ORLANDO, Fla. — The Major League Baseball winter meetings are unpredictable. Teams can do a whole lot of nothing for a week or become the epicenter of the industry if they make the right trade or sign the free agent every team wants.
Last year, the Guardians didn’t reach those heights in Dallas, but they were busy. Just before packing their bags, they signed free agent Shane Bieber to a two-year $26 million deal even though he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery. It was a tone-setter for the meetings.
Four days after the Bieber deal, the Guardians made two trades within hours of each other to acquire right-hander Luis Ortiz. Until Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July and later indicted by federal prosecutors in a gambling scandal, it looked like the Guardians had acquired a promising starter.
What’s more, the two trades, one with Toronto and the other with Pittsburgh, ignited a spree of post-meeting activity by Cleveland. They acquired another starting pitcher in right-hander Slade Cecconi by trading Josh Naylor to Arizona on Dec. 21.
They also signed Carlos Santana to a one-year $12 million deal to replace Naylor at first base. Then came veterans Paul Sewald in January and Jakob Junis in February to add depth to the bullpen.
The extra arms helped as the Guardians, with an improved rotation and a bullpen that tied for the AL lead with 47 saves, win the AL Central after trailing the Tigers by 15 1/2 games in July.
On Sunday, the Guardians arrived in Orlando for this year’s winter meetings. Like last year, they have specific needs.
The Guardians’ offense, outside of José Ramírez, Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo, is not effective.
Among MLB’s 30 teams, the Guardians ranked 20th in homers, 28th in runs and 29th in batting average and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage).
Here’s the position-by-position production they received last season and how it ranked among the American League’s 15 teams.
Angel Martinez played 103 games in center field last year for the Guardians.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.comCenter field: Batting average .199 (15), OPS .525 (15) and homers 12 (14).Right field: Batting average .202 (14), OPS .605 (15) and homers 13 (14).Left field: Batting average .268 (4), OPS .698 (10th) and homers 11 (tied for 14).Catcher: Batting average .187 (14), OPS .613 (13) and homers 18 (tied for 9th).First base: Batting average .231 (14), OPS .765 (11) and homers 27 (5).Second base: Batting average .247 (4), OPS .714 (4) and homers 15 (10).Shortstop: Batting average .204 (15), OPS .584 (15) and homers 15 (10).Third base: Batting average .269 (2), OPS .802 (2) and homers 28 (2)Designated hitter: Batting average .229 (10), OPS .748 (8) and homers 29 (7).
With such middling to poor production from so many positions, it seems a given that the Guardians would try to add one or two everyday hitters from outside the organization.
But while they may add a secondary hitter, adding an everyday hitter does not seem likely.
They tried a similar approach in 2023 by signing veteran free agents Josh Bell and Mike Zunino to help a young offense. Zunino wasn’t healthy and was released after playing 42 games. Bell, always a streaky hitter, was streakier than normal and traded at the deadline.
The Guardians have spent several years drafting, signing and developing young hitters/and position players. They are not inclined to repeat the Bell-Zunino experiment because they do not want to slow their development.
Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, and manager Stephen Vogt celebrate after the Guardians clinched a playoff spot last season with a win over Texas on Sept. 27, 2025.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
“We’re really excited about the group of players that largely fueled our success from last year,” said Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations. “We will look to find opportunities to complement that group.”
That means Brayan Rocchio (.233, five homers, 44 RBI, .630 OPS) and Gabriel Arias (.220, 11 homers, 54 RBI, .637) will continue to get chances in the middle of the infield. Bo Naylor, who hit .290 with three homers and 16 RBI in September, will continue to be groomed as a starting catcher.
Prospects Chase DeLauter and George Valera will get an opportunity to play in the outfield. Of course, they have to stay healthy to do that, something that has been a problem for both players throughout their careers.
C.J. Kayfus, who impressed the right people in his 44-game big-league trial last season, is going to get a look at first base and right field. Jhonkensy Noel and Nolan Jones are in the right field mix as well.
Then comes Angel Martinez, Petey Halpin, Juan Brito and Johnathan Rodriguez, who will all continue to press for playing time. Travis Bazzana, eventually, will join the competition as well.
In a perfect world, the offense will show the same improvement in 2026 that the starting rotation did in 2025. Tanner Bibee (12-11, 4.24), Gavin Williams (12-5, 2.93), Cecconi (7-7, 4.30), Logan Allen (8-11, 4.25), Joey Cantillo (5-3, 3.21) and Parker Messick (3-1, 2.72) helped the Guardians go 20-7 in September and improve the rotation’s overall ERA from 4.40 in 2024 to 3.86 in 2025.
While the Guardians may not add the kind of bat that fans want, they will try and add pitching, especially in the bullpen. Just before the meetings, they signed right-hander Connor Brogdon, a free agent from the Angels, to a big-league contract worth $900,000.
The loss of Emmanuel Clase, indicted along with Ortiz, has left the Guardians thin in late-inning arms. Trevor Stephan could help, but he’s been slow come back from Tommy John surgery and was taken off the 40-man roster despite the Guardians owing him $3.5 million for 2026.