Just curious, what makes Andrew Chavez an Insider?

Regardless, I'd disagree with the lineup, but I'm not an insider

1. Kwan - LF Of course
2. Thomas - CF THEY HIT THOMAS 5TH LAST YEAR AND I'D ASSUME THAT WON'T CHANGE. PLENTY OF POWER
3. Ramirez - 3B Naturally
4. Noel - RF WAY TOO MANY STRIKEOUTS FOR CLEANUP-- NOT EVEN CERTAIN HE'S A LONG-TERM MAJOR LEAGUER YET
5. Manzardo - DH THEY HIT HIM 2ND LAST YEAR DESPITE HIS LACK OF SPEED, BUT GOOD ON BASE PCT
6. Santana - 1B I'D BE SURPRISED IF HE'S NOT CLEANUP OR PERHAPS 5TH BEHIND THOMAS
7. Rocchio - SS I wish he were not a likely candidate for this high in the order, but he may well be
8. Brito/A.Martinez - 2B If Brito delivers as hoped and perhaps anticipated he'll hit higher
9. Naylor - C A spot or two higher perhaps since he does hit for some power sometimes

Chavez comes up with some pretty good stuff, insider or not. Seems to be well-informed and appears to know what he's writing about. I like him.

Shane Bieber is back. Luis Ortiz will be plugging into the rotation. And Austin Hedges will create a masterful chemistry in the clubhouse.

Cleveland has chipped away at a few holes in its roster this offseason, but here’s the big remaining question that it has to try to answer before Spring Training: Have the Guardians done enough to make sure they don’t regress in 2025?

You remember the hype that was created going into 2023. How could it not be there? A team that seemed like it could be in for a rebuilding season in '22 instead emerged as one of the most exciting teams in baseball. From start to finish, Cleveland was the youngest team of all 30 clubs, and it showed. There was a youthful energy that led the group to the postseason behind a “Why not us?” attitude. Steven Kwan proved to be one of the best leadoff hitters around. Emmanuel Clase was elite. The entire group proved that small ball and scrappy play can still produce wins.

It was a different type of season, but it was fun. And the expectations were sky high for 2023 -- only for the Guardians to stumble to a sub-.500 record.

That can’t happen again. Cleveland knows that 2024 has to be the springboard that leads to even more success in the future. A step back yet again would be detrimental to a group that’s trying to win now while José Ramírez is still in his prime.

That starts with starting pitching. Are Bieber and Ortiz enough? If Bieber would be in the rotation on Opening Day, then it’d be easier to say yes. However, the team’s ace probably won’t be back until June or July after having Tommy John surgery last April. That means Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively and Ortiz will have to carry the team to the All-Star break, while also relying on Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen -- both of whom struggled in ’24 -- or even No. 15 prospect Joey Cantillo to make some contributions.






Cantillo and No. 25 prospect Doug Nikhazy are the next two in line to be everyday arms in the rotation. But as a certain former Guardians manager (and now Reds skipper) always said: If you think you have enough pitching, get more. So maybe the organization will feel the need to add more arms before Spring Training.

And then there’s the offense. The Guardians preached a new yet simple concept last winter: Add impact. The approach was to be OK with more swing and miss if it meant exchanging it for more power and better contact than just putting the ball in play weakly. It worked in the beginning of the season and again at the end, but the lineup can always get better.

Will that come in the outfield? Lane Thomas will be in either center field or right field, so one of those positions could also be addressed via trade or free agency (should the Guardians try to use the financial flexibility created by trading Andrés Giménez). If not, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan can have another chance to prove they can produce more consistently than they did last year.






Noel may also be in the first-base mix now that Josh Naylor has been traded to Arizona. The money Cleveland saved by moving Naylor immediately went to first base free-agent Carlos Santana, who should help boost the offense without Naylor’s power in the lineup. But the Guardians still need to make sure this move is enough to benefit this club to be better than what it was last season.

