Guardians Notes: Kwan, Bullpen, Valera, Rocchio

By Anthony Franco | December 10, 2025 at 12:40pm CDT

As expected, it has been a quiet start to the offseason for the Guardians. Their only major league moves thus far have been to re-sign backup catcher Austin Hedges and add middle reliever Connor Brogdon. Cleveland rarely attacks free agency, and they seem generally unlikely to make major moves on the trade front in either direction this winter.

The Guardians heard teams out on Steven Kwan at the deadline. They didn’t find an offer to their liking, and they’re less inclined to sell after making a surprise late-season run to another AL Central title. Unsurprisingly, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote this morning that while the Guards aren’t going to close themselves off to offers, they’re currently inclined to hold him into next season.

An offseason trade would be selling at a bit of a low point. Kwan had a .700 OPS or worse in each of the final four months. His overall .272/.330/.374 line was league average, but that was carried mostly by a fantastic April. It’s primarily a reflection of a drop in his batting average on balls in play. BABIP volatility is to be expected for a player who rarely hits the ball hard but is one of the sport’s five best pure contact hitters. The bat-to-ball skills and plus defense in left field give him a solid floor, and both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference valued him around three wins above replacement.

Kwan is under team control for two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an $8.8MM salary. The Guardians don’t have much on the books beyond the well below-market José Ramírez contract. They’re not under any financial pressure to move him. Even if other teams value him just as highly as they did over the summer, a trade would remove the only established outfielder from Stephen Vogt’s lineup. Rookies Chase DeLauter, Petey Halpin and George Valera and the out-of-options Nolan Jones are currently in line to divide the center and right field playing time. The Guards already need to add to the outfield, and a Kwan trade would only push that further.

Cleveland is also in the market for multiple relievers, Vogt told reporters at the Winter Meetings (link via Tim Stebbins of MLB.com). “We need depth in the bullpen,” the two-time AL Manager of the Year said. “We have four, maybe five guys in our bullpen, and we need eight.”

It’s safe to assume Emmanuel Clase isn’t coming back. That keeps Cade Smith in the closer role. Hunter Gaddis is a quality setup arm from the right side. The rest of the group is in flux. Brogdon and Matt Festa are out of options and probably set to open the season in middle relief. Neither should be ticketed for leverage spots. There’s even less certainty from the left side. Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski have each shown promise but struggled to throw strikes. Even if a depth starter like Joey Cantillo or Doug Nikhazy ends up in long relief, they need more trustworthy arms.

Additionally, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports that the Guardians have been granted a fourth option year on both Valera and second base prospect Juan Brito. Players can typically only be optioned to the minor leagues in three separate seasons after being added to the 40-man roster. After that, teams need to pass them through waivers and outright them off the 40-man to send them down.

Exceptions are made for players who have less than five full seasons (90+ days) on an MLB or minor league active roster. That usually occurs because the player took a while to reach full-season ball — especially for international signings who signed their first contract at 16 — and/or missed chunks of a season to injury. Valera didn’t play a full minor league season until 2021 and missed most of this past season working back from knee surgery. Brito didn’t play a full season until 2022, so he’d have been eligible for the fourth option even if he were fully healthy. He missed most of the ’25 season because of thumb and hamstring issues.

Valera and Brito could each be in the mix for Opening Day roster spots. The Guardians have the flexibility to send them to Triple-A Columbus for another season, though both right field and second base are open in the short term. There’s probably more pressure on Brito to break out, as top prospect Travis Bazzana has already hit his way to Triple-A. Bazzana has the higher ceiling and is viewed as the long-term second baseman, meaning Brito might not have much runway even if he breaks camp.

Vogt told reporters that Brayan Rocchio will play a lot of shortstop during Spring Training. They’ll move Gabriel Arias around in a utility role, leaving the door open for Brito or Bazzana to play their way into the second base job early in the season. Rocchio divided his time evenly between the middle infield spots this year, though he was mostly at the keystone in the second half. He’s out of options and probably isn’t in jeopardy of losing his roster spot, but he’s a .222/.293/.327 in more than 900 plate appearances over parts of three seasons. He’s entering his age-25 campaign and in a bit of a make-or-break spot himself if he’s going to remain an everyday player.

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Former Guardians postseason hero becomes villain after signing with Royals

The Lane train has left the station.

By Henry Palattella

Dec 12, 2025

In October 2024, Lane Thomas etched his name into Guardians lore by mashing a majestic home run against Tarik Skubal in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

It turns out that’ll be the high water mark of his time with the Guardians.

On Thursday, Thomas signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Royals after lingering in the free agency market for two months after an injury-filled 2025.

Last season Thomas went through the walk year from hell, as he broke his wrist in the Guardians’ home opener after being hit by a pitch and then had two other stints on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis.

He ended up hitting .160 across 39 games with the Guardians and didn’t play in a game after July 4. He underwent foot surgery in September that was expected to keep him out for four months.

