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Hey, Hoynsie: Will the lack of affordable hitting, or a lack of desire to find one, enable the Guards to pay and keep Steven Kwan? —Arthur Flicker, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Hey, Arthur: If the Guardians and Kwan are serious about signing an extension, I don’t think the potential money they save by not acquiring a hitter this offseason would hinder those negotiations. I think the Guardians have the money to extend Kwan. It’s just a matter of the two sides agreeing on a number.
Hey, Hoynsie: Do we have any idea how much revenue the Guardians will get from the new ESPN deal to televise games? Still hoping the cash-strapped Guardians will sign a hitter in free agency. — Dave Kellogg, Lake Mary, Florida.
Hey, Dave: The Guardians have said that ESPN owning their streaming rights will not have a dramatic effect on their payroll for 2026. I do think the Guardians will add a hitter between now and opening day to help the offense.
Will Jhonkensy Noel turn into a legitimate big-league power hitter away from the Guardians? Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Hey, Hoynsie: Within the next two years, Big Christmas, aka Jhonkensy Noel, will hit 35 homers for another team. Bank on it. — Bob Maistros, Lake Worth, Florida.
Hey, Bob: I’ve heard that about a lot of big power-hitters who have been cut loose by the Guardians. Jesus Aguilar was the only one that I can remember who made that claim ring true when he hit 35 homers and went to the All-Star Game for the Brewers in 2018. Aguilar hit 114 homers in his big-league career, none with Cleveland. But he did hit 140 homers for Cleveland in the minors.
Here’s hoping Noel can find a consistent swing wherever he lands. He hit 124 homers in the minors and 19 in the big leagues for Cleveland.
Hey, Hoynsie: Jhonkensy Noel was not a liability defensively from what I saw, and he didn’t really get a chance in my opinion. Is the team really that cash strapped? — John Power, Lakewood, California.
Hey, John: The Guardians didn’t designate Noel for money reasons. If he made the club, he would have been making just over the major league minimum of $780,000. They dropped him because they needed a spot on the 40-man roster for lefty Justin Bruihl and he was coming off a season in which he hit .162 (24 for 148) with 35% of his at-bats ending in strikeouts.
Hey, Hoynsie: Why do the Guardians insist on platooning players? Do you think they will change their tactics now that they know that playing time is so important to players? I’m tired of them training players and not being able to sign them to long-term contracts. — Sue Landis, Kamuela, Hawaii.
Hey, Sue: Platooning helps the Guardians keep their payroll under control. Two pre-arbitration players manning one position is cheaper than one established big-league starter.
Plus, the Guardians are good at it. They went to Game 7 of the World Series in 2016 by platooning all three outfield positions. They’ve won consecutive AL Central titles the last two seasons by platooning. It does have its drawbacks and lack of playing for young players is one of them.
They haven’t extended many players recently, but they did sign Tanner Bibee to a five-year $48 million extension in March.
Does rookie outfielder George Valera have a chance to make Cleveland’s opening day roster in 2026?John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Hey, Hoynsie: Who do you think the dark-horse candidates are to make the 26-man roster on opening day? Who should be looking over their shoulder? — Patrick Grijak, Garfield Heights.
Hey, Patrick: There are a lot of moving parts in the outfield, which is going to take some sorting in spring training. My dark-horse pick to make the team is outfielder George Valera, as long as he makes it through camp healthy.
I think more than a few pitchers are going to be looking over their shoulders in the bullpen because the Guardians have recently added four relievers in Shawn Armstrong, Connor Bragdon, Colin Holderman and Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette. Armstrong still has to pass a physical.
Hey, Hoynsie: Do you think the Guardians are regifting their fans by signing these pitchers who had a good year two years ago or are coming off Tommy John surgery.? I was the youngest of six kids but never got my brothers’ hand-me-downs for Christmas. — Charlie Bentley.
Hey, Charlie: I think these are solid signings. If you check the Guardians’ history, they do a good job of getting good seasons out of pitchers like this. Maybe they don’t all pop, but the odds are good that one or two of them will be productive in the bullpen.
Hey, Hoynsie: How does right-hander Khal Stephen fit in the Guardians’ pitching plans for 2026? He was one of Toronto’s top prospects when they traded him to Cleveland for Shane Bieber. — Michael Hoffman.
Hey, Michael: Stephen had a right shoulder impingement at the time of the trade, but the Guardians said he was healthy by the end of last season. When asked recently if he could be invited to big league camp in spring training, the Guardians said they were still discussing the matter.
MLB.com currently ranks him sixth on Cleveland’s prospect list. He was Toronto’s second-round pick in 2024.