It’s a massive jigsaw puzzle, as it always is. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti didn’t rule out the idea of continuing to reinvest money back into the 2025 roster before Spring Training starts when he chatted with local media just before the holidays. They’ve already had a busy winter, but it might not be done just yet.






The Guardians’ High-A affiliate, the Lake County Captains, were named the 2024 Minor League Team of the Year by Baseball America earlier this month.

The Captains finished the regular season with a record of 77-53, which was the highest winning percentage (.592) in the Midwest League. Toward the end of the season, Cleveland’s first No. 1 overall Draft pick, Travis Bazzana, joined the group and helped this team finish its goal of winning the 2024 Midwest League Championship, defeating the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. This marked Lake County’s second championship in franchise history and the 29th by a Cleveland Minor League affiliate since 1963.

Their quest for a second consecutive championship will begin on April 4 at 6:05 p.m. ET against the Great Lakes Loons.

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Congratulations Captains. Many very good prospects [BAZZANA, GENAO, VELAZQUEZ, KAYFUS, INGLE all among our top 8 per BA passed through] CHOURIO was on his way when he suffered a fracture.

from MLB.COM
1 (realistic) free-agent target to fit every team

Guardians: RHP Spencer Turnbull
The Guardians have added Shane Bieber, Luis Ortiz and Slade Cecconi to their starting mix, but they certainly can't have too many options. Turnbull fits the profile of a type of hurler Cleveland could take a chance on: not overpowering with his stuff but throws strikes. Turnbull proved he can be a reliable starter earlier in his career, but after missing the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, he took some time settling back in. And in '24, his season ended early because of a right lat strain. The Guardians helped Matthew Boyd come back from a serious injury this past year and get back to the pitcher he was earlier in his career. They could do the same with Turnbull.
That is the kind of history and probably price that sounds like the Guardians

"24 Reasons Baseball Was the Best in 24" at MLB.com includes 1 1/2 Guardians' stories on the list

Spectacular bullpen

Emmanuel Clase put together a season for the ages, finishing with a microscopic 0.61 ERA. Only two pitchers have had a lower mark in a season since earned runs became official, minimum 50 innings: 2016 Zack Britton (0.54) and 2012 Fernando Rodney (0.60). While he led the way, the Cleveland relief corps was outstanding as a whole, compiling a 2.57 ERA. That’s the fourth-lowest by a team’s bullpen in the Wild Card era, behind only 2003 Dodgers (2.46), 2013 Braves (2.46) and 2013 Royals (2.55).

First time’s the charm

Rookie managers Stephen Vogt (Guardians) and Joe Espada (Astros) each led teams to division titles this year. That’s tied for the most rookie managers to win their divisions in a season (divisions began in 1969), per Elias, with 2014 -- Brad Ausmus (DET) and Matt Williams (WSH) -- and 1981 -- Jim Fanning (MON) and Gene Michael (NYY). Add in the Mets’ Carlos Mendoza, and this was the second year that three rookie managers reached the playoffs, joining 2022. (Note: Pat Murphy was SD interim in ‘15, so he is not officially a rookie.)

Baseball America writer explains his Hall of Fame voting; and winds up voting for a long list of candidates

JJCooper: Explaining My First-Ever Hall Of Fame Ballot

I probably think about Kenny Lofton’s Hall of Fame status too much. Or rather, his almost complete absence from that discussion.

Lofton made just one appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot. On a very crowded 2013 ballot that included 10 players who have made the Hall of Fame since then, he received just 18 votes. By appearing on only 3.2% of ballots cast, he fell below the five percent threshold to be retained on the 2014 Hall of Fame ballot. He was one and done.

If you want to argue that Tim Raines, a current Hall of Famer, has a better case than Lofton, I will listen. I may prefer Lofton’s case, but I can understand why Raines may be preferred to Lofton.

What I don’t understand is why one of the two got to grind his way to Hall of Fame recognition over 10 ballots—starting at less than 24% in his first year on the ballot—while the other’s case was dismissed in the blink of an eye.

This year, I get to do something about situations like that, as I will cast my first Hall of Fame ballot.