That checkered season was the biggest reason why he ended up settling for a $5.25 million contract despite having a skillset based around power and speed.

When Thomas is at his best, he’s crushing the ball to all fields while providing above average defense in center. He was doing exactly that in 2023 when his .268 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI in 156 games for the Nationals, which still stands as his best season.

It’s easy to see why the Royals decided to roll the dice on Thomas given how things went for them in the outfield last season. Last year, Kansas City’s outfielders combined for a .219 batting average, which was the second-lowest mark in the league behind the lowly Angels.

Kyle Isbel handled his own in center field (.255 average in 135 games), but rookie Jac Caglianone struggled in his first taste of MLB action in right and Drew Waters was a negative player in left.

The Royals acquired Mike Yastrzemski from the Giants at the trade deadline to handle outfield duties, but he signed a two-year deal with the Braves on Wednesday that likely led to Thomas’ deal.

Thomas had gone on record that he had some interest in returning to Cleveland, but that won't be the case.

While we don’t know if the Guardians had any interest in reuniting with Thomas, Chris Antonetti has already said that the Guardians are ready to give more opportunities to their young outfielders, and bringing Thomas back would have gone against that thinking.

Now, Thomas’ time with the Guardians is a case of “what if.”

While he had those majestic home runs in the postseason, he didn’t produce in the regular season and had to sit on the sideline last season while the Guardians went on their strong run at the end of the season to clinch the AL Central.

Thomas will get his first chance to haunt his former team on April 6 when the Royals travel to Cleveland to take on the Guardians.

( I have a feeling that this move is going to end up biting us in the arse )

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Latest revealed secret means Guardians fans don't need to fear Stephen Vogt departure

He's not going anywhere.

By Henry Palattella

22 hours ago

You can’t talk about the Cleveland Guardians’ recent run of success without talking about Stephen Vogt. Since taking over as the Guardians’ manager ahead of the 2024 season, Vogt has helped lead the Guardians to a 180-143 record with two American League Central crowns.

And he’s not going to go anywhere any time soon. On Friday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan put out a story about Vogt and Brewers manager Pat Murphy (who have both won back-to-back Manager of the Year Awards in their respective leagues), where he provided a promising update about Vogt’s future in Cleveland.

“Vogt, in fact, is not a lame duck. He signed a new multiyear contract with the Guardians following the 2024 season that was never made public, sources told ESPN,”

Passan wrote.

Vogt quietly signing an extension isn’t a huge surprise given that most managerial extensions happen in silence, but it’s still exciting nonetheless.

Stephen Vogt isn’t going to leave the Guardians any time soon

Vogt’s contract extension looks even better compared to Murphy’s situation, as Passan wrote that Murphy’s contract is set to expire after the 2026 season, which is the worst position for a manager to be in.

Most of the time managers have a contract that covers multiple seasons so that way they’re not in a “lame duck” status where everyone knows they’re going to be gone after the season.

The last time the Brewers were in a situation like this, they lost Craig Counsell to the Cubs for a record-setting deal with the Cubs, as Passan pointed out in his story.

The Guardians were in a similar situation with Terry Francona in 2023, but it was a bit of an open secret that would be his final season in Cleveland. And Francona leaving led to the Guardians hiring Vogt, which has been one of the shrewdest moves in recent team history.

Last season was Vogt at his best, as he managed multiple injuries, suspensions and trade rumors to help guide the Guardians on a record-setting comeback in the American League Central to win the division crown.

Vogt’s track record of success is even more impressive when you consider the deck he’s playing with. While he has an All-World player in José Ramírez, he’s had to navigate all that winning with a subpar lineup and a roster that’s routinely ranked near the bottom of the league in payroll.

Even if it helps that the Guardians have a stellar starting rotation and bullpen, he’s had a lineup filled with frustratingly inconsistent players, and it seems like that’s going to continue in 2026.

Still, any Guardians team with Vogt at the helm is going to be a contender, so keeping him in the fold was a clear win. It was already hard to imagine a world where Vogt wasn’t at the top step of the home dugout at Progressive Field, and now it’s even harder to imagine.


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Grading how the Guardians did during the 2026 MLB Winter Meetings

Do they need a make-up exam?

By Henry Palattella

Dec 11, 2025

he 2026 Winter Meetings featured plenty of bombshell moves. Kyle Schwarber returning to the Philadelphia Phillies. Pete Alsono defecting from the Mets to head to the Orioles. The Dodgers signed Edwin Díaz.

Last year the Guardians were one of the main players at the Winter Meetings when they traded Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays and acquired Luis Ortiz from the Pirates (two moves we didn’t love at the time.) This year they sat out most of the fanfare outside of signing reliever Connor Brogdon and picking reliever Peyton Pallatte in the Rule 5 Draft.

While that doesn’t automatically mean that things went wrong (sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make), their inactivity was still a bit disappointing given how many obvious holes they have on the roster.

