Cleveland Sports Forum

Naylor compensation was a very specific player which limited the return. A contract controllable pitcher with lots of arm talent but has not broken through yet. Means a lot that the Rays were after the same player. Guardians front office has earned the trust when they have targeted players from other organizations.

The offseason speculation is almost over. Soon there will be practices, reps, simulated innings and Cactus League games to finally use as data to support your ongoing theories of who might start where on Opening Day.

Let’s take a look at three Guardians storylines to watch in Spring Training:

1. Will there be enough offense?

The Guardians knew that losing Andrés Giménez wouldn’t shake up their lineup too much, considering he hadn’t been the same hitter he was in 2022 since that All-Star season. But first baseman Josh Naylor, who was traded away after he hit 31 homers last year, might be difficult to replace. This means Cleveland will have to put a lot of faith in an aging Carlos Santana in the cleanup spot.

That’s putting a lot of pressure on someone who is inching closer and closer to his 40th birthday to provide the necessary protection that José Ramírez will need from the three hole. These six weeks in Goodyear, Ariz., won’t tell the whole story, but the Guardians will start to get an idea of whether they have more offensive holes than they realized.






2. Who is starting at second … or right field?

There’s a main position battle and then there’s the subordinate position battle.

Second base will be the main show. The Giménez trade left second base wide open for an up-and-comer like Juan Brito. This is a player the Guardians were willing to trade a former top prospect (Nolan Jones) for a few years ago. But because Giménez was locked in at second, there wasn’t a clear path to the Majors for Brito. Now, that’s changed, and it’s up to Brito to seize the opportunity.

Cleveland doesn’t always like to start the season with prospects in its starting lineup, but if Brito can prove during camp that he’s ready for the challenge, the team seems willing to give him that chance. But if he doesn’t, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, Daniel Schneemann and Angel Martínez will be competing alongside him.

And then there’s right field. The reason this isn’t the main act is because we already know the Guardians have been fine with the Jhonkensy Noel/Will Brennan platoon in the past. It wasn’t always the best strategy, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. So if there aren’t any clear-cut, elite candidates to change things up, why bother? But there’s a guy by the name of Chase DeLauter who has fans excited. He’ll be a non-roster invitee. After a little more time in Triple-A Columbus (considering he was injured for most of last year), he could be someone who shakes up the outfield configuration.






3. Is there enough starting pitching depth?

Yes, this same problem still exists for Cleveland. The Guardians did trade for starter Luis L. Ortiz, who will be penciled into the rotation. But they’re still relying on Ben Lively, who enjoyed a career year last season, and they are crossing their fingers that Triston McKenzie will snap back into form in ’25. Shane Bieber, recovering from Tommy John surgery, will join the rotation at some point midway through the season. The Guardians have Slade Cecconi, who will probably start the year in the bullpen, and Joey Cantillo as other Major League ready options. Doug Nikhazy isn’t too far behind.

But the same question stands: Is it enough? Are the Guardians one injury away from having to rely heavily on the bullpen yet again?

As always, Spring Training will never tell the whole story. But the more arms who look like they’re in midseason form by the end of camp, the better.

PROMOTIONS SCHEDULE

Now it’s really setting in that Opening Day is just around the corner. On Monday, the Guardians released their 2025 promotional schedule. All single-game tickets will go on sale on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on CLEGuardians.com/tickets. If you’re looking for some extra incentives to determine which game you’ll attend, here’s a guide to help:

• April 8: Opening Day magnet schedule and car magnet (all fans)
• May 10: Steven Kwan City Connect cap (15,000 fans)
• May 26: Mystery reliever jersey (15,000 fans)
• May 31: Tanner Bibee City Connect bobblehead (15,000 fans)
• June 7: Emmanuel Clase jersey (15,000 fans)
• June 28: Cleveland Buckeyes cap (15,000 fans)
• July 5: Larry Doby bobblehead (20,000 fans)
• July 7: City Connect Hawaiian shirt (15,000 fans)
• July 19: Stephen Vogt bobblehead (20,000 fans)
• Aug. 2: José Ramírez jersey (20,000 fans)
• Aug. 16: Tom Hamilton commemorative item (20,000 fans)
• Aug. 29: Rock ’n’ Blast
• Aug. 30: Rock ’n’ Blast, City Connect bucket hat (20,000 fans)
• Sept. 14: City Connect lightweight hoodie (15,000 fans)






THANK YOU

I’ll keep it short and sweet, but I just wanted to thank all of you for reading and following along for the past six years. This job was a dream come true for me, and each person I’ve interacted with at the ballpark or on social media made it even sweeter. I’m so grateful that I was able to start my career in a city that’s so passionate about its sports teams and so warmly welcomed an out-of-towner like me.

