CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians apparently have no plans to add a veteran bat, at least via free agency.
“We need to get better offensively,” Guardians president Chris Antonetti said at the Jose Ramirez press conference. “But we believe that growth and development can come from the guys we have in the organization. If that proves to be incorrect, we’ll try to adjust over the course of the year.”
I talked with Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff about this subject.
“We don’t play (try to sign) top tier free agents,” Chernoff said. “Do you go to the level before that? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
For the most part, the Guardians say it hasn’t been an asset.
The Guardians gave Carlos Santana $12 million in 2025. They cut him at the end of August.John Kuntz, cleveland.comSigning Carlos Santana
None of the Guardians said so, but I believe the signing of Carlos Santana to a $12 million contract for 2025 is part of the reason they are staying out of the free agent market for veteran hitters on short-term deals.
The two seasons (2023-24) before Santana signed with Cleveland, Santana batted .239 (.748 OPS) and averaged 23 HR and 78 RBI. That production would have been a real asset to Cleveland last year.
But Santana batted .225 (.649 OPS) with 11 homers and 52 RBI. His defense at first base remained close to its 2024 Gold Glove level. But he was 39 as the 2025 season opened. His bat had slowed.
The Guardians released Santana on Aug. 29. He signed with the Cubs and was 2 for 19, mostly as a pinch hitter.
It wasn’t just Santana.
“We invested in veterans, none of them provided real value,” said Chernoff. “We won the (Central Division) title in 2022 and 2024, I’ll give you 100 bucks if you can name the free agents (hitters) we signed.”
In 2024, they signed Ramon Laureano for $5.1 million. He batted .143 (10 for 70) when he was cut by Cleveland. He looked hopeless at the plate.
Then he signed with Baltimore, and finished the season hitting .296 (.832 OPS) with 10 HR and 29 RBI in 226 plate appearances for the Orioles.
Chernoff’s point is you can look at several recent free agent signings of hitters and find names such as Josh Bell (2023), Mike Zunino (2023), Cesar Hernandez (2021) and Carlos Gonzalez (2019). It’s been a long time since they hit free agent gold with Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, two veterans who helped them reach the 2016 World Series.
Jim Rosenhaus interviews Edwin Encarnacion in 2017. Encarnacion had just signed what was then the richest contract in team history.The Plain DealerThe big swing
After winning the American League pennant in 2016, Cleveland signed Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million deal. It was the largest contract in team history until Jose Ramirez signed his 2022 contract extension.
Mostly a DH, Encarnacion batted .252 (.848 OPS) and averaged 35 HR and 107 RBI in his two Cleveland seasons. The front office sensed his bat was slowing. They also wanted to dump the remaining $25 million on his contract.
Encarnacion was part of a three-team deal. Here’s how it breaks down:
1. Cleveland sent Encarnacion to Seattle.
2. Seattle sent Carlos Santana to Cleveland.
3. Tampa Bay sent $5 million to Seattle.
4. Tampa Bay sent $6 million and prospect Jake Bauers to Cleveland.
5. Cleveland sent Yandy Diaz to Tampa Bay along with pitcher Cole Sulser.
6. Long term, the deal helped Tampa Bay the most as Diaz is a career .291 hitter (.821 OPS) averaging 14 HR and 56 RBI in his seven seasons since the trade.
7. Santana made the 2019 All-Star team for Cleveland. He left Cleveland after the 2020 season as a free agent, signing with Kansas City. Then returned in 2025. He’s now a free agent and unsigned.
8. Bauers struggled with Cleveland and has played for several teams.
9. Sulser has pitched for several teams mostly in middle relief. He has a career 3.51 ERA and is now with Tampa Bay.
10. Encarnacion’s career faded after being traded by Cleveland. He bounced from Seattle to the Yankees and finally the White Sox. His last MLB season was in 2020.
C.J. Kayfus batted .288 for Cleveland in September. APWhat comes next?
“Our offense wasn’t good for most of the year,” Chernoff said. “In September, we were 13th in offense. It got better as we got younger.”
Checking Chernoff’s stats, the Guardians were No. 6 in runs scored in September out of 30 teams. They were 14th in OPS (.720). That’s a big reason they finished with a 20-8 record to win the Central Division title.
For the season, they ranked 28th in runs scored, 29th in OPS and 29th in batting average.
“One of our key goals was not to impede players with the most upside (from playing in Cleveland),” said Chernoff. “We saw a glimpse of what Chase DeLauter could do in the playoffs. George Valera and C.J. Kayfus also showed up pretty well at the end of the season.”
Valera batted .220 (.748 OPS) with two HR and five RBI in 16 games. He has a chance to claim right field. Like DeLauter, Valera has battled injuries. If DeLauter and Valera stay reasonably healthy, that could answer some important outfield questions.
The Guardians gave 455 plate appearances to Santana. They now believe it would have been wiser to hand those at-bats to C.J. Kayfus and Kyle Manzardo. Early in the season, Manzardo was sometimes platooned.
In September, Kayfus batted .286 (.888 OPS). He has a chance to win the right field job. He also is a good first baseman.
Ralphy Velazquez is one of the best hitters in Cleveland’s minor league system. Minor League Baseball via Getty Wave of prospects
“You can look at the various top 100 (prospect) ratings and we have five or six guys in all of them,” Chernoff said. “Most are position players in the top levels of the minors.”
DeLauter is the gem. He has only 583 pro plate appearances, hitting .307 (.888 OPS) with 20 homers. He debuted in the majors in the wild card series vs. Detroit. He was 1 for 6.
DeLauter has dealt with foot and other injuries. He’s had 176 plate appearances in Class AAA, batting .282 (.903 OPS) with seven HR. He could be the opening-day center fielder. He ranks No. 34 by Baseball America and No. 46 by MLB Pipeline among the majors top 100 prospects.
I’m intrigued by Ralphy Velazquez (No. 56 by Baseball America, No. 89 by MLB Pipeline). The first baseman hit .265 (.839 OPS) with 22 HR between Class A and Class AA. I saw the 20-year old lefty hitter at Class AA Akron. He batted .330 (.994 OPS) as he played 28 games for the Rubber Ducks to finish the season.
“Ralphy has a combination of great swing decisions and tremendous power,” said Chernoff. “That’s rare.”
Then there’s Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. He is ranked No. 22 by Baseball America and No. 20 by MLB Pipeline.
Bazzana had a rocky 2025 season, marred by injuries. The second baseman pulled oblique muscles … twice. Between Class AA and AAA, he batted .245 (.813 OPS) with nine HR and 39 RBI in 374 plate appearances.
“We are hopeful he’s one of those players who can impact the team (this year),” said Chernoff. “He’s one of the best workers I’ve ever seen in my life. We know he’ll come in prepared.”