I’ve studied all the candidates, as one should, but before voting for the first time, I also decided it was important to try to establish some guidestones for how I plan to vote. It is possible that I’ll tweak these in upcoming years, but I plan to use these guidelines to drive my voting for years to come.

If you think I’m misguided in any of these foundational principles, feel free to disagree. Let me know. Just trust that I’ve tried to spend time to come to some sort of consistency for how I will vote.
1. I will compare players to their contemporaries, as Hall of Famers are the best of their own generation.

Cy Young won 511 games. I find that to be a perfect summation of why Cy Young is a Hall of Famer, but I don’t think it has anything to do with why Felix Hernandez is or isn’t a Hall of Famer. They were both pitchers, but other than that, what their jobs entailed had very little relation to each other.

Hall of Famers are players who were among the best of their own generation and then had the longevity to sustain it. A player who was exceptional for a shorter period of time can be compared to someone less dominant, but with greater longevity.

I expect the best shortstops of the 21st century to hit for the kind of power that seemed impossible for shortstops of the 1950s because that’s now normal. And while I don’t expect the starting pitchers of the 21st century to carry the workloads of previous generations, I do expect strikeout rates that would have put the best of the past decades to shame. The game itself is always changing, but the simple question of “Was he considered the best in the game or the best at his position during his career?” remains a very useful one.

That doesn’t mean the best second baseman or first baseman or setup man is an automatic Hall of Famer. Talent runs in waves. I believe the third-best shortstop of the 2000s was better than the best of shortstop of the mid 1980s. The best starting pitchers of the 70s were better than the best of the 80s. Allowances have to be made for how one era is rich in center fielders and another is flush with catchers.

But expecting a 21st century pitcher to win 275 games isn’t realistic. If you believe that Felix Hernandez’s career wasn’t long enough to call him a Hall of Famer, that’s a fair argument. I view him as having a case because, for a six-year stretch, he was as good as pretty much any pitcher in the American League.
2. Relievers should be judged against their peers, not starting pitchers.

The case could be made that no relief pitcher should ever make the Hall of Fame (or no one other than Mariano Rivera, at least). The best starting pitchers throw more innings, make a bigger impact and are valued at a higher level than the best closers.

That’s true, but it’s only part of the story, even if it’s much easier for a reliever to have a great season than a starter and plenty of star relievers of a moment quickly faded back into obscurity.

But it’s also exceptionally hard to be an elite reliever for 15+ years. Very few pitchers have managed to handle the workload required to be a shutdown reliever year after year. The bar to be a Hall of Fame reliever should be high, but it shouldn’t be impossible.
3. There are no easy answers when it comes to PEDs.

I’m becoming a voter after the age of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the biggest questions of whether PED users can be Hall of Famers. I am not going to say that someone who uses PEDs is immediately disqualified, especially as the game itself did little to discourage PED use in the 1990s.

If PED usage can be argued to have provided the longevity or performance boost that pushed a borderline player over the edge into Hall of Fame status, that’s a strong argument to vote no. But there are also players who were clearly Hall of Famers well before their PED usage is documented. I would have voted for Bonds or Clemens.

I waver back and forth on this. I see a distinction between players who used PEDs in the era when it was ignored by all involved and those who did so and were caught in the era when it was penalized by one of the biggest punishments in the game (as agreed to be owners and players).

I understand if you disagree, and I may change my mind next year. But that’s where I fall on this tricky question for now.
4. Postseason stats are important.

All too often, a player’s postseason stats seem to be shuffled into a separate and almost unconsidered category. David Ortiz hit .289/.404/.543 with 17 home runs, 88 hits and 59 walks in 369 postseason plate appearances. It seems illogical for me to not view that more than half of a regular season of production as a vital and important part of Ortiz’s Hall of Fame case.

For most players, what they do in the postseason is a small part of their career. Mike Trout shouldn’t be penalized years from now if he finishes with one career postseason hit. But for a player who was a vital part of teams winning in the postseason, that matters.

