances had Rogers Centre rocking.

That familiar feeling extended throughout the World Series. Giménez and Clement were among a flurry of former Guardians who suited up for Toronto in the Fall Classic, alongside right-hander Shane Bieber and outfielder Myles Straw. When including Nathan Lukes -- Cleveland’s seventh-round pick in the 2015 Draft -- one-fifth of the players on the Blue Jays’ roster were once in the Cleveland organization.

The connections run to the top of the Blue Jays organization. Mark Shapiro, Toronto's president and CEO, spent 24 years with Cleveland from 1992-2015. That included stints as general manager (2002-10) and team president ('11-15).

Ross Atkins spent 15 seasons in Cleveland's front office, including stints as vice president of player development (2011-14) and VP of player personnel (‘15) before he was hired as Toronto's general manager in December 2015.

It could have been bittersweet seeing so many former Clevelanders with one team on baseball’s biggest stage, though that group gave Guardians fans an added reason to be invested in an already thrilling Fall Classic that went the distance.

And though Toronto’s season ended in heartbreak with a 5-4 loss to Los Angeles in 11 innings, the ex-Guards collectively had a good showing over the past month that helped the Jays get as far as they did.

Ernie Clement

Clement hit .411 over 18 postseason games. He recorded 30 hits, setting a new record for the most by a player in a single postseason. The 29-year-old was Cleveland’s fourth-round Draft pick in 2017, and he made his MLB debut on June 13, 2021.

The Guardians designated Clement for assignment on Sept. 21, 2022, after he recorded a .548 OPS over 103 games with Cleveland. He has emerged as a steady contributor with Toronto, which signed him to a Minor League deal in March ‘23. Clement has been worth 8.6 bWAR over 325 games with the Jays over the past three seasons.

Andrés Giménez

Giménez tallied 12 RBIs over 18 postseason games, after he had just 35 over 101 games in the regular season. He came up clutch on several occasions over the past month, including in the Fall Classic. Giménez’s RBI single in the seventh inning of Game 4 gave the Jays a key insurance run in their 6-2 win.

Giménez spent 2021-24 with Cleveland, during which he signed a seven-year contract extension following his All-Star season in 2022. The slick-fielding infielder’s offensive production decreased in the ensuing two seasons -- Giménez had a .638 OPS over 152 games in ‘24 -- and the Guardians traded him to the Blue Jays last December. 

Shane Bieber

Bieber surrendered the go-ahead solo homer to Will Smith in the top of the 11th inning of Game 7 of the World Series. He recorded the win in Game 4, when he was charged with one run over 5 1/3 innings. Over five postseason appearances (four starts), Bieber recorded a 3.86 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. 

Bieber, of course, was the most recent to depart Cleveland among this group. The Guardians dealt their longtime ace and the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner to the Blue Jays before the Trade Deadline this past summer. Bieber was on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery, and he did not pitch for Cleveland this season.

The Bieber trade netted the Guardians right-hander Khal Stephen (ranked as their No. 6 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline). Stephen finished the Minor League season with Double-A Akron, and he is the highest-ranked pitching prospect in Cleveland’s organization. 

Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes

Straw was mostly used as a defensive replacement this postseason; two of his 15 appearances were starts. He hit an RBI single in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALDS, when Toronto eliminated New York with a 5-2 win. 

The Guardians traded Straw to the Blue Jays on Jan. 17, with two seasons remaining on the five-year extension he signed in April 2022. He had a .579 OPS in 306 games from 2022-24, after coming to Cleveland from Houston at the 2021 Trade Deadline.

Lukes hit .274 over 17 postseason games. After being drafted by Cleveland, the 31-year-old was traded to the Rays before the Trade Deadline in ‘16 in exchange for outfielder Brandon Guyer. Lukes went on to make his MLB debut with Toronto on Opening Day in ‘23.

With the World Series complete, it’s officially Hot Stove season, and eligible players became free agents on Sunday. Now through Thursday, teams have an exclusive window during which they can retain their departing free agents. The earliest a player may sign with a new team is Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.

The trade freeze also was lifted on Sunday, meaning teams can now deal players who are signed to big league contracts.

The Guardians’ only free agents are outfielder Lane Thomas and reliever Jakob Junis, though John Means has a $6 million club option for next season. Cleveland has until Thursday to render a decision on the left-hander, who made seven rehab starts down the stretch in his Tommy John surgery comeback but was ultimately not activated by season’s end.

• Guardians pitching prospect Trenton Denholm is working on adding a knuckleball to his arsenal, and he’s getting some help from a legend: Tom Candiotti. Read more >>

• A flurry of defining moments shaped Game 7 of an instant classic World Series. Read more >>

To subscribe to Guardians Beat, visit this page and mark "Guardians Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Guardians or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.