Can Angel Martinez become a regular in center field for the Guardians in 2026?




What are the five hottest spring-training battles for the Guardians? The week in baseball

Updated: Jan. 31, 2026, 10:00 a.m.|Published: Jan. 31, 2026, 7:47 a.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians have not sold a lot of tickets for the 2026 season based on the work they’ve done to improve an offense that last season hit .226 and barely averaged four runs per game.

In fact, they came right out and said as much on Thursday when they signed Jose Ramirez to a record-setting seven-year, $175 million contract extension. It was a feel-good moment for the franchise and one of the best players to wear a Cleveland uniform, but in reality, the move signals the franchise will rely on Ramirez to carry the offensive load again.

To be fair, the Guardians have won the AL Central in three of the last four years and six of the last 10. They’re doing something right, but it would be so much easier if they added a proven hitter or two.

[ Not going to be easy with all of the affordable options off the board. $5mill/year appears to be out of the question. All affordable "impact" players signed elsewhere. When it comes time to adding players, most likely, it would be too late. I think that train has already left the station]

Instead, they’re sticking with developing players such as Kyle Manzardo, Angel Martinez, Bo Naylor, Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann to support Ramirez and All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan. They’re also committed to giving prospects Chase DeLauter, George Valera, C.J. Kayfus, Petey Halpin and Kahlil Watson an opportunity.

They are so open-minded that last year they let DeLauter make his big-league debut in Game 2 of the wild card series against Detroit. It was a first for a Cleveland player and he lost the first ball hit to him in center field.

Things are more settled on the pitching side of the roster. The starting rotation boasted six solid starters at the end of last season, while the bullpen has been the one area where the front office has been busy fortifying this winter.

Still, it is going to be another young team on what could be one of the franchise’s lowest payrolls in recent history. With youth comes opportunity and competition. With spring training starting on Feb. 10, here are five positions where the competition should be at its highest:




Guardians' center fielder Chase Delauter.J


Center field

Kwan, the four-time Gold Glove winning left fielder, is the only everyday outfielder on the roster. DeLauter, Martinez, Halpin, Schneemann, Watson and spring-training invitee Stuart Fairchild will compete for playing time in center.

Last year Martinez appeared in 114 games, including 87 starts, in center. The switch-hitting Martinez shouldn’t take too much comfort in those numbers. In 2024, Tyler Freeman appeared in 97 games in center, but was still traded right before the start of the 2025 season.

Right field

DeLauter, Valera, Kayfus and Nolan Jones are the leading candidates for playing time. They all hit left-handed.

Jones made 72 starts and 101 appearances in right field last year, but hit only .211 (75 for 355) with five homers and 34 RBI. DeLauter and Valera have shown flashes of offense in the minors, but have failed to stay healthy. Kayfus, a first baseman by trade, is still learning to play right field.




Guardians' first baseman C.J. Kayfus.


First base, DH

Manzardo, Kayfus and David Fry are the candidates for playing time. The Guardians want Manzardo to be a fixture in the lineup either at first base or DH. He finished last season with 27 homers and 70 RBI in 142 games. Kayfus, who hit .300 (95 for 317) with 14 homers, 54 RBI and a .930 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last year, played 44 games for the Guards last year. The right-handed hitting Fry, if he’s fully recovered from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, would give balance to both positions.

Fry, depending on his arm strength this spring, will also spend time at catcher.

Starting rotation

The Guardians started Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Slade Cecconi in the three-game wild card series against Detroit last year. That may be an indication of who the favorites are for the top three spots, but there’s going to be plenty of pushing and shoving this spring. Joey Cantillo, Logan Allen and rookie Parker Messick, all left-handers, pitched well last year.




Guardians' Cade Smith

Bullpen

Outside of closer Cade Smith and set-up man Hunter Gaddis, there’s mystery attached to the next six spots in the bullpen. Matt Festa (63 appearances) did a nice job last season. Lefty Tim Herrin (54 appearances) had an up and down season, while lefty Erik Sabrowski struck out 42 batters in 29 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, the Guardians spent the offseason signing free agents Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman. They added Rule 5 pick Payton Pallette and brought veterans Pedro Avila and Codi Heuer to camp on minor league deals. Whoever claims one of those six open spots will have earned it.

One more thing

Closer Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are still on the restricted list awaiting trial in May for conspiring with gamblers to throw rigged pitches. Andrew Walters (right lat) and Carlos Hernandez (auto accident) will not be ready to pitch in spring training. Trevor Stephan, still under contract, was invited to camp as a non-roster player as he completes his recovery from Tommy John surgery.