Andy Pettitte’s case without 44 postseason starts is a much more difficult one. But his solid performances in the postseason—and his 2001 ALCS MVP award—help push him over the top in my opinion.

It’s also an argument for Andruw Jones. Understandably, most players’ stats dip in the playoffs. Jones hit .273/.363/.433 in the postseason with 10 home runs in 76 games. He clubbed two home runs while hitting .400/.500/.750 as a 19-year-old in the 1996 World Series, after hitting .222/.417/.556 in the NLCS. The Braves may have lost to the Yankees in 1996, but Jones did all he could.
5. I reserve the right to vote strategically.

There may be situations in which I vote for a player whose case for the Hall of Fame is not as impressive as someone else I do not vote for. The example of Lofton stands out to me as a reason to do that intentionally.

If Lofton had stayed on the ballot, I believe he could have eventually become a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. He never got the chance.

I’ve read about and am still pondering the cases for Russell Martin and Brian McCann, both of which are made more interesting—and cloudier—by our ability to try to suss out their pitch-framing abilities from an era before that was easily tracked.

It doesn’t make sense to not vote for a Hall of Famer if that is potentially the difference between them getting in or falling below the 75% threshold. And it would be equally silly to leave Ichiro Suzuki off a ballot to try to make sure someone else with a borderline Hall of Fame case doesn’t slide off the ballot. First-ballot Hall of Famers are exempt from this, as the status as a unanimous or near-unanimous first-ballot entrant is something that is valued and special. Once past the first ballot, that distinction does not exist. If I am maxing out a ballot with 10 candidates, it makes sense to me to keep Felix Hernandez or Brian McCann’s case alive for another year, even if that means Dustin Pedroia’s vote percentage slips slightly from where it would be otherwise.

So with those explanations in mind, here is my first Hall of Fame ballot:

Ichiro Suzuki
Billy Wagner
Andruw Jones
Carlos Beltran
Chase Utley
CC Sabathia
Felix Hernandez
Brian McCann
Andy Pettitte
Jimmy Rollins

MLB.com has a "one prediction for every major league team" story

Guardians: Ramírez will enjoy his first 40-40 season
José Ramírez has always wanted to hit this milestone, but coming up one home run short in 2024 has to leave him desperate for his next chance to do it. The All-Star third baseman worked against Father Time this past year, nearly doubling his stolen base total from the last few seasons. The more he ages, the smarter he gets on the base paths, and if Cleveland can pick up another power bat to add some more protection behind him in the lineup, Ramírez could get another crack at joining the exclusive club.

And for a briefly former Guardian:
Red Sox: Giolito will be a Comeback Player of the Year candidate
Lucas Giolito didn’t throw a pitch in his first season with the Red Sox after undergoing an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in March. The righty has worked diligently during his rehab and he was the rare player who built chemistry with his teammates while on a season-long absence from pitching. Giolito’s veteran presence will be a big help to Boston’s young starting rotation, not to mention his ability to eat innings.

And for the AL Central
Royals: Kansas City will win the American League Central
The Guardians (92-69) are the reigning AL Central champions, ending the season with a 6 1/2-game lead over the Royals and Tigers (86-76). None of those three teams has made huge moves this winter, and while the Twins always loom as a threat because of the talent on their roster, it seems the division is once again there for the taking. The Royals went 33-19 within the AL Central last year, aided by going 12-1 against the White Sox. They won the season series against the Guardians and Tigers, and went 6-7 against the Twins. Winning the division will once again be the Royals’ goal. Several veterans are returning, and the young players now know what success looks like -- and what it takes.

BA rated top Dynasty Fantasy Prospects 150 pitchers listed; including

Pitchers:
24. Tanner Bibee, SP, Guardians
After completing his second full season at age 25, Bibee has a career 3.25 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 315.2 innings. His four-pitch mix grades out as above average, and he also has above-average command. He does give up a lot of fly balls so there will be some home run susceptibility.

