The Guardians have so far signed Austin Hedges and three non-descript middle-reliever types? What else will they do?

The Guardians have consistently kept payroll around $100 million for a while, and they are somewhere around $25-30M short of that. So, given how early we are in the offseason, I think it is still probable they end up somewhere around that number. But how will they get there? Here’s an attempt at predicting it:

1. Signing a proven reliever

From the sounds of everything we heard from the Winter Meetings, it seems like the Guardians believed their number one offseason priority was to shore up their bullpen. Now, it is possible they will completely lean into their bargain efforts to do so – signing Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman and grabbing Peyton Pallette in the Rule 5 draft – and pick someone else off of this non-tenders list I provided. But, if they decide to get a little frisky, one could imagine they will go after a proven left-handed option so Tim Herrin can be optioned to Columbus if his control is still shaky or Erik Sabrowski can be replaced if his frequent injury issues pop up. So, Caleb Ferguson, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Theilbar, Danny Coulombe or Andrew Chafin? Ferguson and Coulombe are probably the most exciting of that bunch. Sure, they could also be in on a Jakob Junis reunion or the more splashy options of Michael Kopech, Brad Keller or Tyler Rogers. But, I guess, for now, I’ll guess something smaller and assume they snag Ferguson or Coulombe for somewhere around $7-8 million. It’s important to note the Guardians could also try to fill this need via trade, perhaps by acquiring someone like a JoJo Romero from the Cardinals.

2. Acquiring a bounce-back starting pitcher

The Guardians have six starting pitchers, but after that, depth is thin with Austin Peterson and Khal Stephen pretty much the extent of folks you could reasonably expect to help at the major league level at some point. So, maybe that’s adding an Austin Gomber or an Andrew Heaney on a minor-league deal, or a Griffin Canning or a Jordan Montgomery (knowing they will spend most of the season on the IL). Or, maybe it’s signing a Tyler Mahle, Paul Blackburn, Ben Lively, Tyler Alexander, Nick Martinez, Michael Lorenzen or German Marquez. I guess I’ll say they snag Canning on a 1-year $7 million deal, and grab a couple other minor-league deal with spring training invite types. There are also any number of starting pitchers hanging out in Triple-A on teams who could be traded for by the Guardians.

3. Acquiring a right-handed hitter who can play in center field

This, to me, seems like the spot where the Guardians really have no choice but to do an upgrade to their roster. The plan really can’t be for basically full-time reps for Chase DeLauter in centerfield with Angel Martinez or Petey Halpin providing him load-management games or (in Martinez’s case) LHP-reps. It just can’t be. I refuse to accept it. So, that means either a miraculous signing of Harrison Bader (whom, to be clear, is a great defender but a platoon outfielder as a hitter at best), a trade for a Jake Meyers or Luis Robert (unlikely), or picking one of Chas McCormick, Austin Slater or Austin Hays off the free agent market (I am really not sure either Slater or Hays can play CF). Maybe even a Kike Hernandez could make some sense here if he would ever consider leaving Los Angeles. I do think the player here cannot be simply a corner outfielder… it needs to be someone who can competently hit LHP and passably play center. So, I’m going to say Chas McCormick who, because of the lack of options in this market, probably gets around $6-8 million.

4. Acquiring a first baseman or DH who can offer some lineup thump.

For me, this would have been my top offseason priority for the Guardians, personally. Whether it is spending for Ryan O’Hearn or Rhys Hoskins, getting Willson Contreras to waive his no-trade clause to come here, re-acquiring Yandy Diaz for one more run, taking discarded Ryan Mountcastle off the Orioles’ hands, or taking a chance on Miguel Andujar, this is where I felt the team could provide the least expensive way of upgrading the lineup. However, from what I can read and discern, kinda seems to me like the team wants to leave the DH spot as open to multiple players as they can and commit to the unfortunate “Kyle Manzardo as a competent first baseman” experiment. I love Manzardo but cannot quite imagine how gaining 14 pounds of muscle is going to help with the poor footwork we observed from him last year. So, I currently expect C.J. Kayfus, David Fry and Jose Ramirez to join Manzardo as the DH or 1B options (Jose’s not playing first, just to be clear) for 2026 – at least until the trade deadline would potentially offer an upgrade as needed.

5. Acquiring a shortstop or second baseman

Never say never, but I just don’t see a team that has Travis Bazzana in Triple-A and Juan Brito needing a look using their limited resources to acquire a starting SS or 2B option. That probably rules out a trade for Brandon Lowe, Brendan Donovan, or Otto Lopez or a signing of Ha-seong Kim. But, hey, the team can feel free to surprise me.

So… signing Danny Coulombe, Griffin Canning and Chas McCormick and some other more minor-league deals. That’s my prediction for the rest of the Guardians’ offseason at the moment.