The Cleveland Guardians have tried to add external bats, but remain committed to their young core.
Coming off a year when the Cleveland Guardians had one of the worst offenses in baseball, one would think the front office would be determined to figure out a way to upgrade the lineup for 2026.
Multiple members of the front office have even admitted that the offense must improve next season, and that the lineup simply wasn’t good enough and didn’t produce as much as they needed to a year ago.
So, with all that said, why have the Guardians added any external bats this offseason?
Chris Antonetti, Guardians President of Baseball Operations, recently revealed the answer to this question during a press conference late last week.
“We all know in the current Major League Baseball economic system, we are not in a position to compete for top free agents, so we have to think about alternate ways of building teams. And when we went into the off-season, we had to make some decisions, and we feel that we are best served and can get the best offense and best team production by giving opportunities to the young players that are here,” explained Antonetti.
For what it’s worth, this is the same mindset the Guardians have had since their end-of-season press conference, availability during the Winter Meetings, and now two weeks before Spring Training.
Aug 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) celebrates with his team after a three-run home run by shortstop Gabriel Arias (not pictured) in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn ImagesThe front office is determined to give the young core opportunities to show they can be the answer, so much so that Antonetti shared that one of the reasons some of their external target opted to sign elsewhere was because the Guardians weren’t going to guarantee them playing time.
The Guardians executive shared that “There were some players that we targeted, that fit a very defined role on our team, but we weren't able to get them. And it wasn't a financial reason. In fact, the players that we made offers to signed elsewhere for very comparable deals. It was more about playing time because we wanted to give those young players opportunities, the players we targeted felt that they could play more somewhere else.”
Adolis Garcia, Lane Thomas, and Austin Hays were all players the Guardians reportedly had at least a connection with this offseason, until they went in different directions.
The Guardians are taking a risk by committing to the young players while not adding proven big-league players, primarily because of playing time. It’s a risk that could pay off, or leave the organization wishing they had operated differently over the winter.
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