50. Emmanuel Clase, RP, Guardians
Clase had one of the best reliever fantasy seasons of recent memory, with 47 saves and a 0.61 ERA which was, absurdly, even lower than his 0.66 WHIP. Considering he throws a 100 mph cutter, Clase has strangely not had more than a strikeout per inning in his last two seasons, instead “settling” for xERAs that have been in the 90th percentile his entire career. The tradeoff is worth it for dynasty managers as he is more than three years younger than the next five closers in this tier.

64. Shane Bieber, SP, Guardians
Bieber will return in the second half of 2025 on a show-me contract and attempt to prove he is once again a top-of-the-rotation starter despite below-average velocity. With his elite command, the 30-year-old has a high floor with room for more. If he were returning earlier in the season than June/July, we’d probably have him higher.

77. Gavin Williams, SP, Guardians
On the surface, Williams had a disappointing 2024 with a 4.86 ERA and a 9.6% walk rate. The good news is that the ERA estimators are about a full run lower than his ERA, and his ball% suggests his walk rate should have been more like 7.5%. The 25-year-old averages 97 mph on his fastball and has some of the biggest extension in the majors, but actually doesn’t generate as many whiffs as you would expect. So for now, we have him positioned as a mid-rotation starter but with the corresponding upside associated with his raw stuff and varied pitch mix.

and just to rub in the disaster of the Junior Caminero trade, the guy we received is now rated highly
101. Tobias Myers, SP, Brewers
In early April, RoboScout identified Myers as a top 10 ranked pitcher in Triple-A upon which he debuted in Milwaukee en route to 25 starts in which he garnered nine wins, had an ERA of 3.00 and a 1.17 WHIP. The arsenal doesn’t grade well on stuff models, but all of his four primary pitches have more ride than expected and are commanded well, leading to poor quality of contact. He won’t overpower you, but the results at age 25 are undeniable.

A somewhat curious grouping of top 100 Catcher 1B and 3B talents

2. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Guardians
The 32-year-old Ramirez is 12 years into his major league career and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Ramirez had arguably his best season to date in 2024, as he hit .279/.335/.537 with 39 home runs and 41 stolen bases. While flirting with 40/40 again is unlikely, Ramirez still continues to fill up the stat sheet.

The aforementioned Caminero is No,. 7. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays
Caminero’s rookie season didn’t make the headlines that we expected. He didn’t return to the majors leagues until Aug. 13 and hit .248/.299/.424 over the final 43 games of the season, showing power and some rawness in his approach. We may still be a few years away from Caminero’s ascent into superstardom, but he boasts an elite combination of power and bat-to-ball skills. It’s only a matter of improving swing decisions and optimizing batted ball angles on contact.

15. Josh Naylor, 1B, Guardians/not any longer
We aggressively pushed Naylor as a breakout last offseason and he delivered, finishing as the third-most valuable first baseman on the Razzball Player Rater. Naylor rivaled Bryce Harper in value with 31 homers and 108 RBIs. Naylor was actually unlucky on balls in play producing a .246 BABIP, hinting that his production could improve again in 2025. At age-28, Naylor is heading into his prime seasons and remains an excellent target in dynasty.

41. Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Guardians
With Josh Naylor establishing himself as one of the top first baseman in the game in 2024, Manzardo looks locked into the DH spot entering 2025. He produced another strong season at Triple-A in 2024 and graduated from prospect status. While his production was just league average during his time in MLB, his underlying metrics hint at another step forward in 2025 and beyond.

73. Bo Naylor, C, Guardians
After 11 home runs and a .809 OPS in 230 plate appearances in 2023, the Guardian was poised to become an above-average catcher in 2024. Unfortunately, Naylor took a step back offensively, finishing in the bottom percentile in xwOBA and xBA and in the 10th percentile for strikeouts and slugging percentage. From a real life perspective, he more than made up for it with his defense, meaning he should get a long leash with the Guardians. Entering his age-25 season, he has time to regain his offensive potential.