The Guardians’ quiet showing at the Winter Meetings was a bit disappointing

The one silver lining for Cleveland’s quiet showing at the Winter Meetings is that most of the players who would fit on their roster (and in their payroll) are still available.

While it would be better if Cleveland’s front office left Orlando with Austin Hays, Harrison Bader or Rhys Hoskins on the roster, there hasn’t really been a signing yet that’s stung in the way one of them signing elsewhere would/will.

he Guardians are already in good shape due to the fact they have José Ramírez signed to a long-term extension and have a roster filled with talented young players who are making the league minimum, but that shouldn’t stop them from taking a swing or two this offseason (or any offseason, really).

It remains to be seen whether the best way for them to make that splash is through free agency or the trade market, however.

While signing someone like Hays or Bader obviously wouldn’t require the Guardians to give anyone up in return, whichever player they sign likely wouldn’t have the potential and/or team control that a trade target would have.

The top trade target still stands as the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, who has the kind of utility profile that the Guardians’ front office tends to salivate over.

Donovan has played every position but center field and catcher in his career, but he’s at his best at second base and right field — two positions where the Guardians have a clear need. The Guardians would truly swing for the fences and try to acquire Lars Nootbaar alongside him, but a trade for Donovan would help make the offseason a clear win.

The Winter Meetings seemed like a logical place to make that move, but just because it didn’t happen there doesn't mean it can't happen later in the winter.

While the Guardians not making a move is a negative, there’s also a positive to it in the fact they haven’t given up any minor league talent (yet).

Along with having top prospect Travis Bazzana waiting in the wings, the Guardians also have a crop of seemingly MLB-ready prospects in Khal Stephen, Angel Genao and Kahlil Watson, among others. While none of them (outside of Bazzana) are untouchable, there’s arguably a clear path for all of them to make an impact on the roster in 2026.

Chris Antonetti opened the Winter Meetings by saying that he didn’t want to put any roadblocks in the way of the young players on the roster, and his action (or inaction) proved that.

Even though it’s going to take some time for us to see if that ends up being the right move, it’s a positive sign in that it shows that the front office is willing to give those players a chance as opposed to years prior where they signed retreads like Hanley Ramírez, Carlos Santana or Carlos Gonzalez as stopgap options.

Still, the front office had a clear path to upgrade the roster and they didn’t take it, and that’s a bit inexcusable.

Guardians Winter Meetings grade: C-

Guardians could capitalize on Orioles-Pete Alonso deal with trade for O's slugger

By Henry Palattella
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Dec 11, 2025

On Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles pulled off arguably the biggest surprise of the MLB offseason when they signed Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract that has the highest AAV ever for a first baseman.

While there’s a lot of time to figure out the long-term ramifications of Alonso joining the American League, there’s no denying that it’s turned the Orioles into one of the AL’s biggest contenders.

But that doesn’t mean that the deal won’t have ramifications on the Orioles roster, especially when it comes to the future of Ryan Mountcastle, who at one point was viewed as the Orioles’ first baseman of the future.

It’s clear that’s no longer the case, both because of Alonso’s presence on the roster and his struggles in 2025 (.250, 7 HR, 35 RBI in 89 games). But just because he’s coming off a rough season doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t be an impactful player for a team like the Guardians.

Ryan Mountcastle would be a worthwhile addition to the Guardians' lineup

Even though Mountcastle isn’t a perfect fit for the Guardians thanks to Kyle Manzardo, it would be worth it to kick the tires on his availability given they’d be able to buy-low on a player who has had some MLB success.

Mountcastle made his debut in 2020 and hit .333 in 140 at-bats, which helped him earn some down-ballot Rookie of the Year votes. But he was still able to keep his rookie status (the 2020 season was weird), which led to him getting Rookie of the Year votes again in 2021 in a season where he mashed 33 home runs.

But his production has slowly dwindled season-over-season since then, culminating with his truly subpar 2025 that has led to him being expendable. He’s also struggled with a variety of injuries, including a hamstring strain that kept him out for two months last season.

But all of that still doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s been a productive player who could bring some much-needed power to the Guardians lineup.

The Guardians opened the year with a platoon of Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana at first base before letting Santana go at the end of August, and the right-handed hitting Mountcastle would be an obvious upgrade — even with the obvious downside that he could potentially take at-bats away from Manzardo.

That said, the designated hitter spot is going to be open again thanks to David Fry being able to play the field, which would give Stephen Vogt a golden opportunity to shuffle both of them between first base and DH depending on the matchup.

Mountcastle also played some left field early in his career, but it didn’t go well (-6 Outs Above Average in LF in 2021). He’s ranked as a league average first baseman in recent seasons.

The Orioles are in dire need of pitching, so the Guardians could dip into their MLB-ready pitching stock to get him (Joey Cantillo) or even some of the minor league depth (Austin Peterson).

The Guardians need to do something to improve their lineup after a quiet Winter Meetings, and taking a swing on Mountcastle could be worth it.

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