Former Guardians' right-hander Cal Quantrill.

Names to remember

RHP Cal Quantrill, 27-15 in four seasons with Cleveland, will be in big-league camp with Texas on a minor league deal.

RHP Eli Morgan, 18-12 in four years with the Guardians, will be in big-league camp with Kansas City this spring.

OF Daniel Johnson, who played 35 games for Cleveland in 2020 and 2021, will be in big-league camp with the Marlins on a minor league deal.

RHP Darren McCaughan, who pitched two games for the Guardians in 2024, will be in camp with the Reds on a minor league deal.

INF Will Wilson, who made his big league debut with the Guardians last year, will be in camp with Seattle on a minor league deal.

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Chase DeLauter could be Guardians opening day center fielder.




Will this work? The Guardians’ plan to add more oomph to the offense

Updated: Feb. 01, 2026, 6:01 a.m.|Published: Feb. 01, 2026, 6:00 a.m.

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

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.




Signing 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.




Edwin Encarnacion in 2017. Encarnacion had just signed what was then the richest contract in team history




The 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.




What 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.




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.”

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Guardians officially have the lowest payroll in MLB

Billy Heyen

19 hours ago

The Cleveland Guardians generated some goodwill among the fanbase with the recent contract extension news for Jose Ramirez.

The reality is that the Guardians aren't exactly shelling out the cash, though

As of Saturday night, Jan. 31, the Guardians have the lowest cash payroll in baseball.

That did belong to the Chicago White Sox, but they signed Austin Hays on Saturday to move out of the basement.

Here's how the list looks now, via Spotrac's charts:






This is a common complaint for the Guardians, who find a way to be competitive every year despite ranking near the bottom in payroll every season.

Right now, the Guardians are a decent amount lower in payroll than they were last season, and that's still with the books reflecting more than $6 million for Emmanuel Clase that almost surely isn't going to end up being paid.

There aren't a ton of major free agents left, so it's not even like there's a lot of money the Guardians could shell out if they wanted to.

And to be clear -- there's no indication from reporters that Cleveland is pursuing anyone.

This is what the team is at this point. It's up to the players the Guardians have to make the most of what's in the clubhouse, because it isn't getting much of an upgrade.

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Mariners Sign Former Guardians Infielder

February 1, 2026

By Jimmy Swartz

The Cleveland Guardians saw another former member of their organization land a new opportunity.

According to a report from Guardians Prospective, Will Wilson has signed a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners for the 2026 season.

“Former Cleveland #Guardians INF Will Wilson has signed a minor league contract with invite to MLB spring training with the Mariners for the 2026 season,” the account posted.

Wilson, 26, spent parts of the last several years working his way through Cleveland’s farm system, serving primarily as a middle infielder with experience at both shortstop and second base. While he never quite broke through at the big-league level in a consistent role, he quietly put together some solid stretches in the minors.

Last season with Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Wilson showed flashes of offensive production, finishing with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs while posting an OPS north of .750 across 70 games. That kind of pop, paired with defensive versatility, tends to keep players on radars around the league.

He also got a brief look in Cleveland, appearing in 34 major league games, but struggled to find his footing offensively. Like many young hitters making the jump, consistency proved difficult against big-league pitching.

Still, the tools have always been intriguing.

Wilson has long been viewed as a player who can do a little bit of everything. He’s not necessarily going to anchor a lineup, but he can move around the infield, provide depth, and chip in with occasional power. For a team like Seattle looking to bolster competition in camp, that profile makes plenty of sense.

From the Guardians’ perspective, this is another example of how deep their infield pipeline has been. Between established pieces at the big-league level and a wave of prospects pushing behind them, roster spots simply became harder to come by. Sometimes that means players get squeezed out despite being capable contributors.

A spring training invite gives Wilson a legitimate chance to impress. A strong camp could earn him a bench role or at least put him first in line if the Mariners need reinforcements during the season.

These types of moves rarely make major headlines, but they’re part of the baseball cycle. Players move on, new opportunities pop up, and sometimes a change of scenery is exactly what’s needed.

For Wilson, Seattle now represents that next chance.

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[ Man! trying to find articles concerning the Guardians is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Only news related to the Guardians is what players are moving on to greener pastures or what our rivals are up to. The bulk of that news can be found in the "other teams" folder.That image of Wil Wilson kind of sums it up for this off season's news. ]

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