A Guardian for a few minutes, or perhaps even hours:
76. Spencer Horwitz, 1B, Blue Jays
With a second straight Triple-A performance with a .335 batting average and .450 on base percentage, the 26-year-old finally got regular major league playing time after the Blue Jays 2024 season ended with a youth movement. Over 350 plate appearances at first base and second base, Horwitz hit 12 home runs, exceeding his projection and raising his ceiling. As a fantasy contributor, his lack of standout power or speed tempers his perceived value, but his above average on-base percentage should keep him in the top of the batting lineup.

A Guardian for an entire spring training
81. Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B, Marlins
One of the more divisive prospects in the minor leagues, De Los Santos was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Guardians from the Diamondbacks as an undercooked 20-year-old, free-swinging slugger who had not played at a higher level than Double-A. The Guardians returned him to the D-backs before the season, and the Dominican corner infielder promptly hit 40 home runs with scary chase rates and ended up being traded to the Marlins.

then we have the middle infielders:

27. Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft has a well-rounded offensive profile that could mesh with a variety of scoring formats. Bazzana has 20/20 upside with the ability to hit for a higher average and get on base at a well above-average rate. He’ll likely be the first position player off the board in a majority of First Year Player Drafts this offseason.

Another recently former Gman
38. Andres Gimenez, 2B, Guardians
Since Gimenez’s breakout 2022, he’s put together two subpar offensive seasons. Despite this, Gimenez has provided around $10-11 of surplus value in each of the last two seasons. Don’t expect a return to the 17 home runs of 2022, but with back-to-back 30-steal seasons, he’s a good gamble for speed.

68 Horowitz shows up here too'

88. Angel Genao, SS, Guardians
Finishing the season with a .330 batting average—good for fifth best in the minors—Genao has always had an excellent hit tool and shortstop defense. In 2024, he hit with enough thump to profile as fringe MLB average with a higher xwOBAcon in High-A than Colt Emerson, Walker Jenkins and Max Clark.

and then Outfielders, not usually our strength'

40. Steven Kwan, OF, Guardians [our Little Big Man; or maybe more accurately our Big Little Man]
After a down season in 2023, Kwan bounced back in a big way in 2024, hitting .292/.368/.425 with 14 home runs and 12 stolen bases. Kwan was limited to 122 games, otherwise we might have seen an even better return on investment. A steady performer in multiple categories and a batting average savior for rosters with low-average power hitters.

47. Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians [Either a star or a bust, let's hope for the best]
Consecutive seasons with foot injuries have added some caution to the enthusiasm for DeLauter, but if healthy, he is a high-batting average, high-OBP, 20-home run bat capable of double-digit steals. If healthy—and see the previous sentence for the size of that qualifier—he should get regular playing time in Cleveland in 2025.

55. Lane Thomas, OF, Guardians {surprised us after his debut]
After a 2023 season in which he hit 28 home runs and stole 20 bases, Thomas was shipped to the Guardians at the trade deadline. In Cleveland, he wasn’t quite as productive, with only an 84 wRC+ and only 11 home runs+stolen bases in his 53 games. Despite his 20/25 potential for 2025, keep in mind that he’s in his walk year, and a deadline trade might affect his future value.

Similar to DeLauter, one of his No. 1 pick predecessors
69. Nolan Jones, OF, Rockies
After an outstanding 2023, Jones suffered through an injury-plagued 2024, hitting .227/.321/.320 over 79 games. When Jones is healthy, he’s a 20-home run, 20-stolen base threat with plus on-base skills. A good bounce-back target in OBP leagues. [although I'm still not convinced yet]

Remember this ranking is for Fantasy not Real Baseball
75. Jhonkensy Noel, OF, Guardians
In only 198 plate appearances, “Big Christmas” hit 13 ho-ho-home runs on a team sorely lacking the type of power capable of breaking games wide open with a swing of the bat. Only 23 years old despite seemingly being in the prospect consciousness for a decade, Noel does have some warts he needs to work on: a propensity for chasing and quite a bit of whiff. Despite this, with bat speed that is in the top 5% in the league, he should still be a 30-home run bat for you in fantasy. The question is how much the BA and OBP may hurt you. [and will be One and Done like Oscar G; Joe Charbonneau; other big swingers?]

