Now is the winter of our discontent. So, spake Shakespeare and so speak many Guardians fans right now.<\/p>\n
Currently, the Cleveland Guardians seem set to enter the 2026 baseball season cutting almost $30 million from their 2025 payroll and trusting internal options and Stuart Fairchild to improve their 28th-best MLB offense from last year. Understandably, I have heard from many fans who are so frustrated they are canceling ticket plans, streaming options, instituting boycotts, etc. Seeing ownership cut payroll after a miraculous division run is a tough pill to swallow.<\/p>\n
I have used my cognitive dissonance theory techniques to bring myself around to place of acceptance and excitement about this team, while realizing that when they force Gabriel Arias as their Opening Day shortstop and Nolan Jones as their Opening Day centerfielder on me that I\u2019ll be due for another outbreak of resentment. But, for fans whose discontent is at a more unbearable level, I do think the Guardians could still do one or more of five different moves to bring understandably upset fans back into the fold:<\/p>\n
Move #1: Trade for Nico Hoerner from the Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n
Analysis: I believe Nico Hoerner would be available at the right price, given the Cubs\u2019 current players and needs. The Guardians should find that price and meet it. Hoerner has one year of control remaining, but the team could pay the return price for Hoerner and pursue an extension that he should be amendable to considering. Hoerner has a career 103 wRC+ which won\u2019t excite anyone, but he has a career 120 wRC+ vs. LHP and 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 23 Outs Above Average for his career at shortstop. He\u2019s a better second baseman, but he is perfectly capable of winning a gold glove at short. Acquire Hoerner, install him as the shortstop, move Brayan Rocchio to second base and you have Travis Bazzana behind him in case he proves to be more of a fit in the utility role. If Rocchio succeeds as a hitter and Bazzana is succeeding in Columbus, you can flip Hoerner at the deadline. I don\u2019t think there is a better fit for a potential trade anywhere in baseball, and I know the Guardians like Hoerner. Now, if they have a trade fit for a centerfielder that I don\u2019t see\u2026 I am certainly on-board for that. Making A move for an established veteran hitter to plug into the lineup and raise the roster floor just seems like a necessity\u2026 and it has all offseason.<\/p>\n
Signing Rhys Hoskins, Randal Grichuk or Griffin Canning would be nice, but I am not pounding the table for them. If it happens, cool. If not, I get it.<\/p>\n
Move #2: Indicate that Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann are in content for the utility role, not starting roles.<\/p>\n
Analysis: I am not saying this indication should or will be made publicly, but, if the roster remains as is, I\u2019d like to see Rocchio playing at shortstop every time he is on the field in Spring Training. Folks, we know who Arias is as a hitter. He isn\u2019t going to change. There is still hope with Rocchio, albeit getting slimmer by the day. But, his 100 wRC+ performance to end the last three months of play gives some hope that needs to be tested (if the team doesn\u2019t add a Nico Hoerner, of course). Arias and Schneemann are 75-85 wRC+ hitters who offer defensive versatility of different sorts, so let me start to see a lot of \u201cA\u201d lineups in Spring Training with Rocchio at short and Juan Brito, Travis Bazzana and even Angel Martinez paired with him at second base and I will start to feel a lot more optimistic that the team is serious about not wanting to block their young players.<\/p>\n
I am tempted to say the same thing about wanting Chase DeLauter, Stuart Fairchild and Angel Martinez to get the majority of \u201cA\u201d lineup reps in centerfield over Nolan Jones, but I think it may just be untenable to play DeLauter in centerfield because of his injury risk. In that case, Jones is probably the best option on the roster for those primary reps in centerfield (which is SAD, but, ANYway\u2026). Just have to hope that Jones\u2019 back issues have resolved and his trip to Driveline has helped him get to more of his potential as a hitter.<\/p>\n
Move #3: If healthy, don\u2019t mess around with Parker Messick in Columbus.<\/p>\n
Analysis: Messick was a revelation last season. I suspect IF the team has their top six pitchers emerge from Spring Training healthy (which would be a minor miracle) that they may have Messick start in Columbus and Logan Allen in Cleveland, mostly to help manage Messick\u2019s innings load. Forget that. Let Messick pitch in Cleveland and manage his innings with bullpen help. Let this bulldog eat and show us you\u2019re going to try to field a top 5-10 rotation in baseball. This one of a series of things the team can do to show us they are not going to block their best prospects (as they have REPEATEDLY stated) and try to let their best players lead them back to a division title.<\/p>\n
Move #4: Pursue extension talks with Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo, Cade Smith, Gavin Williams and Chase DeLauter.<\/p>\n
Analysis: First of all, I know Williams isn\u2019t going to extend because Boras is his agent. Still\u2026 approach him with an offer, just in case. Aside from that quixotic effort, see if Kwan\u2019s injury issues make him more apt to consider a reasonable extension. If he\u2019s dedicated to getting to free agency and being paid as a 4-win outfielder\u2026 that\u2019s his right, but I am fine letting him pursue that goal and not being willing to pay him at that rate given his struggles to stay healthy. Manzardo seems like the most reasonable extension candidate – let him lock in arb salaries and buy out some free agency years in a deal that should be team friendly. See if Smith wants to lock in some security given his age and the volatility of relief arms. And, finally, I\u2019d love it if the team would be able to use DeLauter\u2019s injury struggles to lock him in at a reasonable salary for his arb years and buy a couple years of free agency. I don\u2019t expect it, but that would be the most exciting extension they could do, in my humble view.<\/p>\n
Move #5: Announce that Guards Fest will be an annual event, again, starting in 2028<\/p>\n
Analysis: Yes, I am still bitter. No, I won\u2019t give it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now is the winter of our discontent. So, spake Shakespeare and so speak many Guardians fans right now.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2380],"tags":[5,135,51,38929,2565,538,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-564621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-guardians","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-guardians","11":"tag-cleveland-guardians-analysis-editorials","12":"tag-clevelandguardians","13":"tag-guardians","14":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116047919471794960","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}