I am leaving the Guardians beat, but I’m so excited to move into Major League Baseball’s new youth content department to help kids fall in love with this wonderful game. I’ll still be on the MLB Morning Lineup podcast and I’ll still be posting all about desserts, baseball and kids on social media.

But I know this won’t be the same. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the best six years I could’ve asked for.

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Guardians Named As Potential Landing Spot For Top Free Agent Pitcher

February 12, 2025

By Andres Chavez

The Cleveland Guardians were able to re-sign Shane Bieber and bring in Luis L. Ortiz and Slade Cecconi via trade during the off-season.

Those three will join Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively, Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, and others in the starting pitching depth chart.

Bieber, however, won’t be ready for the start of the season.

He will miss at least a couple of months, potentially more, as he completes his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

Cleveland could surely use a top-tier starter to navigate those first months and help Bibee carry some of the pressure.

With that in mind, MLB insider Jeff Passan believes that the Guardians could be a potential landing spot for free agent right-hander Nick Pivetta.

“Right-hander Nick Pivetta radiates talent, and teams’ pitching models adore his stuff. Teams in need of more starting pitching — the Cleveland Guardians, the San Diego Padres, even Boston, where the 32-year-old Pivetta spent the past five years — are obvious fits,” he wrote for ESPN.

Passan suggests that the Guardians might become an option for Pivetta because the closer we get to the start of spring training games and the season, the further his price plummets.

Pivetta, having rejected a qualifying offer, is attached to draft pick compensation.

This is where the extra pick the Guardians got in the Josh Naylor trade could come in handy.

Pivetta has finished each of his eight MLB seasons with an ERA over 4.00.

However, he was at 4.14 last year with a 172/36 SO/BB ratio, which would look very nice in the Guardians’ rotation.

If the Guardians are OK with parting with a high pick (knowing that they have the aforementioned one as insurance) or if they are willing to wait until after the draft, Pivetta could be a nice addition to the staff.

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I HATE these "possible landing spot stories" which are of course nearly always wrong and are necessary only because the author is required to produce 300 words every day and write anything that comes to his mind.

Of course, another folder tells us Pivetta signed. Not with CLE

From a Keith Law chat :

Peter V.
· 23h 54m ago

Keith: When you're talking to executives from different teams, is there one team where they all basically say "we have no idea how they do it" in a positive way? Basically, is there a single team (or maybe it's a couple) that have some kind of secret sauce that others wonder about?


Keith Law
Keith Law
· 23h 29m ago

@Peter V. I hear that a lot about Cleveland with pitchers, which is probably why the Cardinals hired a couple of their player dev guys away. People know how the Dodgers do it - with people, more than anything - but too many owners are busy trying to save a dime to spend a little more on personnel.

Of course Joe Z does not agree !

I don't think Joe rejects the quallty of their development skills, he just wants them ALSO to spend money on veterans. I'll let him speak for himself, of course
I'd like to have seen some more activity over the winter, too.
BTW, the Baseball America guys on their podcast that I posted in Minor Matters have some positive thoughts about Ceccone-- there sometimes is a tendency to suggest that the Cleveland Pitching Factory can work out any pitcher's flaws.
I wonder if they can do anything to turn Logan Allen back into a back of the rotation starter?

I think Joe Z is just whining as usual !!! 14 teams are spending less this year than last year. If you want a team that spends root for the Dodgers, Yankees or Mets.

