Ten days from Monday, the Cleveland Guardians will be taking the field against the Seattle Mariners for the first officially regular-season game of the 2026 season. 

However, the Guardians still have many questions that must be answered before then, and here are three of them. 

How the Guardians would go about putting their rotation together for the beginning of the 2026 season was one of the key storylines all offseason. Now, just 10 days away from the first series of the season, Cleveland still must figure it out.

Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams are locks, with Logan Allen, Slade Cecconi, Joey Cantillo, and Parker Messick batting for the final three spots.

Perhaps the pitcher that could have the biggest effect on this is Joey Cantillo. 

The easiest solution is to have Messick start the year in the Minor Leagues. However, the left-hander has put together a tremendous spring, only giving up two earned runs in 9.1 innings of work (1.93 ERA). Cleveland can’t simply ignore how efficient Messick has been on the mound.

It may come down to the days before the season opens to determine who will be in the rotation on Opening Day. 

Rhys Hoskins technically signed a Minor League deal with the Guardians after Spring Training got underway. 

At this point, it’s hard not to see him making the Opening Day roster, but that reality would open up another question for the Guardians: How would Cleveland’s 40-man roster shake out?

With Hoskins only on a Minor League contract, the Guardians would need to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for the veteran to then add him to the Major League team. Cleveland has played a tough game of managing the 40-man roster over the last few seasons. 

Depending on who else makes the roster out of camp, adding Hoskins may not be an easy move logistically, but it's a necessary one nonetheless. 

Nolan Jones had a rough 2025 season, and many of those struggles have carried over into Spring Training, too. In 29 Cactus League at-bats, the outfielder has collected just four hits (.138 AVG), with 13 strikeouts. 

Still, the Guardians saw something in him to bring him back on a $2 million contract, and hitting coach Grant Fink recently talked about the plan the team has for Jones at the plate. It certainly feels like, looking at the organization’s moves, they still believe Jones can be a valuable piece to the team.

When everyone’s healthy, Jones could be the odd man out of the outfield group. Are the Guardians ready to turn the page on the one-time Cleveland draftee? 

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