A very different set of skills:
82. Jaison Chourio, OF, Guardians
Featuring excellent bat-to-ball skills with above-average defense and plus speed, Chourio should debut in late 2026 and be a high-OBP hitter with 10 to 15 home runs and 25 to 30 steals annually.

Like MLB.com, BA.com is keeping the Hot Stove fires burning'

To-Do Lists For All 30 Teams Heading Into 2025

Cleveland Guardians
Add A Reliable Starter

The Guardians have made a few lower-profile starting pitching additions in trades that brought in righthander Slade Cecconi and Luis Ortiz this offseason. That meant re-structuring the right side of their infield, as Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor are now with the Blue Jays and D-backs, respectively. Cleveland signed Carlos Santana to replace Naylor at first and should have internal options for second between Juan Brito and (in the not too distant future) 2024 first-overall pick Travis Bazzana. But even with Cecconi and Ortiz, there are plenty of questions about Cleveland’s starting rotation, which was 24th with a 4.51 FIP in 2024 and currently projects as the 27th-best staff in the game entering 2025. Adding a healthy and established big league starter would do a lot to anchor this staff.

That bad?! That's why Williams' rebound is so crucial

Guardians Sign Luis Frias To Minor League Deal
By Nick Deeds | January 2, 2025 at 11:43am CDT

The Guardians have signed right-hander Luis Frias to a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, per a club announcement.

Frias, 27 in May, signed with the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2016. After slowly making his way through the lower levels of the minors in his early years with the club, Frias quickly rose from High-A all the way to Triple-A during the 2021 season. While he struggled to a 4.93 ERA in 23 starts across three levels of the minors that year, that didn’t stop Arizona from giving Frias his first big league opportunity down the stretch. He pitched fairly well in that brief cup of coffee, with a 2.70 ERA and three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of work, though his five walks represented a clear red flag regarding how his command would play at the big league level.

Those control issues manifested in the form of a brutal 2022 season. Frias’s sophomore campaign in the desert scarcely could have gone worse, as he posted a 10.59 ERA in 17 big league innings of work while once again walking (17) more batters than he struck out (14). His 3.99 ERA at Triple-A offered some level of optimism, though even that was held back by a 12.3% walk rate at the level. Despite his struggles, Frias’s tantalizing stuff was enough to convince Arizona to keep him in the fold for 2023, and he delivered the best season of his career in return. Though he walked 12.2% of opponents in the majors that year, Frias posted a 4.07 ERA that was 9% better than average by measure of ERA+ in 31 innings of work. His 18.7% strikeout rate was lackluster, but in terms of pure run prevention his results were those of a perfectly adequate middle reliever.

Unfortunately, Frias’s performance went back off the rails in 2024. In 13 MLB appearances split between the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays, the right-hander struggled to a 13.97 ERA and 5.55 FIP while recording just 9 2/3 total innings of work. Things even looked dire at the Triple-A level during his time in Arizona, as he posted a lackluster 4.88 ERA for the club’s affiliate in Reno. Fortunately for Frias, however, he dominated at Triple-A late in the year after being plucked off waivers from the Snakes. He posted a 0.96 ERA and a 27.9% strikeout rate for his new club’s Buffalo affiliate, and while that wasn’t enough to convince the Jays to keep him on their 40-man roster this winter it was evidently enough to earn Frias a look from the Guardians this winter.

While Frias isn’t likely to break camp as part of a crowded Cleveland bullpen, he’ll now have the opportunity to work with one of the league’s best pitching development organizations in hopes of further harnessing his potential and sorting out his command going forward. In the meantime, he’ll serve as a non-roster depth option for the Guardians out of the bullpen who could be called upon in the event of an injury.

Clippers get an arm for their pen and Guardians get a unlikely but possible addition to the slightly thinned-out pen with Morgan and Sandlin both departed.