{"id":624480,"date":"2026-03-15T03:46:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T03:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/624480\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T03:46:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T03:46:57","slug":"how-many-questions-have-the-guardians-answered-this-spring-the-week-in-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/624480\/","title":{"rendered":"How many questions have the Guardians answered this spring? The week in baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 When spring training began more than a month ago, eight questions were asked of the Guardians.<\/a><\/p>\n

Manager Stephen Vogt\u2019s team will break camp on March 24 to open the regular season on March 26 against Seattle at T-Mobile Park. Here\u2019s how close they\u2019ve come to answering those questions.<\/p>\n

\"ClevelandCan rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter help improve the Guardians’ offense?Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com1. Will the Guardians\u2019 offense improve after posting its lowest batting average in team history in 2025?<\/p>\n

It should because it\u2019s hard to imagine another team hitting .226 for an entire season as the 2025 Guardians did. Spring training stats don\u2019t mean much, but through 21 games, the Guardians are hitting .249 (ninth in the AL) with 113 runs (sixth), 22 homers (seventh) and a .776 OPS (seventh).<\/p>\n

The lineup should be deeper if outfielders Chase DeLauter and George Valera make the roster. Rhys Hoskins is on a minor league deal, but he\u2019s a veteran right-handed hitter who could add protection and balance in the middle of the lineup.<\/p>\n

2. How will the rebuilt bullpen fare?<\/p>\n

The Guardians knew they wouldn\u2019t have closer Emmanuel Clase, who was indicted by federal prosecutors<\/a> in November for conspiring with gamblers to throw rigged pitches during games. Now they could be without set-up man Hunter Gaddis, who has not pitched since Feb. 27 because of a sore right forearm.<\/p>\n

A lot will be asked of closer Cade Smith, Erik Sabrowski, Tim Herrin and Matt Festa in the late innings. Newcomers Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman have had solid springs. Rule 5 right-hander Peyton Pallette, after a slow start, could help as well.<\/p>\n

The Guardians have had one of the best bullpens in baseball the last two years. This season will be a test.<\/p>\n

\"ClevelandGuardians’ right-hander Gavin Williams.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com3. How good is the starting rotation?<\/p>\n

The rotation found its groove last September when it won 13 games and posted a 2.60 ERA. It has looked just as good in spring training. Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Slade Cecconi, Joey Cantillo, Logan Allen and Parker Messick have pitched exceptionally well in the desert.<\/p>\n

Manager Stephen Vogt will open the season with a five-man rotation, so one of those arms will have to go to the bullpen or Triple-A Columbus. Cantillo is out of options, but Messick and Allen have options remaining.<\/p>\n

4. How many more MVP-type seasons does Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez have left?<\/p>\n

Ram\u00edrez hit a couple of homers early in spring training and it looks like he\u2019s ready for the regular season to start right now.<\/p>\n

The Guardians, in an otherwise quiet offseason, gave Ram\u00edrez a $175 million extension through 2032. He\u2019ll play most of this season at age 33 after finishing third in the AL MVP voting yet again last year. He has finished sixth or higher in the MVP voting seven times since 2017.<\/p>\n

Over the last five years, Ram\u00edrez\u2019s average season looks like this: 156 games, .279 batting average, 37 doubles, 32 homers, 102 RBI, 101 runs and 32 steals. Maybe he won\u2019t win an MVP, but those numbers are an award in themselves.<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians.Diamond Images\/Getty Images5. Is there a center fielder in the house?<\/p>\n

After treating the position like a revolving door since Myles Straw was sent packing to Toronto in January of 2025, the Guardians this spring moved four-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder Steven Kwan to center.<\/a><\/p>\n

Vogt says Kwan could go back to left field, but from the outside looking in it sure feels like a permanent move. Kwan\u2019s made nine starts in center through Friday, while Angel Martinez has made eight.<\/p>\n

Kwan has gone through an adjustment period in making the move, but Vogt said he\u2019s learning the angles and jumps required to play the position.<\/p>\n

6. What about right field?<\/p>\n

Kwan\u2019s move to center should open left and right field for the vast array of outfielders the Guardians still have in camp. Nolan Jones, DeLauter and Valera have spent most of their time in right field, while Petey Halpin has seen a lot of time in left.<\/p>\n

The Guardians, when facing a right-handed starting pitcher, could have an all left-handed hitting outfield. Kwan, DeLauter, Jones, Valera and Halpin all hit left-handed. Martinez, who has made two starts in left, is a switch-hitter.<\/p>\n

Johnathan Rodriguez, on the bubble along with Jones regarding making the opening day roster, is the only right-handed hitting outfielder from the 40-man roster still in camp. Stuart Fairchild, just back from the World Baseball Classic, is another right-handed bat, but he\u2019s on a minor league deal.<\/p>\n

7. What about an extension for Steven Kwan?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been no word on a possible Kwan extension.<\/p>\n

Kwan did say he was all for the move to center field, leaving the comfort zone of left field for a new challenge. The Guardians had to appreciate that even if he doesn\u2019t sign an extension.<\/p>\n

It also gave the 29 other big-league teams a glance at his personality and team-first attitude should he become a free agent after the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

\"GuardiansCleveland catchers Austin Hedges and Bo Naylor.AP8. Will Guardians catchers provide offense?<\/p>\n

Maybe, just maybe Bo Naylor is on the rise. He hit .290 in September when the Guardians won the AL Central on the final day of the season. This spring he was hitting .500 (5 for 10) before leaving to join Canada in the WBC. Naylor hit .353 (6 for 17) with one homer and four RBI in the Classic.<\/p>\n

Yes, it has to carry over into the regular season, but those are good signs.<\/p>\n

David Fry, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, should boost the offense from behind the plate. Austin Hedges, a career .185 hitter, said at the end of last season that he found something that should help his swing. Whether that translates to regular-season success remains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 When spring training began more than a month ago, eight questions were asked of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2380],"tags":[152,5,135,51,2565,538,4,505],"class_list":{"0":"post-624480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-guardians","8":"tag-american-league","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-cleveland","11":"tag-cleveland-guardians","12":"tag-clevelandguardians","13":"tag-guardians","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-national-league"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116231147810711353","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624480","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=624480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}