This rotation could use an additional starter that you can count on every 4th or 5th day. At this time, I think Kyle Gibson is that guy. He throws strikes and is an innings eater. I mentioned a few others but they found homes elsewhere. This team needs a #2 starter behind Bibee. Other than Shane Bieber who won't be pitching much before the all start break, we don't have that guy. Apparently, it sounds like you might have a candidate or two that fits the bill.. Who is your #2 or #3 candidate from those who are currently in camp? Gavin Williams? Luis Ortiz??Ben Lively? Triston McKenzie? Joey Cantillo? In my opinion, until proven otherwise, all are #3 starters at best. Bieber is the only pitcher that qualifies as a #2 and that's only if he's healthy.

Kyle Gibson

Gibson is the prototypical innings eater, a back-of-the-rotation arm who has posted an ERA below 4.00 just three times in his entire career who makes up for that with volume. Besides his half-season as a rookie back in 2013 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Gibson has made at least 25 starts with at least 147 1/3 innings of work in every single season of his career. He’s averaged just over 30 starts and approximately 175 innings per season in those years. It’s a level of volume that’s hard to find in the the current era of pitching, and any team with instability in their rotation would stand to benefit from plugging Gibson into the mix.

However, Gibson’s status as one of the league’s more reliable arms comes with very limited upside. In 12 years as a big league pitcher, the right-hander has eclipsed 3.0 fWAR just once. He’s also begun to show some minor signs of decline that can’t be entirely ignored headed into his age-37 campaign; his 9.4% walk rate was elevated relative to his career norms, but more concerning was the 9.2% barrel rate he allowed that was tenth-worst among all qualified starters last year. Last year’s 13 quality starts were also the fewest he’s posted in a full season since 2019.

Williams should be a number two. I keep on saying it, but I think he's the most important "key to the season"

Guardians add versatile righty Junis (source)
10:06 AM EST
Anthony Castrovince



GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Guardians made a late addition to their pitching pool by agreeing to terms with right-hander Jakob Junis on a one-year, $4.5 million contract, pending a physical, according to a source. The club has not confirmed the deal.


Junis served a hybrid role for the Brewers and the Reds in a 2024 season affected by injury. He made 24 appearances in all, six as a starter. If the Guardians envision a similar role for Junis in Cleveland, he could be another starting option for a club whose rotation picture is very much in flux. What is certain is that he is capable of providing bulk innings (all but three of his 18 relief appearances in 2024 were for multiple innings) in a Guardians bullpen that was terrific last season but could experience some lag effects from the heavy workload and the deep postseason run.


Across eight MLB seasons with the Royals, Giants, Brewers and Reds, the 32-year-old Junis has compiled a 4.48 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 780 1/3 innings. He’s shown good control, with a 5.9% career walk rate (including a 3.2% walk rate in 2024 that was among the best in the league). His best weapon is a slider that held opponents to a .183 average last season.

The 2024 season was a challenging one for Junis, as he dealt with a right shoulder impingement early in the year and also spent time on the Brewers’ injured list after getting struck by a ball while jogging on-field during batting practice. But he was effective when healthy, with a 2.69 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 67 innings. The Reds acquired him in the midseason deal that sent Frankie Montas to Milwaukee, and Junis wound up making five starts for Cincinnati in the home stretch.

Cleveland entered Spring Training camp with a full 40-man roster, so an accompanying roster move will need to be made to accommodate Junis.

As usual they sign someone whose " 2024 season [was] affected by injury"
Not cheap. they could have kept Eli Morgan for a lot less. {$950,000 for 2025 with the Cubs]
Or Pedro Avila who similarly started and relieved and whose 2024 season was not affected by injury.
There's obviously some reason this fellow with a career 4.40 ERA is worth it.

Don't sign someone = complain. Sign someone = complain. 4.5 million is peanuts.

How do the Guardians compete ? They are limited on funds sure, but they went out made a couple of cost saving moves, picked up 2 players for the rotation competition, and just signed a 3rd with a legit shot of making the rotation for 4.5 mill.

They are so good at finding undervalued pitchers and turning them around that 2 of the players they picked up for starts both got decent contracts this offseason and a third, Lively, is in the mix for our rotation after being so forgotten he had do pitch over seas just 2 years ago.

If our team saw something in Junis, then I think we should trust there is something there worth giving a shot.